FEVER

Tamika Catchings gets married

The groom is a baller himself. At least he used to be. Winning two state titles with Pike.

Dana Hunsinger Benbow
dana.benbow@indystar.com
Indiana Fever forward Tamika Catchings (24) puts a move on Minnesota Lynx forward Devereaux Peters (14) in the first half of their game. The Indiana Fever play the Minnesota Lynx in Game #4 of the WNBA Finals Sunday, October 11, 2015, evening at Bankers Life Fieldhouse.

There it is. A photo of Tamika Catchings in an off-the-shoulder gown and shiny high heels.

And, of course, on the court of Bankers Life Fieldhouse with a basketball in hand.

This is the way the WNBA superstar decided to tell the world: "A lil wedding fun with @smittyp3! #Love #GotHimInTheHeels #NothingButFUNTimes #WhosGotNext #WatchMeWork #SoBlessed," she wrote.

Wedding fun? Yes. The Indiana Fever basketball great, set to play her final season in the WNBA, took the marital plunge recently.

Details of the ceremony are sparse besides this:

The groom? He's a baller himself. Or at least he used to be. His name is Parnell Smith, an Indianapolis native who played basketball for Pike High School on a team that won state titles in 2001 and 2003.

Smith was a 6-6, 210-pound forward and three-year starter for Pike who went on to play at the University of Buffalo. For his prep career, he averaged 10 points and seven rebounds per game. He also earned first-team All-State honors as a sophomore and was a two-time first-team All-Sectional, All-County and All-State tournament selection.

Pike's Parnell Smith (left) looks for a rebound during  the Class 4A title game at then Conseco Fieldhouse in 2001.

When Catchings was asked almost a year ago by IndyStar if her then-boyfriend Smith was a basketball player, she replied: "No. Thank God. He used to play ball overseas. He's a computer IT (guy) now."

Catchings told IndyStar she met Smith in Los Angeles in July 2014. The two hit it off. He was from Indianapolis and came back to live here and to be with Catchings.

Until then, Catchings, 36, had been outspokenly single, so much that she was named an IndyStar Super Single in 2013. At the time, she said she was looking for "somebody who is driven by God, lives life the right way, is loyal, honest and can have fun."

"He fits that and more," she said. "He's just a really good guy. My family even says, 'Just don't run him away. He might be too nice for you.' "

We doubt that. Catchings, besides being a 10-time WNBA All-Star, is known for her charitable work. Her foundation, Catch the Stars, is in its 12th year of empowering youth to achieve their dreams, helping them set goals that promote literacy, fitness and mentoring.

Catchings' Twitter feed is filled with people congratulating the couple on tying the knot.

. Follow IndyStar reporter Dana Benbow on Twitter: @DanaBenbow