Duke women’s basketball officially hires Kara Lawson as new coach
Kara Lawson and Duke reached an agreement Saturday for her to become the school’s new women’s basketball coach, the school announced.
Lawson, currently a Boston Celtics assistant coach, held a virtual meeting with the team at 1:30 p.m. She is in Orlando where she coached the Celtics through a practice Saturday morning before finalizing the deal with Duke.
“Well, it is a dream come true for me,” Lawson said in a statement released by Duke. “I have wanted to be a coach since I was a kid. To have an opportunity to lead a group of young women at a prestigious university like Duke – I have run out of words; it is unbelievable and very exciting.”
The 39-year-old Lawson, a former Tennessee and WNBA player who won a gold medal with the U.S. at the 2008 Beijing Olympics, will replace Joanne P. McCallie, who resigned on July 2 after 13 years coaching the Blue Devils.
“I am delighted to welcome Kara Lawson to Duke as our next women’s basketball coach,” Duke president Vincent E. Price said in a statement. “Kara has proven herself as a skilled coach and a committed mentor, whose passion for education is demonstrated by her service on her alma mater’s board of trustees. I am thrilled that she will be bringing these talents to Duke, and I know that she will support the continued success of our women’s basketball student-athletes both on the court and off.”
Lawson, a former ESPN basketball analyst, takes over a Duke program that went 18-12 overall with a 12-6 ACC record last season.
McCallie resigned after Duke athletic director Kevin White didn’t extend her contract, which was due to expire after the 2020-21 season. Her discomfort over entering the final season of her contract without assurances of a new deal led her to walk away, she said.
McCallie posted a 330-107 record for a .755 winning percentage, winning three ACC tournaments and making the NCAA tournament final eight four times.
The program’s success, though, dipped in recent seasons. Duke missed the NCAA tournament in 2016, the first time that had happened since 1994. In 2018-19, Duke finished 15-15, the first time it failed to have a winning season since 1992-93, with a 6-10 ACC record.
Lawson emerged the choice from a field that included Rice coach Tina Langley, Drake coach Jennie Baranczyk and Sacramento Kings player development coach Lindsey Harding, a former star player at Duke whose retired jersey No. 10 hangs in Cameron Indoor Stadium’s rafters.
Duke athletics director Kevin White called Lawson an “ideal fit.”
“A highly-seasoned champion at multiple levels within the basketball landscape, Kara Lawson is the ideal fit for Duke University,” White said in a statement. “Throughout the process, it became abundantly clear that her authenticity, passion, contemporary vision and unwavering commitment to the student-athlete experience align seamlessly with the values of the institution. With her high degree of emotional intelligence, Kara’s astute ability to connect with future, current and former student-athletes, as well as the passionate and dedicated supporters of Duke women’s basketball, will have an immediate and profound impact on the entire program.”
By becoming the fifth head coach in program history, Lawson’s task is to rejuvenate a program that made Final Four appearances in 1999, 2002, 2003 and 2006 under McCallie’s predecessor, Gail Goestenkors.
Langley was the other finalist for the job while Jennie Baranczyk also received strong consideration. Goestenkors was interested in returning to Duke.
Harding, who played for Goestenkors, also interviewed for the job. Her history with the Duke program gave the 36-year-old Harding strong support among the Duke community.
Instead, the search led by Duke deputy athletics director Nina King zeroed in on Lawson.
She becomes the first Black head coach in football or basketball in Duke’s history. She’s eager to join men’s basketball coach Mike Krzyzewski and football coach David Cutcliffe, both highly regarded around college athletics, on the Blue Devils staff.
“I am thankful for the path that led me here and thankful for the belief of President Price, Kevin White, Nina King, Coach Krzyzewski, Coach Cutcliffe and everyone surrounding the program,” Lawson said. “Everybody I spoke with and had a chance to interact with, I immediately felt a great connection. It wasn’t a decision based on emotion, but there was a lot of emotion involved in it because of how excited I am and how ready I am to get started and to work with the players.”
This story was originally published July 11, 2020 at 1:24 PM with the headline "Duke women’s basketball officially hires Kara Lawson as new coach."