Stanford Cardinal Women’s basketball team’s head coach Tara VanDerveer bid farewell to the game on Tuesday. The retirement announcement brought the winningest coaching career in college basketball history to an end after a historic stint of almost 40 years. After VanDerveer announced her retirement, Cameron Brink shared her favorite ‘Tara-ism’ on Instagram while reminiscing old memories.
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VanDerveer was the most important figure for Stanford’s basketball program for over four decades and her retirement press conference was nothing short of an emotional roller coaster for fans and players alike. Apart from winning games and titles, she was also known for her witty yet impactful one-liners, which were affectionately called ‘Tara-isms’ by the players. So, as she was about to say one final goodbye to the organization, it was only fair that someone asked her to name her favorite one-liner.
During the press conference, the 70-year-old was asked to name her favorite ‘Tara-ism’ and she didn’t disappoint with her answer. After taking a few seconds to think about it, VanDerveer listed out a few of the classics. However, one that made the news and caught Brink’s attention was, “They made the movie ‘Dumb and Dumber’, and you weren’t in it.” Brink, who recently declared for the WNBA Draft, shared the ‘Tara-ism’ on her IG story and relived her days of playing under the legendary coach. Brink wrote in the caption, “I’ve heard this one a couple times.”
Tara VanDerveer is the winningest coach in college basketball history
The 70-year-old became the coach with the most number of games won earlier this season. She dethroned the legendary Coach K, Mike Krzyzewski to reach the top and finished her stellar coaching career with 1216 career wins. In her 38 years as the head coach at Stanford, VanDerveer led the team to three national championship wins. She was also named National Coach of the year five times.
“Basketball is the greatest group project there is and I am so incredibly thankful for every person who has supported me and our teams throughout my coaching career,” she said in the retirement announcement. She also said that she has been lucky to have coached some of the best players in the country and that this was an unforgettable ride for her.
