Stanford's VanDerveer soaking in the moment of being back in title game

4/7/2008 4:43 PM

By JANIE McCAULEY
AP Sports Writer

TAMPA, Fla. (AP) -Tara VanDerveer with a tattoo?

The classy 54-year-old coach soon could be headed for a tattoo parlor back home in the Bay Area if her Stanford players can pull off one more victory: beating Tennessee for the national title Tuesday night.

``I joked with her that it would be a dragon across her neck,'' center Jayne Appel said. ``But it's probably going to be something on her ankle.''

VanDerveer committed to getting inked months ago, when the season started and her team had yet to come together, and there's no going back now on such a promise to her players.

VanDerveer finally has returned to the pinnacle of college basketball, coaching in the NCAA championship game 16 years after her Cardinal last made it this far. They won it all in 1992.

``I never think the game will pass Tara by,'' Tennessee coach Pat Summitt said. ``Tara VanDerveer, she's a great teacher, great coach. Obviously she's showing more emotion than I've seen her show in postseason, and I think that's a good thing for her team.''

Everyone close to VanDerveer has watched her evolve during those years. A handful of demoralizing defeats that kept Stanford from the Final Four even caused the 22nd-year Cardinal coach to wonder on occasion whether her team could get there again.

``The fact we ever won it is great,'' VanDerveer said Monday as her team prepared for its rematch with the defending champion Lady Vols after an overtime win in December. ``I remind myself you may never be here again - just go for it. This has been just a magical year for our team.''

Stanford (35-3), which has the nation's longest winning streak of 23 games, has four double-digit victories in five tournament games. And the Cardinal's 82-73 win over Connecticut on Sunday was still plenty convincing.

VanDerveer has learned to adapt along the way, ignoring critics while managing things she can control - such as the effort level of her team.

``They don't let me get to them, which is a good thing,'' VanDerveer said. ``They let me roll off their backs. I'm over on the sidelines having little breakdowns.''

She has accepted her players' tastes in music - she counts classical as her favorite genre and has had Mozart as a ring tone on her phone - allowing tunes to play during practice over the last two months.

``When she came out and she turned on some rap song and said, 'All right, we can listen to this while shooting,' everyone was like 'Whoa,''' guard JJ Hones said. ``That also really helped lighten the mood at practice. It is a lot more relaxed, and when you're relaxed you play better. ... She can get mad at little things - 'you turned the ball over here or we didn't run the offense right here' - but ultimately we're winning, so how mad could she be about that?''

VanDerveer plays piano on the road and, as guard Rosalyn Gold-Onwude said Monday, apparently even on occasional recruiting visits. Before VanDerveer made a visit to Gold-Onwude in Queens, N.Y., she sent some music so they could play a duet. VanDerveer was a beginner and Gold-Onwude a more advanced pianist.

``Even from Day 1 I tried to make Tara proud,'' Gold-Onwude said. ``I had stopped playing but she sent me the piece and I practiced it. I didn't want to disappoint her. We had to start over a couple of times because Tara messed up a little bit.''

VanDerveer slapped hands with Gold-Onwude as the player made her exit from Monday's news conference. That's the coach's typical demeanor on the bench during games and in practice, too. She constantly cheers on her players while also regularly turning red-faced with intensity.

``I think we all probably change,'' said VanDerveer, who took a year off from Stanford to lead the 1996 U.S. Olympic team to a gold medal in Atlanta. ``We're affected by our experiences. I've probably changed. But a lot of it is, maybe I haven't changed as much as people might say because a lot of people don't know me. I've always had different interests. This team has let me be relaxed.''

VanDerveer takes pride in seeing her former players together in the stands, still close friends and eager to root for their old coach and team. The Cardinal of present and past had an ice cream social together leading up to Sunday's semifinal.

``I'm looking at people I coached like 17, 18, 20 years ago, and they really appreciate and have great memories of playing at Stanford,'' VanDerveer said. ``And that's what I want them to have as a coach.''

Some of her former players have told the current crop that VanDerveer is more relaxed and comfortable these days. They even joke that the 2008 Cardinal have life a lot easier.

``I've played for Tara and that was 15 years ago,'' said first-year Stanford assistant Kate Paye. ``I sure hope I'm different than I was 15 years ago. Yeah, she's changed. ... Tara's at a point in her career that she can take joy in the journey and not worry about the end result as much.''