Tara VanDerveer Quotations

We're not a deep team. We are not going to play 10, 11 people. Our starters should be able to play 32 or 33 minutes a game, but they shouldn't have to play 40 all the time.

We did not have the intensity we needed. We did not play them well last time and it will help us coming out and being hungrier. I'm excited for UCLA. It's exciting to have new teams (in the final).

We did not have a lot of margin for error. I guess it came down to execution. I felt we had a great last shot and it went in. Candice and Brooke did a great job, but we needed a couple more contributions.

We have played more games on the road ... we've had that experience already. We're ready to play, and we know we have to play well.

She's stronger physically, she's healthy, she's rested, and she understands the pro game and how physical it is. And she seems happy, and that's really important.

She wants to win more than anything, so she'll do what it takes. A lot of people want to win, but they won't do what it takes. When your best players are your hardest workers, you have the chance to be very good.

She was the post to talk about (on Saturday). She doesn't have the dunk, but she has the hook. It's a great old-time move.

She's got great instincts. She's not the biggest, or the fastest, she's not the best shooter, but she's one of the best passers on our team. She's played well all season.

She's off to a great start of her freshman year and we're really excited at how well she is playing.

She's definitely getting more comfortable. There are certain games with Ros, where's she's two steps forward and one back. She'll have a fabulous game and you're hoping it's always going to be like that, but she's young.

She's come a long way quickly. She's the reason why we've been successful the past couple of games. She's gained the team's confidence in running the offense and she's shown great maturity.

She said it feels good, but we don't want to do too much. She practiced a little (Tuesday) and I think she was frustrated with her timing. Obviously, she is going to get back in, but it's going to be a challenge.

She is so funny. I wasn't watching the game as clear as I needed to when I was watching it with her so I told her in the second half I needed to go. She's a riot.

Ideally, I'd like to have an eight-or-nine player rotation, and I'd like to include another perimeter contributor.

I'm already thinking about how we can build on who is coming back and who is coming in. And I don't want to waste a day.

I can't remember a year when I've moved on as quickly. I made a concerted effort to do that this morning when I got up. I talked to Candice (Wiggins); I talked to my assistant coaches. I am really motivated by the fact that I don't want to be feeling this way a year from today.

If that's true, it affects everyone, and we just have to play better defense and rebound better. It's a good thing we've been beating that horse all season long, because it will put more pressure on our rebounding.

The Pac-10 tournament is a different race. I'm really pleased with the improvement of our bench. We showed more poise, more confidence. We don't want to have a short rotation for the tournament.

I think we'll mix it up. We've got a Plan A, a Plan B and a Plan C. Maybe none of them are going to work. We will try to do a lot of different things. She is so different. She is not like anyone we have played against.

I thought our players were really paying attention this week in practice. They saw her in person and they said, 'Wow! OK, we know what we need to do.

I think Candice realized, once she got going, that 'Hey, this is what I can do', and she sets a really high standard for herself. There's not too many shots she's met that she doesn't like.

I think the trend in this bracket is big-scoring posts. It seems to be the thing to have. I'm glad we have two of them (juniors Brooke Smith and Kristen Newlin).

I saw some really uncharacteristic things, too, and I'm glad we got those out of our system. I think we can do a better job offensively.

Our team does need to be aware of the significance of (the UA) game, and to be sensitive, but also be ready to play.

I was upset with some of the knucklehead plays we made early. People were trying to force things they don't usually do. In the second half, people focused better, made better decisions and we didn't turn the ball over.

It is disappointing to get this close and to see the ball go in the basket and then have it taken away from you. I just think that's a really tough way to lose a game. It really surprised me that that would be called then. ... It seems at that point it would be a no-call.

We have this thing where if we get a team down, we've got to keep them down.

We need her to keep playing like that if we are going to go far in this tournament.

We have a very different team; it's a whole new show. We have one of our most athletic teams, and that's not necessarily been a trademark of Stanford basketball.

UCLA is a dangerous team and I think the best thing we did is we stayed on top and kept pushing.

We have shot the ball very well, and I think we have (center) Brooke Smith to thank for that because she passes the ball so well. But, obviously, you have to be able to knock the shots down.

This was a huge win for us. I?m really proud of our team.

When you have a big-time player like Candice Wiggins, you just can roll the ball out there and something good will happen. I love coaching Candice. There's not another player in the country I want on this team ahead of her.

With the change in the second half, I really felt like we went with people who give us great energy. I'm just glad we have that kind of people coming off the bench.

We were exposed as not a very gritty team. We didn't go the defensive work we needed to do and that fueled their offense. This is going to be a challenge for our team and I hope it's a valuable lesson because we are going to see more of this.

We weren't sloppy. We played well down the stretch. We needed a stop or two that we didn't get. I thought we gave a good effort. Basically, the statistics were the same except for one.

We weren't going to do better than a three seed anyway. The most important thing is we're healthy and excited to be playing.

You get to this point, and you don't want the season to end.

Brooke is tough to stop one-on-one. They didn't double her a lot. She's very talented and capable of this kind of game. She was the post player to talk about today.

There's not a player in the country that I'd want on our team besides her. I think she'll have to go to Stanford for about six or seven years.

They have been up and down, but they definitely showed what they are capable of. Teams get tired of getting beat. I knew when I watched them warm up that they were serious.

There were some times that I wondered what we were doing and who this team was in the Stanford uniform. We are used to depending on our offensive execution. Tomorrow, we will go back to the drawing board.

This is the most upset I've been with this team all year. We missed some key shots and we had some knucklehead plays.

It seems like the strengths of a lot of these teams are really similar. Everybody's got excellent post players.

It's so different when you are sitting there and watching her. You get a much better sense of her game and what she does. Being able to watch her was really helpful.

The athletic director job is so demanding and I think it's changed a lot over his 15 years, but he's done a great job. You have to bring your 'A' game to work every day, and I give him credit for saying it's time for a change. It's hard to walk away from Stanford. This is a wonderful place to be. I'm happy for him that he's able to transition into something he really enjoys doing. I hope I can do that.

It's disappointing to get this close, see the ball go in the basket and get it taken away from you. In October if someone said to me that my team was going to the Elite Eight I would have jumped for joy. Right now, I can't tell you I'm jumping for joy.

Oklahoma has a great team and they played really well. It's a challenge for the players on our team, but they like challenges and our coaches like challenges, so we will do what we have to do to get ready.

It was a dagger to hear that whistle. That's a tough way to lose a game. I figured, if anything, it would be a no-call.

I'm not sure any player has had as immediate and great an impact as she has. Her numbers are incredible.

I'm really proud of how well we played.

I know after the Connecticut game, I was personally exhausted. I felt like I had a rod in my neck and I didn't sleep at all that night. Some of it was the pressure the team felt with all those seniors.

I'm surprised when she misses. I think she's going to make every one.

I'm happy we were successful and I felt like we got great contributions from different people. We rebounded well and we played good defense, but we need to do a better job offensively.

If somebody had said at the beginning of the year, or in December or January or February, that this team would go to the Elite Eight, I would have jumped for joy. But right at this second, I can't tell you that I'm jumping for joy.

In some ways, I think it was the most improved situation. She's able to show what she can do in Sacramento, and it doesn't surprise me at all.

I have said to Candice, 'You are the leader of our team. That's just the way it is. Brooke is, too.

It has helped us that the bracket is so similar. We put things in practice that everybody's done, and I feel like our team is prepared.

Candice hit some big shots in the second half and we got it going. We rushed a little bit in the first half but we settled down and that gave us some good momentum into the tournament.

I cannot think of any other freshman who has played that position and posted those kind of numbers.

Several of our players at Stanford have used the J-Glove and J-Strap with excellent results. It is a very useful training tool for the player looking to improve both their shot and their percentage. I would recommend it to anyone looking for that extra edge.

Writing a manual forces you to place your thoughts and ideas down on paper.