Class of 2002 – Women's Basketball Hall of Fame

Tara VanDerveer

Guided Stanford University to a pair of NCAA national championship titles in 1990 and 1992
Took a year’s sabbatical from Stanford to direct the U.S. National Team to a 52-0 worksheet in pre-Olympic competition as well as an 8-0 mark in the Olympics en route to winning the 1996 Olympic gold medal for women’s basketball in Atlanta
Other international experience includes leading the United States to gold medals in the 1991 World University Games and 1994 Goodwill Games and a bronze medal at the 1994 World Championships
Record for 22 seasons on the collegiate level stands at 548-156, including stints at the University of Idaho and Ohio State University
Tabbed as National Coach of the Year by the Women’s Basketball Coaches Association in 1989 and as the Naismith Coach of the Year in 1990
Has also been recognized as Coach of the Year by both the Big Ten (1984 and 1985) and Pac-10 (1989, 1990, 1995 and 2002) conferences
Has won 10 Pac-10 conference titles in 15 seasons at Stanford

Venerable coaching veteran who posted a 415-224 ledger in 21 seasons on the collegiate level
Won a pair of AIAW championships (1979 and 1980) as well as an NCAA crown (1985) as the head coach at Old Dominion University
Coaching vita also includes stints as the head coach at the University of Pennsylvania, the University of Southern California, and the University of California as well as an assistant with the Los Angeles Sparks and the Washington Mystics in the WNBA
Garnered Kodak All-America distinction during her playing days in both her junior and senior years at Immaculata in 1975 and 1976 after leading the Mighty Macs to AIAW national championship titles in 1973 and 1974
International coaching experience includes serving as head coach of USA squad that competed in the 1985 Women’s Junior World Championships as well as assisting with the USA team that captured the gold medal in both the World Championships and Goodwill Games in 1986 and the bronze medal in the 1991 Pan American Games
Named head coach of the WNBA’s Washington Mystics in April 2002

Recognized by the National Association of Collegiate Directors of Athletics (NACDA) as one of 15 people who have significantly influenced the growth of women’s athletics since 1972
Served as Chief of Mission or Team Leader for 13 international competitions for USA Basketball, including the 1980 Olympics
Served as ABAUSA’s Vice President for Women and Chair of the Women’s Games Committee after joining the Games Committee as a charter member in 1975
Is a past member of the U.S. Olympic Committee’s Board of Directors and House of Delegates
Holds the honor of being the first female to be named to FIBA’s Central Board and to serve as president of its Women’s Commission; to be elected president of the National Junior College Athletic Association (NJCAA); and to receive the Edward S. Steitz Award from USA Basketball
Became the first woman to receive a lifetime officiating license from FIBA

Legendary coach at Duncanville (Texas) High School
Registered a 743-120 record in 25 seasons at Duncanville, guiding the Pantherettes to four state titles, including three consecutive, as well as district titles in each of those years
Overall record, which also included stints at Castleberry and Olton High Schools, was 906-227, placing her sixth on the list of all-time leaders for girls’ basketball in the National High School Sports Records Book
Won 134 consecutive games during the course of four seasons (1987-91)
Selected as the WBCA National High School Coach of the Year in 1991 and the Texas Association of Basketball Coaches Coach of the Year in 1989 and 1990

A basketball icon in her homeland of Brazil
Has earned international acclaim and adoration throughout her country as one of the sport’s all-time greats
A two-time Olympian, guiding Brazil to a silver medal in the 1996 Olympic Games in Atlanta after posting a seventh-place showing in 1992 in Barcelona
Played a dominant role in Brazil claiming the title of World Champion in 1994, garnering recognition as the best guard in the world
Has also collected three medals in Pan American Games competitions with a gold in 1991, a silver in 1987, and a bronze in 1983

A defensive stalwart during the era of half-court basketball
Earned All-America recognition eight times during her 10-year AAU career
Was selected as the MVP of the 1948 AAU National Tournament
Played on five AAU national championship teams (Vultee Aircraft Bomberettes in 1944 and 1945 and Cooks’ Goldblumes in 1946, 1948, and 1949) as well as national runners-up with Nashville Business College (1940 and 1941) and Goldblumes (1947)

A two-time Kodak All-American at the University of Texas
Guided the Longhorns to a perfect 34-0 record as the point guard on Texas’ 1986 NCAA Championship squad
Senior season honors included selection as the Wade Trophy, Honda-Broderick Cup, and Frances Pomeroy Naismith Award winner
Dished out 776 assists during her collegiate career, a University of Texas record
Earned a gold medal as a member of the 1988 U.S. Olympic team in Seoul
Also garnered gold medals as a member of USA teams that competed in the 1986 Goodwill Games, 1986 World Championships, and 1987 Pan American Games
Played professionally in the Italian Basketball League

Played on the 1976 U.S. Olympic Team, earning a silver medal in the first Olympic basketball competition for women
Became the first female in the state of Georgia to receive a full athletic scholarship on the collegiate level
Was a three-time Kodak All-American, receiving the accolade as a freshman at Mercer University and then duplicating the feat her junior and senior years at the University of Tennessee
Ranked second in AIAW career scoring with 3,204 points and 11th in AIAW career scoring average, averaging 25.0 ppg
Career statistics also include 1,028 rebounds (8.3 rpg) as well as a 50.0 field goal percentage and an 82.7 free throw percentage
Played professionally with New Orleans in the Women’s Professional Basketball League (WBL)