Reactions to Tara VanDerveer becoming the all-time wins leader in college basketball
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“This is a tremendous accomplishment for Tara VanDerveer, who is already one of the most accomplished coaches in the history of basketball. This is yet another milestone to add to an amazing legacy. More important than all the astounding numbers and career accomplishments, she’s positively impacted countless lives as a coach and a mentor. Tara remains a true guardian of our sport.” – Mike Krzyzewski, former Duke (1980-2022), Army (1975-80) and United States National Team (2005-16) head men’s basketball coach
“I’ve always loved the fact that she tells them to fight, just keep fighting. But she also cares about the complete student-athlete. And that’s the wonderful thing about Tara. She’s a professor of basketball.”
— former U.S. Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice
“The game of basketball would not be where it is today without Tara. She has been a constant force, trailblazing a path for all who follow behind her. To have played for Tara is incredibly special and I still carry so many lessons learned from her throughout my life now.” — former player and current WNBPA Director of Player Relations Jayne Appel-Marinelli
“Tara VanDerveer, when people talk about GOATS, she really is the best ever. With Tara, it’s not just the basketball. A lot of people don’t know how much she’s done to prop women up in this profession, to lift others up. I always tell a story about Tara my first year coaching at Colorado. Pac-12. Tournament, I think they won it, or they were going into the championship and someone interviewed her, ‘Well, tell us about your chances in the NCAA Tournament,’ something like that. And she literally talked about every single team in the Pac-12. She went two through 12 and talked about well how Cal’s prepared us, and Colorado’s tough and they’ve gotten us ready. My point being, she’s not just about herself and her program. She’s lifted other people up and I think that’s just as impactful of a legacy as the wins.” — Colorado coach JR Payne
“Just about everything I know and who I am from a basketball standpoint is probably 90% credited to Tara just as a player as a colleague and coach. You know just a remarkable human first off and then a great basketball coach and you can’t discredit any of the numbers. I think I played in 600 or 700 and then was coaching with her for some other benchmarks. She means the world to me and I don’t know if there’s anyone besides my parents who have impact my life more.” — former player and current UNLV coach Lindy La Rocque
“That speaks to her personality, too, understanding that the key to long-term success at any job is your ability to adapt to the changing environment, and it has changed dramatically in a short period of time in college athletics just within the last several years not to mention over her 45-year career the different changes. … I think her approach to just life in general is, ‘Well, if this is how it is, what do we need to do to be successful in the environment that it is?’ That’s how she kind of looks at everything that’s kind of been thrown at college athletics these last several years.”
— former top assistant and player at Ohio State Amy Tucker
“Really from Stanford women’s basketball not only to the professional WNBA level but even just looking at the pedigree of alum from her program that go on to do amazing things that are littered throughout the executive side of the NBA and WNBA, you just can’t deny it. She’s part of the fabric.”
— former player and current basketball broadcaster Ros Gold-Onwude
“I’m just a fan. I think she’s part of what makes a place like this so special. I think there are so many lessons to learn from anybody in any profession, especially in sports and how she does it. I know I am learning from her. It’s a privilege to be around her. I get to take my daughters to practice every now and then, I get to help with recruiting if we’re around. She sat next to my dad on my recruiting visit at breakfast like 15 years ago. She gives a lot to this university, a lot more than people understand.”
— Former Stanford and NFL quarterback Andrew Luck
“The most remarkable thing about her is she’s done it for so long. And she’s remained at such a high level of excellence. And that’s her preparation, her attention to detail is the separator. And so obviously, they have the history to recruit, so they’ve had great players, but they are very disciplined. And their attention to detail is next level and that’s what makes her who she is.”
— Oregon State coach Scott Rueck
“Tara is a good friend of mine. And I’m really proud of her and happy for her. She set such a high standard for everybody, for our whole profession. She recruits classy kids, she coaches classy. They prepare better than any team I’ve ever been around. They just do things the right way. She has set a great example. I think any young coach out there, that’s who you should watch. That’s how you should coach, and I’m really happy for them.”
— Oregon coach Kelly Graves
___ AP women’s college basketball: https://apnews.com/hub/ap-top-25-womens-college-basketball-poll and https://apnews.com/hub/womens-college-basketball
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