NCAA WOMEN'S BASKETBALL CHAMPIONSHIP FINAL FOUR: UCONN VS STANFORD

March 29, 2022

Tara VanDerveer

Target Center

Stanford Cardinal

Semi-Final Media Conference

TARA VANDERVEER: Well, we're very excited to be here. We're looking forward to a great game with Connecticut on Friday, and it's just really fun to be a real tournament.

Q. Wanted to ask you specifically about Cameron Brink. Wondering to what extent you feel like Cameron staying on the court and avoiding fouls is as much of an X factor as anything you guys do; and just related to that, how and in what ways you've been working with her to be able to do that. We've obviously seen her be able to do it more as the season has been able to go along.

TARA VANDERVEER: Well, obviously she's having a great season. If it were my choice, I'd have her on the court.

Thankfully when she has struggled with fouls, other people have stepped up. I thought Fran Belibi did a really nice job, Ashten Prechtel, and Kiki Iriafen. I think that's a little bit of a luxury right now that if she does pick up some early fouls then we can go to our bench. I don't like it, but...

Q. Especially in light of -- I think she's averaging five and a half blocks per game out of the regionals, right? Is that where the line is? Is it a question between how aggressive she is in terms of going after rim protecting, and is that where the issue comes up? I just wonder how you go about coaching that.

TARA VANDERVEER: You know, I think that what I've seen is that obviously she -- a foul is a foul, and she gets some real fouls. But she also gets some real mystery ones, and then she also gets some real knucklehead fouls. If we could really eliminate the knucklehead fouls and the mystery fouls, I think we'd be okay.

Q. I wanted to ask you, it seems that there have been more stars created, especially in this era of social media in women's college basketball, and now with NIL and corporations pushing their dollars to help drive eyes to social media and to these stars, I wanted to get your perspective on how that has helped grow the women's game. And then this opportunity in the Final Four, we have some of the biggest stars in the game in this Final Four, and what that opportunity creates in terms of growing the game and getting even more eyes on your sport.

TARA VANDERVEER: Right. I think social media definitely has helped grow the women's game. But also all the work that you all do. When you're writing stories about women's basketball, when ESPN is covering women's basketball, when highlights are on SportsCenter, I think social media is important, but mainstream media is more important.

Q. Can you talk a little bit about the opportunity with these stars and that group of high-profile teams in the Final Four to grow the game even more this weekend?

TARA VANDERVEER: Right. With the attention, with the focus, I think people have been really starved for great women's basketball. I think that the games have been so exciting. The coverage, the crowds have been great. It's going to be really a great opportunity, a great platform for the women on our team and the game itself to be showcased.

I agree that, in fact, whether it's social media or mainstream media, the Final Four is a great platform for that and for NIL.

Q. I was curious about Haley Jones and just watching the last two games, it was kind of striking to me how much she kind of runs the team and controls the action. I'm curious to speak to her evolution. Obviously she was a great player coming out of high school, but how has she grown and evolved as both a player and a leader?

TARA VANDERVEER: You know, I think you're absolutely right. The biggest the game, the more our team needs Haley and the more Haley steps up. Whether it was our Maryland game -- obviously she's played in every game, but she really has been very effective in our last two games against Maryland. She does a great job. She's a great passer, and she really is a great facilitator, and she's a very smart player, and she rebounds really well. She got the ball well for us, too.

She's helping us in all facets of the game.

Q. How does her demeanor sort of play into this? She seems particularly poised. Texas was pressing you guys and she didn't seem flustered at all. How much does that contribute to her success?

TARA VANDERVEER: Yeah, it's kind of funny because you know how sometimes you can say your strength is your weakness? There's some games I'm saying, come on, Haley. I'm trying to get her to go up, more energy, harder, but in a game like this, it's perfect because she's not overexcited, she's not flustered.

Again, I call her T Jones, Tournament Jones. She is really -- the bigger the game, the better she plays.

Q. You of course were at the 1995 Final Four, Connecticut is returning to the site where they won their first title. How iconic was that undefeated 1994-95 Connecticut team from what you remember and just the way it helped grow women's basketball, the popularity?

TARA VANDERVEER: Well, I think it was really when -- it seemed at that time that ESPN got -- kind of really got behind Connecticut having a great season. Obviously there have been a lot of -- before '95 there were tremendous players and tremendous teams, but I think television and the media really just got -- it was a groundswell, kind of tsunami of really great positive press.

The game took a big leap that year.

Q. Here at the Final Four they're recognizing the 50-year anniversary of Title IX. There are events at the Mall of America. Just your thoughts on that and the fact that the 50th anniversary is being recognized this weekend?

TARA VANDERVEER: Well, first of all, it's great to recognize Title IX. Even after 50 years, I think we have to kind of keep the pedal to the metal. There's still work to be done. It's great that we're recognizing it. It's great that we're celebrating it.

I think that it will be nice when there's not a need for it, you know, that things are so equitable and fair that Title IX is a dinosaur.

Q. Talking about those 50 years, you've been in these tournaments even as a player going back all the way to the very first ones in the AIAW. Is there a chance to appreciate reaching the Final Four knowing how difficult it can be to get to this point in these days before the games start?

TARA VANDERVEER: I think every once in a while you just have to pinch yourself and say, I'm in Minneapolis and the NCAA has made a great effort to be very welcoming for the teams, the city. You just land and you're right there. It's really exciting.

It is very different from the AIAW days, the early NCAA days. I think there's a big step up even from last year. I noticed that at the Final Four, and our team does, too.

I hope that we're really making great strides.

Q. Just over your years as a coach, obviously with every season you go in with the goal of winning a National Championship, but when you're this close and kind of when you get to this final weekend, how does that maybe change how a team responds or even how you respond to knowing that that goal is right here?

TARA VANDERVEER: You know, you don't want to make too much of it because you want to approach it as another game, so to speak, but it's absolutely thrilling. When you walk out on that floor and the NCAA -- it's beautiful. It's a little overwhelming.

You know, I think sometimes you appreciate it more when it's over. During the process you're just trying to do whatever you can to just get your team ready.

Q. I wanted to follow up on Haley Jones' role as a facilitator, and whether it was something that you noticed right off the bat that she was pretty exceptional. Is it something that grew over time and what do you think the genesis of it is, that she grew up in a basketball family, the hard work, all the stuff together?

TARA VANDERVEER: I think it's because she came to our basketball camp. I'm just kidding.

In watching her play as a young girl, she never was really stereotyped as a, quote, post player. She really epitomizes kind of no-position basketball. Even though she's one of the taller players on the court, and not so much now but when she was younger, she really has a good handle, she has her head up. She's kind of the Magic Johnson of women's basketball. She can see the court. She loves to pass. She has that personality.

Kids on the team really, they love her. They love playing with her. She has fun out there. She brings a lot of energy. She rebounds really well and just goes with the ball. As a young player, she's knocking her three down. She's just so multitalented.

Q. Are there instances where she'll throw a pass and your initial reaction is no, and then the next thing you know it's a lay-up?

TARA VANDERVEER: Well, she tried that long one against Texas and I said no, and it wasn't a lay-up, it was a turnover. Sometimes I'll say to Haley, less is more. She makes some great, great passes.

I know there are going to be some turnovers that come with that, but in some situations I do want her to be more conservative.

Q. Last year of course the whole thing was in San Antonio, and it's going to be a new scenario for even Haley, who was the MLP. But what do you explain to them about the magnitude of this and how special it can be for a long-lasting time. And the fact that you have Geno and Dawn here with you in this Final Four, how can you express to them what the magnitude of this Final Four is?

TARA VANDERVEER: You know, it's probably not something I want to do. Again, we're here, we want to play really well. I really try to focus on the basketball, not the outside noise of it.

Everyone wants tickets. The NCAA has the suite all decorated. They know it's a different environment. They know this; I don't have to explain it to them. What I want them to do is block some of that stuff out and really just play basketball. Do what we've been doing all year and really have fun and enjoying being here.

Q. I wanted to ask you a little bit about your reaction to the Connecticut game last night, particularly what Bueckers was able to do, and then if you could comment on the addition of Natasha Adair to the Pac-12.

TARA VANDERVEER: Great. Well, let me start with Natasha Adair. We're really excited she's coming to the Pac-12. She has just a great resume, great success. Last year I thought our conference was the No. 1 conference, and this year I think we slipped a little bit. We know that we have almost half of the McDonald's All-Americans coming to the Pac-12, so we know it'll be extremely competitive going forward, and we welcome Natasha and are really excited that she's coming.

As far as Connecticut, I thought they played really well last night. Obviously the game could have gone either way, but free throws down the stretch maybe were the difference.

They're really just -- it's very sad that they've had the injuries that they've had, and having an injury last night, too, you never want to see a player go down.

But they're playing very well, and we will have to play very well to beat them.

Q. Just want to get your thoughts on UConn as a team, what you know about them so far, and just kind of in general how you feel your squad matches up against them.

TARA VANDERVEER: Well, we're really excited to play them. They're a very talented team. We know that. I think we match up very well.

We both played great competition. We're experienced teams. I think we play similar styles, and we know that the team that does their thing better will win. So we know that we have to play very well. You have to do the usual stuff. You have to take care of the basketball, take good shots, rebound, play great defense. But we're excited.

Q. A couple minutes ago you had mentioned -- you had answered a Title IX question and you mentioned the importance of keeping the pedal to the metal. My question is I think you spent most of your career as a college player and the early part of your head coaching career in the AIAW and then there was a switch. I think the NCAA was almost compelled by Title IX, almost forced into taking it over. There's always a question when you do something because you're forced to do it as opposed to that your heart is in it, you do have to keep the pedal to the metal. My question is 40 years later, all things considered, do you think that the NCAA's heart is finally in it in terms of caring for women and about women?

TARA VANDERVEER: You know, I want to hope so. I want to be optimistic. I think it's just like -- what we experienced last year was really painful. I can't say that last year I felt that the heart was in it.

I think that part of it was the fact that the finances are -- they're so compelling to just do men's sports, just do men's basketball. But I think it's short-sighted because women's basketball has so much upside. I hope that the NCAA leaders -- I want to be optimistic, and I think it was great that they did the Kaplan report to show that we are, in fact, not living up to our promise to women athletes, that the NCAA is for both men and women, and we're going to do a great job, and I hope that's the direction we're going in.

Again, last year I would say no, I don't feel the heart was in it. This year I hope it is.

Q. Just to put a bullet on that point, the founding principle of AIAW was simply for women, by women. Is there still something to be said for that? That probably will never happen again, that type of organization, but is there something to be said for that idea in terms of control, for women, by women?

TARA VANDERVEER: Well, I think that it's really important that more women are involved as administrators, that are decision makers that will make great decisions. This might be a little off track, but the AIAW, they had rules about recruiting, that men at the time just said, oh, we had limits. Well, now of course we do the same thing that AIAW said. But I do think we need great female leadership as part of athletics, as part of the NCAA and part of college campuses, too, and great male administrators that have daughters and that are looking at it through a different lens of being fair for women and doing things for them.

Q. You were talking a few minutes ago about how often you've gotten to this point and to this stage. I don't want to rehash it entirely, but I just wonder does it ever feel routine? Does it ever feel not special?

TARA VANDERVEER: Not at all. Not at all. I mean, it is absolutely thrilling. I'm a 10-year-old waking up to Christmas. It never gets old. Never.

I'm so excited. I think part of it is you're with a different team every time, so it's really exciting with each team that you're able to bring.

Q. How has it been on campus recently? Obviously the pandemic, but so many marquee Stanford women's athletes across many sports, the basketball program, the swimming program, the soccer program, et cetera? How has it been on campus and being part of that?

TARA VANDERVEER: You know, when I first went to Stanford, it was really intimidating because there was so much success with volleyball, with tennis, with swimming. But now I think we just feel like we're part of the great women's athletics at Stanford.

I'm the most tenured coach at Stanford now, and I just feel like women's basketball, we're not the weak link.

Q. Just curious what matchup that concerns you the most against UConn on Friday night, which matchup would that be?

TARA VANDERVEER: All of them. (Laughing).

You know, they have a great team. But they have to guard us. I think that our team has -- we have great weapons, Cam, Haley. Lexie is playing extremely well, Anna Wilson. We have a deep bench. I would say maybe our advantage might be we can go deeper and we can be maybe more aggressive with that.

Every player on the court is a quality player, talented player, and it's also not so much the individual match-ups but their ability to play together.

While I have everyone on, no one has asked about this, but could I make a pitch for my three-point challenge so that people are aware of that, or if you're not, someone could ask a question about that. But basically I just feel like part of women's basketball and part of women athletes, whether it's the WNBA or our college students, we're aware of the world that we live in, too, and as a coach, I took our team to Ukraine.

And what's happening in Ukraine is so heartbreaking that I've asked coaches and reporters, too, to join a challenge. For every three-point shot made I'm going to give $10 to three different -- divide up the money to three different humanitarian aid -- and I have a website that I haven't done but someone else did for me just so that we can maybe make a difference as a women's basketball world, as women's basketball coaches.

I just wanted to put that out there to everybody, and if anyone has a question about it I'm happy to answer. But go ahead and ask any other questions.

Q. Just wanted to ask a little bit about Lexie. She's the leading scorer in this tournament and a lot of people talk about Haley and Cameron as sort of your stars. But Lexie has played really well, had 36 against Kansas, and then two really good games in the regionals. You always talk about your defense starts with her and with Lacie. What about Lexie in this tournament has allowed her to be so successful and what about this moment has brought out the best in her?

TARA VANDERVEER: Well, I think it just goes to the fact that she and Lacie are -- she is extremely competitive. She just does not want to lose. She just wants to win.

I mean, she'll get on the floor for the ball, she's scrappy, she plays with great intensity. I think it just goes back to the twins playing on their driveway. One of them would come in bloodied and crying because the other one won. But she has no quit in her. She's really playing great, getting out -- she works at every aspect of the game. She rebounds. She plays defense, and she's scoring.

Q. Based off your last statement, what are those three aid relief companies, and what did you see in those companies that you selected them to have the money go to?

TARA VANDERVEER: I went to Charity Navigator. It's GlobalGiving, AmeriCares, and it's a children's relief, and they were all four star out of four star humanitarian aid groups.

Really as long as it's a reputable humanitarian aid, I was excited about it. So it's not like specifically has to go to that. But I'm really excited for the Connecticut writers on the call. Breanna Stewart matched with $20,000, and for the Auburn writers or southern writers, Charles Barkley ponied up for $25,000.

I'm really excited about all the different coaches, and I'm definitely going to talk to Geno and Dawn because I know they have big contracts.

Q. I wanted to follow up from earlier about the focus of the players. How do you get the players to stay focused with the temptation of social media, both the good and the bad whether either they're being talked up or being talked down?

TARA VANDERVEER: You know, it is a different world we're living in. Coming to the Final Four in 1990, which was my first Final Four, that was over 30 years ago. There were no cell phones, there were no computers. We didn't have a Zoom conference call. It's a different world.

But these are young people that they're used to this world. So they're used to a lot of social media stuff.

A lot of it is -- we just try to interact as a group and just keep our focus in our team and not get distracted with things. I don't know that we talk about it a lot, but we talk about it a little bit, and just try to have people have fun being together and enjoy playing. Keep it simple.

Q. Do you know the URL of your site? And when were you guys in Ukraine, and did you play local teams there?

TARA VANDERVEER: I'll start with the first question. We were in Ukraine in 1996. I was there with the U.S. Olympic team, and it was the national team at the time. We were playing in a tournament, and we got to know the Ukrainian players because we played them like 10 times. I affectionately called them our cousins, we played them so much.

But we were in Kiev and we were driving and they had like a monument and the guy has got his fist up. And I asked one of my assistant coaches, what is this. Of course she didn't know, and she said, it's just like party on. So as soon as this stuff started happening, I called her, Nell Fortner, she's the Georgia Tech coach, I said, Nell, they're not partying now, we need to do something. Our team was so generous all the time. Like the Cuban team would call, Dawn Staley -- you can ask Dawn about this -- and Dawn and Lisa would get clothes and give them to the Cuban team. We did this also in Ukraine. When we were leaving there were women outside at 3:30 in the morning waiting for us to give them money and clothes, and we did.

We just felt we had to do stuff. The first one is SaveTheChildren.org, the second one is AmeriCares.org and GlobalGiving.org. The website is www.Taras3ptchallenge.com.