April 22, 2024
Locked On Women’s Basketball: A new era of Stanford WBB
By The Next
Analyst Missy Heidrick and Michelle Smith talk about Stanford's new path and other happenings in the college game
While the 2024 women’s college basketball season is over, there has been rapid movement of players in the transfer portal and coaches coming and going across the country. The biggest shockwave came from California and the retirement of Stanford head coach Tara VanDerveer after 38 seasons at The Farm and 45 overall as a head coach in women’s basketball. What is her legacy? What is next for new head coach Kate Paye and the Stanford program moving forward ? Analyst and host Missy Heidrick is joined by Michelle Smith, veteran journalist and USBWA Hall of Famer to talk about Stanford’s new path and other happenings in the college game.
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First, Michelle shares her reaction to the news of VanDerveer’s retirement, news she received while out to dinner with a friend.
“I was surprised … I thought she might take the program into the ACC before she handed it off to Kate Paye, who has been her assistance coach for 17 years and [was] a Stanford player and a Stanford lifer, really … But my understanding is — and Kate joked — that [she’ll] believe it when the news conference happens, and the news conference happened,” Smith said.
VanDerveer steps away from the program as the winningest coach in college basketball history with 1,216 victories. She led the Cardinal to three NCAA championships – 1990, 1992 and 2021 – and 14 Final Fours.
Later in the episode Missy and Michelle discuss noteworthy news from the transfer portal, the coaching carousel and much more. Don’t miss this episode!
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Here at The Next, in addition to the 24/7/365 written content our staff provides, we also host the daily Locked On Women’s Basketball podcast. Join us Monday through Saturday each week as we discuss all things WNBA, collegiate basketball, basketball history and much more. Listen wherever you find podcasts or watch on YouTube.