Stanford women's basketball coach Tara VanDerveer gives her acceptance speech during the induction ceremony for the Naismith Hall of Fame last weeekend.
Quoting writer Malcolm Gladwell and thanking those who inspired her throughout her career, Cardinal Women’s basketball coach Tara VanDerveer accepts the induction into the Naismith Hall of Fame Friday, Aug. 12.
“I’m the oldest of five active children, VanDerveer said. “My parents were thinking basketball right from the get-go.
My parents supported my love of basketball even though at the time there were no teams for girls or scholarships,” she said, adding that as a young girl she and her father would analyze Celtic games.
“He would be amazed by this evening because he once told me, ‘ Tara, come in and do your homework. Do your algebra; basketball will never take you anywhere.’ I knew that algebra would never take me anywhere,” VanDerveer said.
Click the photo to watch her full speech.
