In conjunction with the 50th anniversary of its national women’s basketball poll, the Associated Press has come up with a list of the top players since the poll’s inception in 1976.
In voting from a panel of women’s basketball experts, Candace Parker was named to the first team, and Chamique Holdsclaw was chosen for the second team. The voters included former players, media members and AP writers and editorial staff.
Parker, a three-time AP and WBCA All-American, led Tennessee to consecutive NCAA titles in 2007 and 2008. Despite playing only three seasons on Rocky Top before being the No. 1 pick in the 2008 WNBA Draft, the Naperville, Illinois, native finished third in all-time scoring at UT with 2,137 points and was eighth in rebounding with 972 boards.
Holdsclaw, meanwhile, is one of only two four-time WBCA All-Americans in program history and was named to AP teams in 1998 and 1999 during a career which saw her lead the Lady Vols to three straight NCAA championships in 1996, 1997 and 1998. That 1998 squad finished 39-0 for the only undefeated season in school history. The product of Astoria, Queens in New York City is Tennessee’s all-time leading scorer (3,025 points) and rebounder (1,295 rebounds) and was chosen as the top pick in the 1999 WNBA Draft.
Parker (3) and Holdsclaw (23) are both recognized with their retired jersey banners hanging from the rafters at Food City Center. Holdsclaw was inducted into the Tennessee Athletics Hall of Fame in 2010 and the Women’s Basketball Hall of Fame in 2018. Parker, meanwhile, went into the Tennessee Athletics Hall of Fame in 2019 and appears to be a strong candidate for both the Women’s Basketball Hall of Fame and the Naismith Memorial Basketball Hall of Fame.
