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Tennessee Legend Candace Parker Announces Retirement From Basketball | Rocky Top Insider

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Tennessee Legend Candace Parker Announces Retirement From Basketball | Rocky Top Insider


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Tennessee and WNBA legend Candace Parker is retiring from basketball, she announced on her Instagram on Sunday afternoon.

“I’m retiring,” Parker wrote in her post. “I promised I’d never cheat the game & that I’d leave it in a better place than I came into it. The competitor in me always wants 1 more, but it’s time. My HEART & body knew, but I needed to give my mind time to accept it.”

Parker is one of the most storied basketball players of all time. Playing 16 seasons in the WNBA, Parker won WNBA Championships with three teams, was a seven-time First Team All-WNBA selection, the 2020 Defensive Player of the Year and two-time MVP.

An extremely versatile player, Parker averaged 16 points, 8.5 rebounds and four assists per game over the course of her career. The 6-foot-4 forward averaged 17-plus points per game in eight different seasons topping out with a 20.6 point and 10.8 rebound per game season in 2010.

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Parker was dominant in a three-year career at Tennessee, earning Associated Press First Team All-American honors twice and winning the Wooden Award twice. She averaged 19.4 points and 8.8 rebounds over the course of her career and 21.3 points, 8.5 rebounds, 2.5 assists and 2.3 steals per game in her junior season.

A Naperville, Illinois native, Parker helped lead Tennessee to National Championships in 2007 and 2008— the final National Championships in legendary coach Pat Summitt’s career. In her retirement post, Parker discussed the impact Summitt has had on her life.

“My mission in life, like Pat Summitt always said, is to ‘chase people and passions and you will never fail.’ Being a wife & mom still remains priority #1 & I’ve learned that time flies, so I plan to enjoy my family to the fullest!” Parker wrote.

Parker’s 2008 basketball season is legendary. After leading Tennessee to the 2008 National Championship she made her WNBA debut that summer and averaged 18.5 points, 9.5 rebounds and 3.4 assists per game while earning WNBA Rookie of the Year and First Team All-WNBA honors.

Parker has broken into broadcasting in recent years and has shined as a studio analyst for CBS, TBS and TNT during the NCAA Tournament in recent years. In her post, Parker stated her plans to continue broadcasting while also exploring other business ventures.

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Tennessee

Former Chargers Tight End Signing With Tennessee Titans

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Former Chargers Tight End Signing With Tennessee Titans


Veteran former Los Angeles Chargers tight end Nick Vannett has officially moved on, and is signing with the Tennessee Titans, the team has announced via its X account.

The 6-foot-6, 257-pound journeyman, 31, was inked to a practice squad deal with Los Angeles last summer. He was added to the club’s active roster in November.

Vannett played sparingly for the Bolts last season, appearing in eight contests. He caught just one reception on one target, for three yards.

Prior to the Chargers and Titans, the Ohio State product played for the Seattle Seahawks, Pittsburgh Steelers, Denver Broncos, New Orleans Saints, and New York Giants. He also signed on to the Houston Texans’ practice squad, briefly, in 2023.

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It didn’t make much sense for him to stick around Los Angeles. He would have been fighting for third- or fourth-stringer minutes behind Will Dissly and Hayden Hurst, alongside Donald Parham Jr. and Stone Smartt.

Now, in Tennessee, Vannett hopes to venture off to what he hopes will be greener pastures and significantly more minutes.

L.A. under new head coach Jim Harbaugh and new general manager Joe Hortiz is hoping for a far more successful season of its own than it got with Vannett in 2023.

More Chargers: Jim Harbaugh’s Expectations for LA Rookies in Minicamp





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Tennessee basketball’s SEC opponents announced for 2024-25 season

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Tennessee basketball’s SEC opponents announced for 2024-25 season


Tennessee men’s basketball will host Alabama in Knoxville and play Kentucky home and away in the 2024-25 season in a new scheduling format, the SEC announced on Monday.

Only SEC opponents and game sites were announced. Dates of the games will be released later.

The Vols will play Kentucky and Vanderbilt home and away as permanent opponents. They also will face Florida twice as a rotating opponent.

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Tennessee’s home game against Alabama is notable because of their deep NCAA tournament run last season. The Vols reached the Elite 8 for the second time in program history after earning the SEC regular-season title. Alabama made it to the Final Four for the first time.

Last season, Tennessee won both games against Alabama. Next season, they’ll meet only once, at Thompson-Boling Arena at Food City Center.

But the Vols should be tested throughout their SEC schedule, which includes 10 of 18 games against 2024 NCAA tournament teams.

However, Tennessee and Kentucky are the only schools that will not host new SEC members Texas or Oklahoma in 2024-25. The Vols will play both schools on the road.

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Tennessee’s SEC home opponents include: Alabama, Arkansas, Florida, Georgia, Kentucky, Mississippi State, Missouri, South Carolina and Vanderbilt.

And Tennessee’s SEC road opponents include: Auburn, Florida, Kentucky, LSU, Ole Miss, Oklahoma, Texas, Texas A&M and Vanderbilt.

Adam Sparks is the Tennessee football beat reporter. Email adam.sparks@knoxnews.com. X, formerly known as Twitter@AdamSparks. Support strong local journalism by subscribing at knoxnews.com/subscribe.

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Nic Moore talks Tennessee offer and more

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Nic Moore talks Tennessee offer and more


Jefferson County lineman Nic Moore picked up an offer from Tennessee on Friday after Glen Elarbee stopped by to check on the talented interior offensive lineman. It’s been a recruitment that has gotten more and more traction.

“I think the recruiting process has been coming in waves,” Moore said. “It’s been ups and downs. There have been periods where I get talked to by lots of coaches and there are low periods where I’m working on my own. Overall I think I’ve gotten recruited by a lot of great schools so I believe the recruiting process has gone very well for me.”

Moore got the offer he has been looking for as Elarbee delivered the good news.

“When coach Elarbee and I were talking, it was a more relaxed vibe,” Moore said. “He is a really chill guy and we were just talking about our lives and stuff like that. When I got the offer it was a great feeling because the team right down the road believes in me to offer me a scholarship to play at the University of Tennessee so it was a really great feeling.”

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His dad played ball at Jefferson County. He has grown up in the area and Tennessee football is a big deal in the state.

“It’s meant a lot,” Moore said. “In this area where I live, everyone is Tennessee fans. Game day is one or the biggest things, even if we aren’t down in Knoxville. I feel like the University of Tennessee has always been part of the East Tennessee culture for me.”

So what do schools like about him? What would a school get in him?

“I feel like even though I’m an undersized athlete, I bring leverage,” Moore said. “When I’m going against 6-foot-4 and 5 guys, I’m obviously closer to their shoulder pads than their shoulders. I’m more close to their chest plate so I feel like I bring good leverage to the table. I believe my speed is elite for an offensive lineman. I feel like my improvement is constant. I’m always working and even if my career is going perfect I’m still striving to find ways to improve.”

Moore doesn’t have an official visit set up yet but is working on getting one set up with Elarbee.

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“We are planning on going up there this summer and seeing it from a closer standpoint,” Moore said. “It’s something I’m looking forward to doing. We just have to get a date locked in.”

Moore will leave next week for the state track championship in Murfreesboro where he will compete in the shotput. After that he will take visits like one to Clemson at the end of the month. He is looking for a school that fits him both on and off the field. 

“I’m looking for a school that fits my academic needs and can give me good job placement when football is over,” Moore said. “I’m looking for a team that hasn’t necessarily had the best season but for a team is improving and a place with good culture. A place that is like a family. I’m looking for more than a business transaction. Now and days the NIL is getting crazy and I’m wanting to go somewhere not for the money but because this is where I want to spend my four years and live afterwards.”



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