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10 Best Players in the Vanderveer Era - Lorcan - 12-15-2020

https://www.espn.com/womens-college-basketball/story/_/id/30520195/tara-vanderveer-stanford-women-college-basketball-ranking-10-best-all-cardinal-players


I'll give you a hint: #1 is NOT Jennifer Azzi. 

It's an interesting list, I'm not sure that I'd wholly agree with some of the list but I can potentially see where the argument was made. It's surprising to me that Pohlen is not on the list despite how impactful she was in two of Stanford's biggest games in my recent memory with ending the streak against UConn along with the 4.4 seconds against Xavier.

RE: 10 Best Players in the Vanderveer Era - BobK - 12-15-2020

So many great players. Jayne Appel being a top 10

Pohlen always on my top 10

RE: 10 Best Players in the Vanderveer Era - BostonCard - 12-15-2020

It is so hard to compare those top players because they are so different.  I mean, how much credit do you give to Powell's versatility and the fact that she could be a point forward?  Crazy that players like Pohlen, the Smiths (Brooke and Alana), Karlie Samuelson, Kayla Pedereson and Kristin Folkl are off the list (not that I think they deserve to be displace players on the list, just that it goes to show how many great players we've had).

When all is said and done, I wonder how many of the players currently on the team will wind up in that top 10.  I think Jones (barring more injuries) is on a trajectory to end up in the top-10.  Brink and Belibi have potential, but given the names on there, the bar is going to be high.  

BC

RE: 10 Best Players in the Vanderveer Era - teejers1 - 12-15-2020

(12-15-2020, 11:25 AM)BostonCard Wrote:  It is so hard to compare those top players because they are so different.  I mean, how much credit do you give to Powell's versatility and the fact that she could be a point forward?  Crazy that players like Pohlen, the Smiths (Brooke and Alana), Karlie Samuelson, Kayla Pedereson and Kristin Folkl are off the list (not that I think they deserve to be displace players on the list, just that it goes to show how many great players we've had).

When all is said and done, I wonder how many of the players currently on the team will wind up in that top 10.  I think Jones (barring more injuries) is on a trajectory to end up in the top-10.  Brink and Belibi have potential, but given the names on there, the bar is going to be high.  

BC

The Top 5, maybe 6, are locks (though I wouldn't necessarily order them that way);
Folkl has to be on the list, imo.  But you had to see her play to appreciate that;
Agree with point about current team members potentially working their ways into the Top 10.  (And Kiana is perhaps a bit underrated in these parts).

BTW, glue/intangible players (like Nick Robinson on the men's side) will never end up in these kinds of lists; however, they are indispensable players.  From yesteryear, I'd put Harmon on that list and probably Lexie from more recent vintage.  Am sure there are lots of others that might fit that bill, too.  Loved both Jamila and Milena as PGs, but I typically don't think of PGs as glue players, even though they are quite often indispensable.

RE: 10 Best Players in the Vanderveer Era - OutsiderFan - 12-15-2020

The real important question: Where will Haley Jones rank when her career is over?

The fact three of the Top 10 were on the same team that won Stanford's only NCAA titles pretty much tells you what it takes to win one. Even having both Oguimikes at once wasn't enough to win one.  

Wiggins was the best combination of pure athleticism, size, and skill for sure, so hard to argue her being #1, but I'd put Azzi higher because she led the team to two titles. Just unreal that she came from Tennessee. Stanford would have 0 titles had she stayed home to play for Summit.

RE: 10 Best Players in the Vanderveer Era - bl82 - 12-15-2020

(12-15-2020, 12:51 PM)OutsiderFan Wrote:  The real important question: Where will Haley Jones rank when her career is over?

Agreed. Haley is easily in the top 3-5 in terms of pure talent, has Powell-level versatility and yet I don't see any sort of ceiling in her play. Incredibly, she makes everyone better more than almost all the PGs that have come through here. If she could develop a consistent three pointer, I'd say she would be a lock for the top three.

RE: 10 Best Players in the Vanderveer Era - BostonCard - 12-15-2020

(12-15-2020, 12:20 PM)teejers1 Wrote:  
(12-15-2020, 11:25 AM)BostonCard Wrote:  It is so hard to compare those top players because they are so different.  I mean, how much credit do you give to Powell's versatility and the fact that she could be a point forward?  Crazy that players like Pohlen, the Smiths (Brooke and Alana), Karlie Samuelson, Kayla Pedereson and Kristin Folkl are off the list (not that I think they deserve to be displace players on the list, just that it goes to show how many great players we've had).

When all is said and done, I wonder how many of the players currently on the team will wind up in that top 10.  I think Jones (barring more injuries) is on a trajectory to end up in the top-10.  Brink and Belibi have potential, but given the names on there, the bar is going to be high.  

BC

The Top 5, maybe 6, are locks (though I wouldn't necessarily order them that way);
Folkl has to be on the list, imo.  But you had to see her play to appreciate that;
Agree with point about current team members potentially working their ways into the Top 10.  (And Kiana is perhaps a bit underrated in these parts).

BTW, glue/intangible players (like Nick Robinson on the men's side) will never end up in these kinds of lists; however, they are indispensable players.  From yesteryear, I'd put Harmon on that list and probably Lexie from more recent vintage.  Am sure there are lots of others that might fit that bill, too.  Loved both Jamila and Milena as PGs, but I typically don't think of PGs as glue players, even though they are quite often indispensable.

Crap, Teejers and I completely agree, the end of days is neigh. I really wonder how far that 1998 team would have gone had Folkl and Nygaard not suffered ACL tears right before the tournament.

One other thing about Folkl (We were in the same dorm my senior year) is that she was the most genuinely humble and down to earth person I met at Stanford (athlete or not).

I see from her wiki that she gave birth to a son in 2006... Thinking about recruiting in 2024, I wonder if he's into basketball or volleyball.

BC

RE: 10 Best Players in the Vanderveer Era - BobK - 12-15-2020

Hard to pick a top ten after the first 5 so my favorites

Jennifer Azzi
Molly Goodenbaur
Kate Starbird
Candice Wiggins
JJ Hones
Jeanette Pohlen
Jayne Appel
Chiney
Nneka
Brittany McPhee

And that was hard

RE: 10 Best Players in the Vanderveer Era - UltimateCard - 12-15-2020

(12-15-2020, 12:51 PM)OutsiderFan Wrote:  I'd put Azzi higher because she led the team to two titles. Just unreal that she came from Tennessee. Stanford would have 0 titles had she stayed home to play for Summit.

Yes, zero if Azzi stayed home but Summit didn’t recruit her. Jennifer only won the title in ‘90, her senior year (Molly led the ‘92 team).

RE: 10 Best Players in the Vanderveer Era - CompSci87 - 12-15-2020

(12-15-2020, 10:05 PM)UltimateCard Wrote:  
(12-15-2020, 12:51 PM)OutsiderFan Wrote:  I'd put Azzi higher because she led the team to two titles. Just unreal that she came from Tennessee. Stanford would have 0 titles had she stayed home to play for Summit.

Yes, zero if Azzi stayed home but Summit didn’t recruit her. Jennifer only won the title in ‘90, her senior year (Molly led the ‘92 team).

That's a story Beth and Debbie missed on the telecast; they mistakenly said that Azzi had the choice between Stanford and Tennessee. Not recruiting her was a big miss by Pat. I wonder how that happened.

TheWildJacko - TheWildJacko - 12-16-2020

Pedersen was on the list!

RE: 10 Best Players in the Vanderveer Era - M T - 12-16-2020

Tara has been so good for so long, that I'd have to put at least 20 players on her top 10 list.

RE: 10 Best Players in the Vanderveer Era - BostonCard - 12-16-2020

(12-16-2020, 06:34 AM)M T Wrote:  Tara has been so good for so long, that I'd have to put at least 20 players on her top 10 list.

That should be the question... who are the next ten?

BC

RE: 10 Best Players in the Vanderveer Era - FarmBoy - 12-16-2020

Agree that Folk could easily be on this list. Probably only thing holding her back is that she had to split her time with volleyball. Probably one of the top athletes at Stanford all time.

RE: 10 Best Players in the Vanderveer Era - Phogge - 12-16-2020

Surprised that nobody mentioned Henning but I guess most of you are under 45. Bobbbbb you knew Naismith what do you think.

RE: 10 Best Players in the Vanderveer Era - 81alum - 12-16-2020

(12-16-2020, 06:34 AM)M T Wrote:  Tara has been so good for so long, that I'd have to put at least 20 players on her top 10 list.
I would entirely agree!

We have had a few of these "top 10" lists in WBB before, and they always turn into a "top 15" since you can have 15 on a team, etc.

How about a "top 5."  The problem is that you can pick the 5 best players, but the 5 best players might not make the best team.  What if you took the five best players, allocated by position 5-4-3-2-1.  

Then do you pick them on the basis of absolute ability, or on the basis of their impact in their day?  Wiggins may have been better than Azzi, but had less of an impact on the program.

So many permutations on how to pick the best, with the final answer always being the same--you can't really.

RE: 10 Best Players in the Vanderveer Era - BobK - 12-16-2020

Henning was outstanding and many forget that Azzi moved to the two at one point and Henning was the Point. She has been for years a lawyer.

My list was purely my favorite players.

Henning would be in my top 20

RE: 10 Best Players in the Vanderveer Era - teejers1 - 12-16-2020

(12-16-2020, 10:05 AM)BobK Wrote:  Henning  was outstanding and many forget that Azzi moved to the two at one point and Henning was the Point.  She has been for years a lawyer. 

My list was purely my favorite players. 

Henning would be in my top 20

Even a Top 20 would be hard . . . A ton of good players, virtually all of whom were very easy to root for.

RE: 10 Best Players in the Vanderveer Era - JustAnotherFan - 12-16-2020

What would make this list better is if there was a "where are they now" followup.

RE: 10 Best Players in the Vanderveer Era - Spiny_Norman - 12-16-2020

(12-16-2020, 10:53 AM)JustAnotherFan Wrote:  What would make this list better is if there was a "where are they now" followup.

Ah but you can see for yourself here - https://www.stanfordfbc.org/FBCFiles/alumni_chronological.htm