Wednesday, March 19, 1997 | 11:59 a.m.
"I feel I've been a distraction, in a way," said VanDerveer, who has led the third-ranked Cardinal to the NCAA West Regional semifinals. "I don't want to be the story of our team. I didn't want to pick up the paper and read speculation about me, when we're playing games."
VanDerveer, who led Stanford to national titles in 1990 and 1992, said she spoke to five or six teams in the women's American Basketball League and the WNBA, along with a team in the men's Continental Basketball Association.
She described some of the contacts as "just polite conversations," but she admitted she was tempted.
"I definitely was thinking about it," she said. "It's still something I could see in my future. Some of it is letting the women's pro situation shake out a little."
VanDerveer has been with Stanford since 1985. She took the 1995-96 season off to coach the Olympic team.
Tuesday's announcement of the new contract came a day after the Cardinal reached the final 16 in the NCAA women's tournament for the 10th straight year. Stanford plays Virginia on Saturday night.
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