VanDerveer: No putting triangle into square box

STANFORD, Calif. – Tara VanDerveer took a quick scan of her roster suddenly devoid of a star Ogwumike sister and came to a realization: After Stanford’s latest Final Four run last spring, she would have to move away from the tried-and-true triangle offense the Cardinal ran for years.

The shift didn’t come naturally for the Hall of Fame coach, who saw no choice with the departure of Pac-12 Player of the Year Chiney Ogwumike to the WNBA to join big sister and fellow former No. 1 pick, Nneka.

So, VanDerveer called in ex-NBA coach Mike D’Antoni, Milwaukee Bucks assistant Joe Prunty, and Jenny Boucek of the Seattle Storm and sought their guidance in developing a more guard-oriented game.

“It has me totally out of my comfort zone,” VanDerveer said. “I’m a little cranky sometimes. It’s a little stressful. You lose your all-time leading scorer and rebounder, your offense gets put in a handbag and goes to hell, and you’ve got a lot of freshmen you’re counting on. I’m glad I have a long-term contract. But it’s fun.”

The No. 6 Cardinal will provide a glimpse of their new-look, up-tempo offense when they host two-time defending NCAA champion and top-ranked Connecticut on tonight at Maples Pavilion.

The Huskies are riding a 47-game winning streak after opening the season with a 102-43 victory Friday at UC Davis.

UConn coach Geno Auriemma has no idea what to expect from the Cardinal tonight.

He is counting on a competitive game.

“Tara’s smart enough to realize, ‘Well, just because it worked for this other team for these years, doesn’t mean I can make it work for this group,’ ” Auriemma said.