Winning Has Become A Habit For Stanford's Tara VanDerveer
STANFORD, Calif. (CBS-SF) – While Pat Summitt is still entrenched as the winningest coach in women's college basketball history, Stanford's Tara VanDerveer is among four active coaches who enter the 20-15-2016 season closing in on the 1,000-win mark.
VanDerveer enters the season with 953 wins and a team ranked 14th in the USA Today ESPN preseason poll.
She has lost stars Amber Orrange and Bonnie Samuelson to graduation, but what makes the veteran Cardinal coach so successful is she has learned to adapt to her talent.
This season, Stanford strength in at guard and VanDerveer is moving away from her triangle offense to a more guard oriented attack.
To achieve that goal, VanDerveer studied the Golden State Warriors, who won the NBA championship with a small line-up and -- according to the Associated Press -- has also tapped into the on-court knowledge of former Lakers coach Mike D'Antoni, Milwaukee Bucks assistant Joe Prunt and Jenny Boucek of the
Seattle Storm.
"Old dog's got to learn new tricks," VanDerveer told the wire service.
Here's a look at the six winningest women's college basketball coaches of all time.
- Pat Summitt – 1098 wins
- Sylvia Hatchell – 961 wins
- Tara VanDerveer – 953 wins
- C. Vivian Stringer – 952 wins
- Barbara Stevens – 928 wins
- Geno Auriemma – 917 wins
