The Pac-10 basketball season doesn’t tip-off for the Stanford women until Jan. 2, 2010 when the Cardinal hosts Cal. Stanford coach Tara VanDerveer, in her 24th season, isn’t ready to think about that, yet. Not with consensus preseason No. 1 and defending NCAA champ Connecticut plus perennial powers Tennessee, Duke and Rutgers on the preseason schedule. The Cardinal — 33-5 a year ago after its second straight trip to the Final Four — play an exhibition game vs. Vanguard at Maples Pavilion this Sunday at 2 p.m.
“The Pac-10 season is so far down the road,” VanDerveer said. “This is the toughest preseason schedule I have ever had.”
Junior guard Jeanette Pohlen insists the Pac-10 season won’t be a comedown after such a grueling preseason slate.
“We can’t take any team lightly,” Pohlen said. “Anyone in the Pac-10 can beat you if you don’t play well.”
The Cardinal boasts one of the best frontlines in the country in 6-foot-4 senior center Jayne Appel, 6-2 sophomore forward Nnemkadi (Nneka) Ogwumike and 6-4 junior forward Kayla Pedersen. Pohlen is penned in at the two-guard position with either junior JJ Hones or senior Ros Gold-Onwude at point guard. While the Big Three up front are on strong footing, VanDerveer expects fierce competition at the guard spot with sophomore Linda La Rocque and junior Melanie Murphy pushing Hones, Gold-Onwude and Pohlen. Hones is back after missing almost all of last season with a knee injury.
“Hones is doing well,” VanDerveer said. “She’s 100 percent as far as her injury goes, but she’s not in game shape, yet. She has great point guard sense and can run a team. We’re looking for the guards to assert themselves this season. If they’re turning the ball over, they’re not going to be out there.”
VanDerveer likes the way Gold-Onwude is playing defense in practice.
“Ros is a pit bull in practice,” VanDerveer said. “The players are coming out with scratches on their arms. Ros has also really improved her outside shot.”
VanDerveer returns an experienced team led by Appel, a second team AP All-America and the reigning Pac-10 player of the year. Appel averaged 16.1 points and 9.2 rebounds per game last year, while blocking 70 shots and dishing out 108 assists. Appel is coming off knee surgery this past summer.
Pedersen (10.8 ppg, 7.8 ppg) was named Most Outstanding Player in last year’s Pac-10 tourney and was a third team all-conference selection. VanDerveer expects Ogwumike (10.6 ppg, 6.1 rpg) to have a breakout season.
“Nneka is jumping so much higher,” VanDerveer said. “She’s so much farther along now than she was at the end of last year.”
“Nneka goes up for a rebound and grabs it,” Pohlen said. “She’s playing at the rim.”
Stanford has two true freshmen — 6-3 forward Joslyn Tinkle (Big Sky High-Missoula, Mont.) and 6-3 forward Mikaela Ruef (Beavercreek High-Ohio). Tinkle, a member of the 2008 USA Women’s U-18 National Team, is expected to make an immediate impact and is learning all three frontline positions. Tinkle’s father, Wayne, is the head men’s basketball coach at the University of Montana.
“Tinkle is going to play,” VanDerveer said. “She does the little things so well. If you put Jayne Appel and Kayla Pedersen into a blender, you would have Joslyn. She has better perimeter skills than Jayne and is stronger on the block than Kayla. She’s talented, physical and can pass well.”
The season opener is Nov. 13 at Old Dominion. Stanford is searching for its 10th straight conference crown and its first NCAA title since 1992.
E-mail John Reid at                    jreid@dailynewsgroup.com.
