Kara Lawson emerges as leading candidate for Duke WBB job | Page 3 | The Boneyard

Kara Lawson emerges as leading candidate for Duke WBB job

HuskyMJ said:
What constitutes a lowball offer during a pandemic where colleges across the country are slashing budgets, laying off staff? Some colleges can't even hire assistant coaches before of hiring freezes. She accepted the job so the money must have been fine even if its way lower than what Duke paid the last coach.
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To me, regardless of the times, a lowball offer is when the new coach is offered less than the previous coach they replace; but, that's based on both coaches having comparable experience/success. No way would it make sense for Duke to pay Lawson what McCallie was earning (based solely on experience).

McCray was offered a lot less than Vic Schaefer was earning (and his increase offer not to leave for Texas), and she came with some collegiate head coaching experience, and several years as an assistant coach.. Lawson comes with no collegiate coaching experience at any level.
 
I really like Lawson as a personality, and I enjoy her commentary on games, both in the studio and courtside. I hope she does well and rewards Duke's confidence in her. It's good for WBB to have a strong Duke program, and I hope this hire makes it happen.

But I have to say, I'm more than a little surprised that they hired someone with so little WBB coaching experience at all, and virtually no college coaching experience. I hear much being made about how "connections" to top coaches and insights from calling so many games and talking to so many different coaches will help her.

Maybe I'm just an Arkansas fan with "PJDTSD," ;) but these are the same arguments that folks who supported the hire of Jimmy Dykes made. (FTR, I was not one of them.) "He's a great announcer/analyst; sure, he's never coached college women, but he knows all the coaches and has called their games; he played for a legend (Eddie Sutton)."

Don't misunderstand me -- I"m not saying that Lawson = Dykes -- just that the biggest arguments I'm seeing in her favor sound awfully familiar.

Some things that for sure set them apart: there is exactly zero doubt that Coach Lawson will be infinitely better at relating to her players than Dykes was -- the stories his players tell ... sheesh -- and that alone will help her. I also have a strong suspicion that Coach Lawson will be able to put together a staff that isn't just a bunch of "yes-men" and "yes-women." For example, I doubt that she'll hire the JV Boys HS coach from Hillside High onto her staff. (Sorry, that was my PJDTSD flaring up again....)

Good luck, Coach Lawson! Rooting for you!
 
dws3665 said:
I really like Lawson as a personality, and I enjoy her commentary on games, both in the studio and courtside. I hope she does well and rewards Duke's confidence in her. It's good for WBB to have a strong Duke program, and I hope this hire makes it happen.
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say-it-louder-for-the-people-in-the-back.jpg



not to mention.... alot better for my blood pressure and mental health
 
Carnac said:
Hey Triad, I'm going to quote the late Buddy Ryan when he addressed the media upon his arrival at the airport in Philadelphia after being hired as the Eagles new head coach.............."You've got a winner in town". :D
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Hope she does alot better than 0-3 in the playoff's Buddy Ryan
 
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Kara Lawson was on SiriusXM Fullride show this morning, ESPNU radio. As you would expect a quality interview with her. She is clearly media savvy and getting interviewed by Rick Neuheisal and Chris Childers on one of SiriusXM most popular college sports shows was a good move. She was driving from the NBA bubble to Durham so talked about that experience, 13 years in the WNBA, Celtics decision and Brad Stephens support, channeling Pat Summitt, and talking to Coach K. She talked about her recruiting when Neuheisal asked her if she was choosing between Tennessee and UConn. Didn't answer but said her choice her final 5 were: Stanford (which her Dad wanted her to go), Duke (which her mom wanted her to go), Vanderbilt, UVa, and Tennessee, which she said she charted her own course with that choice. She stated Duke is the most iconic College BBall brand, Cameron is a Temple, and seemed ready to go. She could wake up a sleeping giant if she gets the right "Shielas and Joes" (Neuheisal's term) for that school.

PS: I can't link the interview yet since the show is still live as I post. If you have a SiriusXM subscription you can use the app and restart Fullride on channel 84. It's starts 36 minutes into the show. Sirius usually downloads the show without commercials this afternoon. Worth a listen.
 
UConnCat said:
Kara Lawson should check in with Lindsay Whalen. It ain't easy.
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This will turn out to be another Stephanie White. The great ones can't help themselves by expecting their players to be like them..
 
bramos said:
This will turn out to be another Stephanie White. The great ones can't help themselves by expecting their players to be like them..
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No one really knows. Stephanie White took the Fever to the WNBA finals in her first year as a head coach. I thought she'd be an outstanding college coach and one day she may be. It's not easy. Lawson will have the advantage of recruiting to a school like Duke so eventually she'll have the players.
 
noirwestern said:
Got bored with this thread so took a peek at what's going on at a few other sites, okay, one other site and found it far more entertaining. Apparently Lawson will take the job but only for the training it would provide so she can then ascend to the throne and set the women's basketball world right.
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"The training it provides" :eek:
Weren't Tyler Summitt's stops at Marquette and Louisiana Tech, Kellie Harper stops at Auburn, Chattanooga, Western Carolina, NC State & Missouri, Nikki Vargas' stops at UVA, UCLA & LSU and Nikki McCray's stops at Western Kentucky, South Carolina, & Old Dominion all designed to provide similar training?
 
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JonathanXIV said:
Duke men and women basketball national championships - 5

UConn men and women basketball national championships - 15

Explain to me again what the most iconic College BBall brand is again. :rolleyes:
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Well ask Kara. She mentioned Duke's brand is the most recognizable as a bball school and even metnoned internationally, which is maybe how she played it. I also thought it was surprising when Rick asked jer if it was between UConn and Tennessee for her services when she was recruited, she didn't even acknowledge UConn was on her radar. It seems she is focusing on the value of the education and hoping she can pull from UConn and other "lesser" academic brand schools.
 
domerduck said:
Well ask Kara. She mentioned Duke's brand is the most recognizable as a bball school and even metnoned internationally, which is maybe how she played it. I also thought it was surprising when Rick asked jer if it was between UConn and Tennessee for her services when she was recruited, she didn't even acknowledge UConn was on her radar. It seems she is focusing on the value of the education and hoping she can pull from UConn and other "lesser" academic brand schools.
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UConn appeared on her radar after she arrived in Knoxville and not in a good way for her. Her teams were 2-7 overall against UConn and 0-3 in Final Four meetings. Maybe she'll exact some revenge as a coach.
 
Plebe said:
But we will all sorely miss your self-deprecating comedic genius :oops:
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well.... we will have to wait and see. Maybe in a few years worth of results.... we will wistfully longing for the McCallie era :confused::eek::eek::eek::eek:
 
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Detailed article from the Undefeated about the Kara Lawson hiring

theundefeated.com

Kara Lawson is all-in as Duke's women's basketball coach: 'I understand the stakes' - Andscape

A nine-hour drive can be an opportunity to reflect. It can also be a long and tedious journey. But for Kara Lawson — who was driving from the NBA bubble in Orlando, Florida, to the campus of Duke University in Durham, North Carolina — it was neither. “I’ve been on the phone the whole time,” […]
theundefeated.com theundefeated.com
 
The coaching staff will be formally introduced later today. I'm pleased with the hires.

eebmg said:
Detailed article from the Undefeated about the Kara Lawson hiring

theundefeated.com

Kara Lawson is all-in as Duke's women's basketball coach: 'I understand the stakes' - Andscape

A nine-hour drive can be an opportunity to reflect. It can also be a long and tedious journey. But for Kara Lawson — who was driving from the NBA bubble in Orlando, Florida, to the campus of Duke University in Durham, North Carolina — it was neither. “I’ve been on the phone the whole time,” […]
theundefeated.com theundefeated.com
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The Triangle has 3 local sports radio shows..... and the Triad has one local sports radio show. She was a guest on all 4. She was did one afternoon interview driving on her way to Durham. While I expected the 3 triangle appearances... I was shocked yet pleased to learn that my local show had her on... as they always talk about the Big 4 basketball on the men's side.... them talking about women's basketball is rare.
 
A few of CamrnCrz1974's points to remember/consider…
  • All three assistant coaches have recruited at academic institutions, understanding what it takes to recruit top academics with athletics - Tia Jackson (Stanford and Duke, and to degree, UCLA); Beth Cunningham (Notre Dame); and Winston Gandy (Rice).
  • Two assistant coaches bring WNBA/professional experience - Beth Cunningham (ABL/Washington Mystics) and Tia Jackson (Phoenix Mercury).
  • Two assistant coaches landed huge, high profile transfers that were instrumental in their former institutions’ successful seasons - Tia Jackson (Beatrice Mompremier, from Baylor to Miami) and Winston Gandy (Erica Ogwumike, from Pepperdine to Rice; Nancy Mulkey, from Oklahoma to Rice; Nicole Iademarco, from Arizona State to Rice).
  • There will not be an associate head coach; all three will be assistant coaches. This will eliminate the “pecking order” (if you will) and allow all three to be equal contributors (which is a good thing, given that both Tia Jackson and Beth Cunningham are former head coaches while Winston Gandy was most recently an associate head coach).

@ucbart , @EricLA , @Dillon77 , @triaddukefan , @Tonyc , @UConnCat , @CocoHusky
 
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