Duke Considers (and Hires) Kara Lawson for HC [merged thread] | Page 3 | The Boneyard

Duke Considers (and Hires) Kara Lawson for HC [merged thread]

victor64 said:
I think Carla Berube at Princeton and Marissa Moseley at BU should be added to the list. Now more than ever the virus needs to go away. Women's basketball keeps getting better and better.
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Good coaches but was listing new coaches at big time programs which have had a history of success on the big stage. All of the above programs have made a Final Four in the past 20 years and have a more realistic shot to become a national power. Berube/Moseley have great starts but Princeton/BU are unlikely to ever compete for a Final Four.
 
JonathanXIV said:
Why? Duke is low on talent and has, in fairness, an unproven coach. Alternatively can play with a stacked lineup, in a system suited for her game, for the best coach in history. I think the smart decision is to end up in Storrs.
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Because first of all she can be like Lobo was to Uconn..second because Duke is a magnificent place to be...I can't tell you how much pride I feel being able to tell anyone who asks me where I went to school and I say Dook....
 
I am personally delighted to see Kara take over the reigns at Duke.
Who can doubt her BB savvy, or intelligence?
She's been a fav on this board for years; her Tennessee ties forgiven.

Still, as she must be aware, there are additional responsibilities for which her record is unknown. namely recruiting and her ability to relate to the current crop of talented and (in Duke) brainy, teen-age, young woman.

As with every new coach, the jury is out...in her case, there is some expectation that she will prevail.
 
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sdhoops said:
I am a UConn fan. I lost "friends" defending my Huskies to the death. I'm also realistic and know we can't get everybody...keywords: "I'd be.." and "if." I didn't say "I hope" or "she will" or "F the Huskies."
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Say what you will...but with UConn fans dying for Azzi to attend our flagship university , it certainly didn’t leave the impression you were a solid UConn supporter. Just saying.
 
bluedevil said:
Because first of all she can be like Lobo was to Uconn..second because Duke is a magnificent place to be...I can't tell you how much pride I feel being able to tell anyone who asks me where I went to school and I say Dook....
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Duke now is not in the formative stage that UConn was when Lobo was there. It’s rebuilding. Duke has had AA’s before. And even Lobo was teamed with two future Players of the year. And as for UConn, trust me I feel every bit as much pride saying I attended UConn.
 
The ink is barely dry on her contract, and some folks are already questioning if she will be successful, and how quickly that success will come. Coaches are judged by how many championships they win. I wonder how many fans and WCBB critics will deem Lawson a failure if she doesn’t win right away? She must be given time to recruit her own players and given time to blend them into a functional unit.

How many years did it take Geno to win his first one? It took Mulkey 5 years to win her first one at Baylor in 2005. Staley won her first NC in her 17th year as a coach. Lawson should not be judged until she’s had time to get all of the players she inherited out, and her players in.

Any talk of Duke seriously challenging UConn in the next few years is speculative. Duke must catch and pass all of the programs ranked beneath UConn first.

Congratulations Kara Lawson as you begin the next phase of your life and coaching career. Blue Devil Nation and all of your fans are with you. Show them how it’s done. :)
 
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Good News is that the bar at Duke may not be as high as it used to be with Coach K's team lately under-performing. relative to their talent. I know it is not the coaches fault since it is one and done but ....;)
 
RSHERMVIKES said:
Kara Lawson is a huge hire for Duke!
It will take her and her NEW staff and their players a while to all get on the same page!
But have no doubts that as Kara gets settled in the program will improve!
I disliked Kara as a player at TN because of Kara's competitive spirit and intelligence, but those are the reasons she'll become a really good head coach! She knows her Basketball!
She has been a success where ever she was, player, announcer, asst. coach with the Boston Celtics and now she'll be a success in time at Duke.
She'll also be a big-time recruiter with her name recognition factor as a key!
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Be honest if you are the the parent of a highly recruited young women basketball player, and Kara Lawson offers her a scholarship to Duke, wouldn' t you want her to accept? Any parent would want their daughter to turn out like Kara.
 
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baggerbob said:
Be honest if you are the the parent of a highly recruited young women basketball player, and Kara Lawson offers her a scholarship to Duke, wouldn' t you want her to accept? Any parent would want their daughter to turn out like Kara.
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You'd want your daughter to be happy. There are other great schools and great and/or potentially great coaches besides Duke and Kara.
 
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JonathanXIV said:
Duke now is not in the formative stage that UConn was when Lobo was there. It’s rebuilding. Duke has had AA’s before. And even Lobo was teamed with two future Players of the year. And as for UConn, trust me I feel every bit as much pride saying I attended UConn.
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How many national championships before Lobo?..same as Dook women have...Fudd could be the catalyst to a National Champ...that's my point...not trying to take anything away from my sister's alma mater ...
 
Husky pride said:
Say what you will...but with UConn fans dying for Azzi to attend our flagship university , it certainly didn’t leave the impression you were a solid UConn supporter. Just saying.
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I think I get what he or she was trying to say. And definitely it seems he or she is a huge enormous huge fan. But still . . . taking a step back -- the answer is "NO!" NO! I wouldn't be "happy" -- AT ALL - if Azzi went to Duke or anywhere else other than UCONN.

I get "if she didn't go then so-and-so-school is fine," in terms of being a good sport/ showing sportsmanship etc. But these games are about competition. And speaking as a fan-- no it's not "happiness." I don't understand how it could be. How many UCONN fans were happy this year to see Ionescu-led team beat UCONN? Or Boston and others from South Carolina beat UCONN? How about we lost Lauren Cox years ago- we were happy she ended up eventually beating us and wining a championship?

I'm all for sportsmanship and respect. Something I felt a certain Notre Dame Coach lacked after a certain point in time. However, for me, there is a line drawn for healthy respect and wanting my team to win. Azzi as a soph got an award for best High School basketball player. As a soph. That's super. Possibly Haley Jones might have been the best but the point is Azzi is extremely extremely extremely unusual. In basketball - one player is enormous. Not all number 1 recruits are the same. I can respect a decision but I'm not going to be happy about potentially having South Carolina favored to win going forward (if UCONN doesn't get Azzi), along with maybe some day Azzi the potential phenom may wipe our team out. That's not happiness in any sense.

Further, I can acknowledge that my team cannot win a championship every year and respect other champions. But it doesn't mean I have to like it or be happy for another team.
 
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baggerbob said:
Be honest if you are the the parent of a highly recruited young women basketball player, and Kara Lawson offers her a scholarship to Duke, wouldn' t you want her to accept? Any parent would want their daughter to turn out like Kara.
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Could be but my advice to any top recruit would be to go to a major program where they had an idea who they would be playing with and where I knew the coach's skills and style. It will likely take Kara 2-3 years to build her team and prove herself - too many risks for many recruits.
 
baggerbob said:
Be honest if you are the the parent of a highly recruited young women basketball player, and Kara Lawson offers her a scholarship to Duke, wouldn' t you want her to accept? Any parent would want their daughter to turn out like Kara.
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It’s not like Duke is the only good situation for a young player (I think that Maya Moore kid turned out okay) and Kara is the only role model. I don’t think it’s an automatic yes like you suggest.
 
JordyG said:
I've been cooking at home since COVID. Eating out is an intellectual luxury my objective health still fears. But I did finally have a visitor come into my house yesterday so that's a start.
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Just contact trace everyone your friends have seen for the last 3 weeks and then throw a party for tthem Works fine and you get to meet a great bunch of strangers, some in the ICU.
 
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My thoughts on Fudd. She can be a superstar at UConn with the players surrounding her. They will make her better because they are that good and from a team standpoint you have to guard them one on one. Duke is rebuilding without any nucleaus of players. If Fudd were to go there she would be it and opponents would key on her. Playing would be difficult. At UConn it would flow because of the players there and coming in over the next 3 years. Duke doesnt have anyting coming in yet next year let alone the next 3 years.

Im not concerned either way. If Fudd comes to UConn its NC's lights out. If she doesnt and goes to Duke it wont hurt UConn it may hurt her because Duke cant build that fast. Duke will be playing catch up over the next few years and thats not catch up to UConn but SC Baylor Stanford too. Its alot of work to build a program in this era. Im not worried about UConn...Weve God Geno and he has a proven record and a proven roster for then next 5-6 years
 
Tonyc said:
My thoughts on Fudd. She can be a superstar at UConn with the players surrounding her. They will make her better because they are that good and from a team standpoint you have to guard them one on one. Duke is rebuilding without any nucleaus of players. If Fudd were to go there she would be it and opponents would key on her. Playing would be difficult. At UConn it would flow because of the players there and coming in over the next 3 years. Duke doesnt have anyting coming in yet next year let alone the next 3 years.

Im not concerned either way. If Fudd comes to UConn its NC's lights out. If she doesnt and goes to Duke it wont hurt UConn it may hurt her because Duke cant build that fast. Duke will be playing catch up over the next few years and thats not catch up to UConn but SC Baylor Stanford too. Its alot of work to build a program in this era. Im not worried about UConn...Weve God Geno and he has a proven record and a proven roster for then next 5-6 years.
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If Azzi chooses to go to Duke it would be crazy to think other blue chip prospects would not follow her there rather quickly. Azzi going to Duke is not likely to happen, but is a "rebuild" that starts with Azzi really a rebuild? It could be more like a spark that starts a forest fire. Given the current college landscape I'm concerned if Azzi doesn't end up at UCONN.
 
Plebe said:
I take it the Duke fans are no longer bent out of shape about not getting Goestenkors?
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Yeah.... the natives are no longer restless. It saves me a trip to the Athletic Directors office with a pitchfork old rake in hand. :p Imagine going to bed thinking that Beth Cunningham would be hired and waking up finding out Kara Lawson is the leading contender. No disrespect to Cunningham or ND intended :rolleyes: ....
 
Does Azzi have some Duke connection I've missed? Or is all this discussion based solely on Kara hiring on as head coach? Sure, a nice hire, but so earthshaking that Azzi will scrap any other thoughts she had on where to play college ball? I have a hard time believing that. She can pick and choose any program in the country and Duke isn't at present all that great an option. A lovely campus if you are into faux Gothic, but as the place to develop her game, showcase her talents, win a NC, be a #1 WNBA draft choice? I don't think so.
 
and one said:
Does Azzi have some Duke connection I've missed? Or is all this discussion based solely on Kara hiring on as head coach? Sure, a nice hire, but so earthshaking that Azzi will scrap any other thoughts she had on where to play college ball? I have a hard time believing that. She can pick and choose any program in the country and Duke isn't at present all that great an option. A lovely campus if you are into faux Gothic, but as the place to develop her game, showcase her talents, win a NC, be a #1 WNBA draft choice? I don't think so.
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Think of it this way-ND was rumored to be high on Azzi's list. When Muffet retired and Niele was hired at ND did we hear Azzi tweeting anything? Just sayin-we sure heard from her on this Duke hire.
BTW much like Stewie I believe Azzi has an outstanding chance of being #1 WNBA pick regardless of where she goes to school.
 
CocoHusky said:
Think of it this way-ND was rumored to be high on Azzi's list. When Muffet retired and Niele was hired at ND did we hear Azzi tweeting anything? Just sayin-we sure heard from her on this Duke hire.
BTW much like Stewie I believe Azzi has an outstanding chance of being #1 WNBA pick regardless of where she goes to school.
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Actually, Tim Fudd tweeted about Muffet stepping down.
 
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and one said:
Does Azzi have some Duke connection I've missed? Or is all this discussion based solely on Kara hiring on as head coach? Sure, a nice hire, but so earthshaking that Azzi will scrap any other thoughts she had on where to play college ball? I have a hard time believing that. She can pick and choose any program in the country and Duke isn't at present all that great an option. A lovely campus if you are into faux Gothic, but as the place to develop her game, showcase her talents, win a NC, be a #1 WNBA draft choice? I don't think so.
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The guy or woman who started it was kidding. Who knows where she'll go. But the person that posted it, apparently did it just to get a rise out of everyone from what I understand.
 
MilfordHusky said:
Actually, Tim Fudd tweeted about Muffet stepping down.
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Yes Tim tweeted surprise at Muffet stepping down, nothing about Ivy being hired. Azzi tweeted about Kara and nothing about Muffet or Niele.
 
hoophuskee said:
The guy or woman who started it was kidding. Who knows where she'll go. But the person that posted it, apparently did it just to get a rise out of everyone from what I understand.
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It did expand this thread out a bit.

I imagine one of the first things Kara did after hitting her new office was to connect up with Azzi. That would make her 147th on the list of coaches making a pitch.
 
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