Duke’s Lawson helping U.S. chase gold in first 3x3 Olympic tournament
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In Kara Lawson’s role coaching the U.S. Olympic 3x3 women’s basketball team, the talks she has with her players during, say, a random meal, are as important as any she has during practices.
The reason for that explains the differences between the traditional 5-on-5 basketball she teaches as Duke’s women’s basketball coach and the 3-on-3 variety that is a medal sport for the first time at this month’s Tokyo Olympics.
Unlike how she coaches the Blue Devils, Lawson is not allowed to coach her players during the fast-paced 3x3 games, which feature half-court play, a 12-second shot clock and the winner being determined by either whichever team scores 21 points first or 10 minutes of play.
“You have to be sure that the players are equipped to coach themselves during games,” Lawson said during a Zoom interview with reporters on Tuesday. “I can’t save them and call a timeout and draw something up or say, `Hey this is what they’re doing. You need to change this.’ They have to be able to make those adjustments themselves. You have to do a little more forecasting prior to the games. If they do this, this is how we are going to adjust.”
Lawson and the four players on her roster — Allisha Gray, Stefanie Dolson, Kelsey Plum and Katie Lou Samuelson — have to talk the game as much as they play it.
“We talk scenarios a lot,” Lawson said, “especially over team meals, what we are going to do with time, score, fouls and all that stuff. We have to talk about that as a group so they know where I want to go in those situations.”
The team is in Las Vegas this week, preparing for the trip to Japan. The eight-team Olympic competition begins July 23 with five days of preliminary round play. The semifinals and two medal games are July 28.
China, Mongolia, Romania and Russia qualified in November 2019 based on their FIBA national federation standings. In May, the U.S., France and Japan earned spots through Olympic Qualifying Tournament play. Italy completed the field in June through qualifying tournament play.
Entering her second season as Duke’s head coach, Lawson became coach and advisor for the fledgling U.S. 3x3 program in 2017. She has led the Americans to six gold medals in international competitions, including the 2017 and 2019 FIBA 3x3 U18 World Cups and 2018 Youth Olympic Games.
She also coached the U.S. 3x3 men’s team to the 2019 FIBA 3x3 U18 World Cup.
Owner of an Olympic medal from her playing days on the 2008 U.S. traditional team that won gold in Beijing, Lawson helped build the 3x3 program from scratch and feels the work that’s been done puts the team in a position to play well in Tokyo.
“Now, I’m really proud of where our program is,” Lawson said. “It’s not just that you roll out of bed and you put on this shirt that you are good at basketball and that you win international tournaments. It takes a lot of work.”
In addition to her Olympic side gig, Lawson’s been working and building relationships in regards to her Duke program since taking over as head coach one year ago. Her first season was cut short in December when, after going 3-1, the Blue Devils’ players voted to opt out of the season when positive COVID-19 cases hit the program.
Speaking during an online women’s leadership conference last month, Lawson made sure to give her players credit for that decision.
“I thought it was a courageous decision at the time to be able to do that,” Lawson said. “I can’t imagine being their age, 18-22 years old, and being able to play, do something you dreamed about doing, do something you love, but then to think about the greater good and think about what’s best for society and the university community and decide to end your season. I supported my players 100 percent in making that decision.”
Though all remaining games were canceled, Lawson was able to hold practices and work out the healthy players.
“We just spent a lot of time together,” Lawson said. “We spent a lot of time working on growing as basketball players. Certainly we did on-court work but off-court work as well. Just tried to learn about one another a little bit more. Challenge them in their weaknesses. Use the pandemic, as I think a lot of people did, as a way to self-evaluate not only as a player but as a person. How can I get better in my life?”
A former star player for legendary coach Pat Summitt at Tennessee prior to her WNBA and Olympic career, Lawson worked as a television basketball analyst before entering the coaching world.
Her 3x3 coaching career is but one example of her trying something different. She was also the first female assistant coach in Boston Celtics history when she joined that NBA team’s staff for the 2019-20 season.
That diverse path to head coaching strengthens her leadership credentials, Lawson said.
“Have the courage to step out and do something that maybe you are not comfortable with,” she said. “That’s going to give you a perspective that’s not necessary but helpful as a leader. The more things that you can do and the more diversity you have in your career is going to be better. It’s going to make you better. The more things you do doesn’t mean you are going to be a master at any of them but it makes you better.”
Her goal this month is to help her 3x3 team succeed at the sport’s highest level and bring home Olympic gold.
Win or lose, she’ll use the experience when she returns to Durham aiming to make Duke’s women’s team a national title contender once again.
This story was originally published July 15, 2021 at 7:00 AM with the headline "Duke’s Lawson helping U.S. chase gold in first 3x3 Olympic tournament."
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