BUILT ON RESPECT
Stanford coach VanDerveer ties Summitt’s record for career wins with her 1,098th victory
STANFORD>> Tara VanDerveer and Tennessee’s Pat Summitt planned home-and-home series whenever their schedules allowed, two power programs in opposite regions of the country ready to test their teams against a fellow great. Ready to challenge themselves as coaches, too.
Their mutual respect always showed, and it shined. From the pregame hugs and quick chats to polite postgame handshakes that demonstrated the deep admiration they each felt for one another.
So, when VanDerveer tied the late Hall of Famer for most coaching wins in women’s basketball with 1,098 victories Sunday night by beating one of her former players guiding rival Cal 83-38, she quickly credited Summitt for helping her
get there.
“We would talk, and I think that one of the things, I like the idea of competing against great coaches to get better,” VanDerveer said. “If I tied this record with her, she helped me do it, because of playing against her teams. From the beginning, we only played Tennessee because Jennifer Azzi came to Stanford and we promised Jennifer we would play there like one year — not 25 years.”
The 67-year-old VanDerveer is poised to pass Summitt’s mark in a game tonight when top-ranked Stanford (4- 0) plays at Pacific in Stockton.
“Tara has kind of become the Coach K of the women’s game,” Golden State Warriors coach Steve Kerr said Monday, referring to Duke’s Mike Krzyzewski. “There’s just this army of players who she recruits to come through there and then she coaches them up and just year after year they win. It’s not easy to do that as a coach, your voice can get old.”
In recent years, Kerr has spent time around VanDerveer, a huge Warriors fan who likes to learn from anybody and everybody — no matter the profile or pedigree.
VanDerveer has adapted her approach and style on numerous occasions, even relying on what has become her trusty red bullhorn this season so her players and coaches can hear given the COVID-19 spacing protocols on the bench and need to speak over the piped-in crowd noise at arenas devoid of real fans.
“I’m really happy for her. I don’t know anyone who’s done it better,” said secondyear Cal coach Charmin Smith.
A nd consider what VanDerveer’s win total could be: She took a year away from Stanford to coach the 1996 Olympic team. The Americans won a gold medal at the Atlanta Games, while associate head coach Amy Tucker guided Stanford during the absence.
“I am incredibly proud of Tara for this achievement. Her drive, consistency and passion are the foundations for success,” said Tucker, who also played for VanDerveer at Ohio State. “It is really amazing to see her success year after year!”
With grace and humility, even when it comes to carefully picking her moments to get on the referees, VanDerveer considers herself a “copier.” She has borrowed ideas from many coaches along the way, and whatever her methods they sure do work.
“What I learned from Pat was just to be passionate about the game and I study other people,” she said. “If anything maybe from her it was the importance of rebounding and playing really hard. Her teams did that. And they didn’t ever give up. They really were determined teams.”