Stanford basketball: Where does Wiggins rank?
***Note: This item ran in my Saturday column in the Mercury News.
Last weekend, Stanford senior Candice Wiggins became the top scorer in conference history. This month, she will try to become the greatest player in school history.
You could argue that she already is, but there’s one item missing from her résumé: Wiggins has yet to take the Cardinal to the Final Four, much less win a national championship.
“Candice ranks up there with the very best of them,” said Cardinal Coach Tara VanDerveer, whose team faces Oregon State today in the Pacific-10 Conference quarterfinals at HP Pavilion.
“If there’s one thing she wants to do, and I want her to do, it’s put our team on her back and take us to the Final Four.”
Not surprisingly, VanDerveer declined to name a greatest player. But the discussion has to include Jennifer Azzi, Kate Starbird, Val Whiting, Kristin Folkl, Sonja Henning, Jamila Wideman, Nicole Powell and Wiggins.
All except Powell and Wiggins reached the Final Four, which is partly a function of competition. They’ve faced much tougher competition than the Stanford stars of the early-to-mid 1990s. Back then, there were only a few elite teams. Today, there are 15 or 20.
It’s also a function of surrounding talent. Azzi had Henning and Whiting. Starbird had Wideman and Folkl. Wiggins has gone without accompanying greatness.
“Some other players maybe had more around them,” VanDerveer said. But Candice would be a great player on any team.
“I knew the first day that she walked on the court. It reminded me of how the Olympic team practiced. Her intensity was phenomenal as a freshman. I was astounded at how hard she went for such a young player.
“But to say she’s the greatest in Stanford history - we’ve had so many great ones. She’s on the team of great ones.”
If she carries Stanford to the Final Four, she might be considered the greatest of the greats.
I didn’t see many of the Pre-Tara players but I did see most of the folks mentioned above. First of all, I’m glad you mentioned Val Whiting and Sonja Henning - two great players who are often overlooked in the Stanford WBB pantheon.
For my part I’d rank the Top 5 like this ….
1 Jennifer Azzi - “Created” the program and won rings. She had some great competition in those Tennessee teams and, in conference, USC.
2 Candice Wiggins - Just a joy to watch and a true competitor. Pac 10 scoring leader and the player every team game plans against. Seems to love it when the games get hot. No rings though so she’s behind Azzi. Maybe she has a chance to move up this year?
3 Nicole Powell - A great talent and a physical player. Deserves her ranking but her game didn’t seem to mesh with her teammates when the competition and tournament were on the line.
4 Val Whiting - The calm, solid center of the Cardinal championship teams who could also play “nasty” when needed.
5 Kate Starbird - You’d see her walk on the court against the big, physical teams and wonder if she’d be able to walk off. Her thin frame got thrown to the ground more times than I can count but she always picked herself up, made her freethrows and launched herself at the leagues Titans again and again. Plus, those POY awards have to count for something.
Apologies to Jamilla Wideman (great heart but perhaps not as much raw talent as the above), Folkl (should have stuck with one sport) and Henning (fell a little bit under Azzi’s shadow.)