Stanford's VanDerveer Nearing Historic 800th Win

STANFORD (AP) -- To think Tara VanDerveer nearly became a lawyer.

Back home and studying for the law school admission test after college, VanDerveer's father made her earn room and board by coaching her sister's team — and that's all it took.

More than three decades later, VanDerveer is having such a blast coaching at Stanford she recently joked about sticking around to get another 800 wins.

The Cardinal's 25th-year coach is just one victory from earning a spot alongside an elite group of only four other Division I women's coaches in the 800 club.

"It means I'm old. It means I've coached great players and worked at great schools," VanDerveer said. "I realize I've coached like 1,161 games. That includes all the Olympic games and also coaching a JV team at Ohio State. I just didn't ever go into it thinking long term but just to enjoy it every day, and I continue to enjoy it every day. I'm really thankful that my timing in life was such that I've had opportunities to coach."

VanDerveer — 799-195 in 31 overall seasons as a head coach — could join Pat Summitt, Jody Conradt, C. Vivian Stringer and Sylvia Hatchell as soon as Thursday night if her team wins at DePaul. Barbara Stevens of Division II Bentley is right behind and also poised to join the 800 club within the week. Her first shot at 800 is Sunday.

VanDerveer is 647-144 at Stanford. She also spent two seasons at Idaho, her first time as a head coach, then five at Ohio State.

Not long after she started coaching her younger sister, Marie, VanDerveer sent letters to the top 20 college programs in the country. She wound up at Ohio State as a volunteer coach of the junior varsity team.

Those Buckeyes went 8-0, which she counts as one of her two undefeated teams along with the 1996 American Olympic gold medalists. VanDerveer was offered a full-time job at Old Dominion by Marianne Stanley the next year that would have paid $15,000 — good money at the time — but she opted to stay at Ohio State and get her master's degree while earning a $3,500 stipend.

"I was a goner, that was it," VanDerveer recalled of her introduction all those years ago, when she survived on food stamps and by working at the campus rec center in the wee hours.

The modest VanDerveer is always quick to credit her players and the talented teams she is able to assemble year after year on The Farm.

But it's only been the past three seasons she has had Stanford — currently 6-0 and ranked No. 3 — really back on top, returning to the Final Four in 2008 for the first time in 11 years and making two consecutive trips since then. Now, after a pair of runner-up finishes during that span, the goal is to get over the hump and bring home the school's first championship since 1992.

"Tara is one of the most talented coaches and leaders in our game," Summitt said. "This is only fitting for her to reach this milestone. I like how she coaches her team — just the toughness they bring. They're skilled, but also tough and aggressive. And that's just a reflection on Tara's ability to teach and motivate. She'd probably say she's mellowed, but I think she's as focused as ever. There's no doubt. When she's on the court, she's so invested in her team."

The Cardinal lost 53-47 to UConn in last season's NCAA final after leading 20-12 at halftime, and the Huskies won their 78th straight game to complete back-to-back unbeaten seasons. UConn handed Stanford its only two defeats in a 36-2 season and comes to Maples Pavilion for a highly anticipated game Dec. 30.

Last month, South Carolina coach Dawn Staley invited VanDerveer to the losing Gamecocks' locker room to give a pep talk to the opposing team. VanDerveer cheerfully obliged her former player from that winning '96 Olympic team.

The Hall of Fame coach is admired everywhere.

"She's an icon. She's a great role model for all coaches," Texas' Gail Goestenkors said. "You can be successful but she's been successful for such a long period of time. She does things the right way, with integrity."

And the wins aren't coming against low-level teams. VanDerveer, whose team will try to win its 11th straight Pac-10 title, routinely plays a non-conference schedule that resembles an NCAA tournament bracket: Tennessee, UConn, Rutgers.

"Eight hundred, let's do the math," said Paul Thomas, coach at nearby mid-major Saint Mary's College. "That's 25.8 wins a year. That's pretty impressive ... 800, it's an astronomical number. It's the stratosphere."

VanDerveer has endured through more than three decades, adapting to new styles, changing personalities and trends, while doing things her way. Control what you can control, like preparing players to do the basics and little things such as boxing out and hustling after loose balls.

For VanDerveer, it's always about the "journey" of working in October and November to reach a goal in March.

The classy coach even committed to getting a tattoo if Stanford won the '08 national title, but the Cardinal lost to Tennessee.

"It's no surprise that Tara is one of the best and brightest coaches not only in women's basketball but in the game of basketball, period," said former player Charmin Smith, who coached under VanDerveer at Stanford and is now an assistant at rival California. "She is constantly pushing herself and her players toward excellence. Her knowledge of the game, preparation, attention to detail and love for the sport, are outmatched by none. And those of us fortunate enough to play for her and work with her know that Tara is coaching women's basketball for all the right reasons. She's impacted the lives of countless numbers of young women, including myself."

The beloved VanDerveer often can look into the stands and see her former players. Candice Wiggins, Jayne Appel, Heather Owen, Vanessa Nygaard. Others, like Kate Paye, Bobbie Kelsey and Amy Tucker, sit right beside her on the bench.

"Tara VanDerveer (equals) greatest women's coach of all time," Wiggins tweeted last week. "Basketball coach and life coach, Stanford is fortunate to have her!"

On Dec. 22, VanDerveer will face another of her former stars. Stanford plays at the University of San Francisco, with Jennifer Azzi as the Dons' first-year coach.

At this stage in her career, VanDerveer still has her team on the rise — having returned to the pinnacle of college basketball after several years of near misses and heartbreaking NCAA defeats in which the Cardinal were supposed to win.

Most notably: Stanford's stunning NCAA loss at the hands of No. 16 Harvard in 1998, the only time a 16 seed has beaten a No. 1 team in men's and women's NCAA history.

Even VanDerveer herself acknowledged there were times she questioned whether Stanford would ever get back to the Final Four. The Cardinal rode All-American Wiggins all the way there and haven't looked back.

"There must be a tremendous satisfaction for her to be in that position again," Goestenkors said.

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