On the precipice of her fifth consecutive Final Four, Tara VanDerveer is reluctant to express the significance of winning a championship. As much as she wants it, for herself and for Stanford, she won’t dare visualize cutting down the nets.
And she’s not shrinking for Sunday’s matchup with unbeaten Baylor and 6-foot-8 Brittney Griner, the most imposing presence in women’s college basketball.
“Everyone says, ‘Good luck … our money’s on Baylor,’ “ VanDerveer cracked this week.
VanDerveer can’t talk about winning it all because such talk forces her to revisit the last four times she reached the summit, only to leave in defeat.
What can be gained by opening the wounds of the past?
Declining to emphasize what it would mean to win a national championship now – after two decades without one – is the smart move, the right move. We should expect such wisdom from VanDerveer, who in her 33rd year as a head coach undoubtedly realizes the danger of players performing under the belief that anything short of a national championship is failure.
If that were the case, VanDerveer, 58, might not be in the Women’s Basketball Hall of Fame, probably would not be in the Naismith Hall of Fame and certainly would not belong among the 10 best coaches in college basketball history.
But she is, in spades, despite that 20-year drought and the dust gathering on those national championship banners at Maples Pavilion.
The truly elite college coach gains the ear and the respect and the trust of those in their midst, and wins 80 percent of the time with players who stay within the law and never have reason to hide when grades are posted.
For the rare few who consistently meet this exceedingly lofty standard, a national championship is extra credit.
VanDerveer has gotten no extra credit lately. Her last national championship came in 1992, two years after her other title and before most current Cardinal players were born.
The casual observer scans her record at Stanford and wonders if she peaked at 38, by which time she had raised the profiles of two major college programs – Ohio State before Stanford – and won a couple national championships.
That same casual observer also would have to acknowledged VanDerveer’s 709-148 record with the Cardinal (861-199 overall), the 21 conference championships, the 24 consecutive NCAA tournament appearances, the 10 trips to the Final Four and the two national titles. They see the four National Coach of the Year awards and the 12 Pac-10/12 Coach of the Year honors
To look just at the surface is to miss VanDerveer’s massive impact on Stanford, on college hoops in general and the women’s game in particular.
She has coached two Naismith Player of the Year winners, 17 All-Americans, 16 conference Players of the Year, 58 All-Conference selections and 34 players chosen to USA Basketball teams. Because she could, VanDerveer left Stanford in 1995-96 to coach the U.S. Olympics team. It won the gold.
A more penetrating look at her history, however, suggests VanDerveer’s players listen to her, respect her and trust her. They don’t wind up in handcuffs and about 95 percent of them leave The Farm with one of the most prestigious degrees in the world.
And yet VanDerveer still manages to win more than 80 percent of the time, more than 90 percent since 2007.
Though she is haunted by recent Final Four results – two losses in the semifinal, two in the title game – VanDerveer won’t let it define her program or diminish achievements. She won’t dwell on agonizing visuals of Stanford groups trudging out of arenas, waking up the next day and dragging broken hearts to an airport to fly back to the Bay Area.
Decades of prosperity have a way of eventually assuaging moments of agony.
“Just to go is amazing, I think,” VanDerveer said. “We don’t have bracelets or slogans. And we’re not busting out on Twitter. But behind the scenes, every day, we’re doing everything we can.”
Stanford is in the rare role of underdog. Star forward Nneka Ogwumike relishes the challenge posed by Griner, and VanDerveer has spent time over the last year planning for the big center. Cardinal players say they will attack Griner, make her work.
If this gets them to the championship game, they’ll attack the opponent there, whether it’s UConn or Notre Dame.
It has been many years since VanDerveer earned extra credit. When you consider she consistently aces her tests, does she really need it?
