VanDerveer has ‘F-U-N fun’ — with wins

Winningest coach in women’s Div. I basketball says it’s not a ‘J-O-B job’

Stanford senior Kiana Williams remembers how nervous she felt the first time coach Tara VanDerveer called to recruit her.

The 5-foot-8 point guard from San Antonio, Texas, said she paced the hallway while speaking to the Naismith Hall of Fame coach.

“Sit down,” her father, Michael Williams, said.

“I can’t sit down,” Kiana said she told her dad. “I’m talking to Tara VanDerveer.”

Players like Williams have long held VanDerveer in high regard. Tuesday night, she cemented her legacy, becoming the alltime winningest coach in women’s Division I basketball history as top-ranked Stanford routed the University of the Pacific 104- 61 in

an empty Stockton arena.

T he v ic tor y gave VanDer veer a historic 1,099th victory in 42 seasons of coaching to pass the legendary Pat Summitt.

Afterward, VanDerveer, 67, did what she has done after every milestone victory: The four-time national coach of the year acknowledged everyone but herself for the achievement.

“Her gift is she is always able to adjust,” said senior Anna Wilson, the sister of Seattle Seahawks quarterback Russell Wilson. “She’s a player’s coach in the sense she wants to get the best out of her players.”

Because of the COVID-19 pandemic, few hugs were given after the record victory. Instead, with her eyes shining behind her ink-black face mask, VanDerveer gave high-fives to every player. The players surprised her with confetti in the locker

room and party poppers that she described as “fireworks.” VanDerveer told the players the most important thing she could do was show them her love.

It might have been the coach’s night, but VanDerveer turned the spotlight to a talented group of players who have a realistic chance of winning Stanford’s first national title since 1992.

Williams said the gesture was heartfelt.

“She doesn’t just care about us as basketball players but as people too,” Williams said. “I wouldn’t want to play for any other coach.”

Williams recalled hearing from VanDerveer in the summer during the Black Lives Matter protests over the police killings of Black Americans.

“It meant a lot to me,” Williams said. “The coach was taking time out of her day to make sure I was OK mentally. It’s not about the Xs and Os.”

VanDer veer reca lled how opportunities in wom

en’s basketball were limited when she played at Indiana and then started coaching.

Her first job was with her sister’s high school team: After graduating from college, her father insisted his oldest child not sit around the house in Niagara Falls, New York, doing nothing.

VanDerveer was influenced by her parents, who were educators in the Hudson River Valley and western New York. She always has asked her players to think beyond the court.

“Young people come to Stanford to get an education first,” VanDerveer said Tuesday night. “They’re not coming to Stanford for basketball.”

Wilson, who was one of six players to score in double figures against UOP, verbally committed to Stanford as a sophomore in high school.

“I knew what I was going to get from the jump,” she said. “Tara has taught me to be the same whether it’s going your way or not.”

Although VanDerveer

avoids drawing attention, she acknowledged the significance of the victory and what it meant to her players.

“They wanted this win for me,” she said. “I felt it from them the whole game, the whole bus ride up here.”

T he team presented VanDerveer with an extralarge hoodie with the name “T-Dawg” on the back. A dog lover, she said Williams gave her the nickname that has caught on. But Williams was not sure her coach would try on the jacket.

When VanDerveer put it on, Williams said her coach exclaimed, “Yeah, this is swag.”

The record, though, would not change VanDerveer’s life. Since COVID-19 has limited activities, the coach has been sharing swimming pool time with Stanford Olympians Katie Ledecky and Simone Manuel.

VanDer veer said she swam before the historic game Tuesday, telling herself, “I hope we play well. I hope the record is set. And I’m going to be in the pool

tomorrow, and I’m going to be the same person.”

The Cardinal (5- 0) had to play the milestone game in Stockton because of Santa Clara County’s ban last month on contact sports in an effort to stop the COVID-19 surge.

VanDer veer probably never would have caught Summitt if not for the Tennessee coach suffering from early onset Alzheimer’s disease. Summitt, who was one year older than VanDerveer, left coaching in 2012 and died four years later.

VanDerveer recently told the Bay Area News Group how invigorated she has been in her 35th season at Stanford despite the challenges of playing collegiate basketball during a global pandemic.

But a few years ago, VanDerveer considered retiring because of the constant wear of offseason recruiting. Her Stanford assistant for 32 years, Amy Tucker, stepped away in 2017.

Billionaire philanthro

pist John Arrillaga, one of Stanford’s biggest donors, rejected that idea.

“He said, ‘ Tara, don’t do that,’ ” VanDerveer recalled. “I said, ‘ John, I’m just exhausted. I need a break.’ And he said, ‘ Well, take the summer off.’ ”

VanDerveer, who spends summers at a New York lake cabin, took the advice. She said she went water skiing 93 times in 2019.

“I feel like maybe being away from something sometimes — and the players, they’re not hearing my voice all the time in the spring and in the summer — but I think that that keeps a lot of tread on my tires,” VanDerveer said.

T he coach said she has tried to stay healthy throughout the pandemic by swimming, riding a Peloton and playing bridge on a computer with her mom, Rita, 93.

“T hen when I’m in the g ym, I’m excited,” VanDerveer said. “It’s not like a J- O-B job. It’s like FU-N, fun.”