The point here is from a rookie season, even one that portends years of dominance, life makes no guarantee. Parker found that out Sunday in the Sparks' game against the Liberty when she grabbed a rebound, tried to dribble around Quanitra Hollingsworth and tore the lateral meniscus in her right knee.
If you are a UConn basketball fan, you may recall 23 seconds from Jan. 6, 2007. Put it this way: If you saw those 23 seconds, you'll never forget them. With 18:18 left in Tennessee's six-point victory, Parker broke in alone off a steal by Sidney Spencer. Parker had dunked five times before, but no one had ever dunked on UConn. The XL Center went cathedral quiet when she did.
The next time down the court, she blocked Charde Houston's shot, caught it in mid-air and started another fastbreak. This time, whoosh, she threw a look-away pass for a layup by Nicky Anosike.
Let's recap. First, she pulled a Michael Jordan. Second, she pulled a Bill Russell. Third, she pulled a Magic Johnson. It was a remarkable sequence.
"I remember that game," Sun guard Kara Lawson said after her team's 79-76 victory over the Los Angeles Sparks Tuesday night at Mohegan Sun Arena. "That's the day she told Pat Summitt not to take any of her timeouts home with her."
Parker made it clear she had no intention of coming out of that game. And now here we are 4 1/2 years later and Parker, despite every intention, is having the damnedest time staying in games.
"I lean toward Diana Taurasi as the best [college player ever]," said Lawson, a former Lady Vol going rogue. "But Parker, Taurasi, Cheryl Miller, Chamique Holdsclaw, Maya Moore, she is in that group of the best of the best. And that [WNBA] rookie year?"
Lawson laughs.
"Not too shabby," she said.
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