Stanford’s Vanderveer To Be Named Usa National Team Coach

Tara VanDerveer, who has guided her Stanford teams to eight straight NCAA Tournament appearances, is expected to be named coach of USA Basketball’s national team at a news conference today.

VanDerveer, 42, will oversee preparation of the team for the 1996 Olympics in Atlanta. Her national team coaching duties involve a full-time commitment for about a year, and Stanford officials weren’t saying how she would be replaced while she’s gone.

Other candidates for the job were North Carolina’s Sylvia Hatchell and Iowa’s Vivian Stringer.

VanDerveer, who previously coached at Idaho, has been at Stanford for 10 years. The Cardinal has been to the Final Four four times in the 1990s, winning national titles in 1990 and 1992. This year’s squad finished 30-3, losing to eventual national champion Connecticut in the semis.

VanDerveer has a career record of 403-113.

Last summer, she coached the women’s team to a bronze medal in the World Championship games in Australia and a gold medal at the Goodwill Games in St. Petersburg, Russia.