Kara Lawson emerges as a leading candidate for Duke job

[VolBall09]

Lindsay Whalen had no prior coaching success when Minnesota hired her and so far that had yielded mediocre results.

Yes. Hasn’t been rolling along that well for them. Stollings was doing well there and had gotten them competitive again. She is now being Texas Tech back. I’m not sure what the situation was there but it seemed to me Minnesota sorta forced her out to hire Whalen. Minnesota had a very tough year from a chemistry standpoint. Lots of issues with players/coaches mid-season. Might be different when she has her own players. Being a great player doesn’t always translate into a great coach though. Sometimes they just can’t understand when players don’t “get it.”

 

[stllvf]

and what a risk when Duke hired Coach K with his limited vitae. one of my favorite players and skilled announcers.

wonder if she'll get Fudd to give Duke a look? wouldn't that be something!

 

[zaqhhh]

Would be a risk for Duke, but if it turns out well and we turned her down...could look awful for us.

 

[Franklin Pierce]

Would be a risk for Duke, but if it turns out well and we turned her down...could look awful for us.

That is silly.

 

[Franklin Pierce]

Lawson would be the first Black head coach in program history. The former University of Tennessee star, who played under Hall of Fame coach Pat Summitt, is on the board of trustees at her alma mater.

Lawson, however, recently criticized the lack of diversity in Tennessee's coaching ranks during a June board meeting.

"It's not just striking," Lawson said of the lack of diversity at Tennessee, "There isn't any."


Source: Duke, Lawson talk women's hoops job

 

[lfvol]

She has never won a game, never ran a program and never shown anything except admiration for all things "geno". At least Kelly started small and worked her way up toward the top level. Kara is the next Stephanie White?

Or to be more accurate, Kelly worked her way up, then back down, then back up again.

That’s a big claim on Kara. You must know her well. My guess is she is a recruiting machine and great with culture which is more than half of the keys to success.

 

[Franklin Pierce]

Or to be more accurate, Kelly worked her way up, then back down, then back up again.

That’s a big claim on Kara. You must know here well. My guess is she is a recruiting machine and great with culture which is more than half of the keys to success.

What CULTURE are you speaking of?

 

[Voltopia]

Her name and presence should earn her a few years of good recruiting potential, and getting good players is (more than) half the fight in this sport. Duke is a big name in basketball, and add that with her name ... well, if she can kickstart a few good recruiting classes she'll have time to work out the kinks of coaching. It's not a guarantee of anything, but it is a bit of a soft landing which should give her a chance.

No clinging to what might have been for me. As she's a former player, I hope she does well. If she had some kind of beef with Tennessee or with the coaching search, that's regrettable -- though that said, I can't imagine Fulmer was terribly excited by the thought of handing the reigns of the program over to someone with no coaching history.

 

[PointGuard]

Sorta makes you wonder why she wasn’t at the top of UTs list of picks... or do I remember her turning the job down?

She gained experience with USA basketball and the Celtics so maybe her taking that route made her realize her passion.... this could get interesting real quick

I thought Kara was in the running but for whatever reason did not come out on top. Too bad. While I’m Still rooting for Coach I would have liked Kara

Duke has a good future under Kara if the rumor is true

 

[Bennessee01]

If she gets the job at Duke !!!!!! MAJOR FOPAUX for PHIL ..... JMO

So you expect Phil to fire Kellie? Which would you pick Kellie or Kara? Kellie's coached, Kara hasn't been a head coach. Maybe Kara wasn't available when PF hired Kellie.

If Kellie doesn't get the job done then hire Kara, but it's not a Fulmer FOPAUX.

 

[LVCT]

Kara has the basketball smarts, the tenacious personality and drive, and the highly thought of past reputation and respect to be an exceptional college coach from get-go!! Lack of coaching experience is not going to hold her back. Tennessee should have scooped-up their talented alum —assuming they were given the chance. Duke would be delusional not to select her as their best candidate!!! She’s a winner!!!

 

[lfvol]

So you expect Phil to fire Kellie? Which would you pick Kellie or Kara? Kellie's coached, Kara hasn't been a head coach. Maybe Kara wasn't available when PF hired Kellie.

If Kellie doesn't get the job done then hire Kara, but it's not a Fulmer FOPAUX.

Agree, we might be able to get her later. However, you could argue that KH had already flamed out at the P5 level leaving her no more of a sure thing and perhaps less.

 

[BowlBrother85]

Kara has the basketball smarts, the tenacious personality and drive, and the highly thought of past reputation and respect to be an exceptional college coach from get-go!! Lack of coaching experience is not going to hold her back. Tennessee should have scooped-up their talented alum —assuming they were given the chance. Duke would be delusional not to select her as their best candidate!!! She’s a winner!!!

What do you mean by this? She may turn out to be a great coach, or she may not. At this point, it's a complete unknown.

 

[Franklin Pierce]

Kara has the basketball smarts, the tenacious personality and drive, and the highly thought of past reputation and respect to be an exceptional college coach from get-go!! Lack of coaching experience is not going to hold her back. Tennessee should have scooped-up their talented alum —assuming they were given the chance. Duke would be delusional not to select her as their best candidate!!! She’s a winner!!!

I remember many Lady Vol fans stating what an awesome Home Run hire Vanderbilt made when they hired Stephanie White, another woman without any college head coaching experience. One person even said that the Vanderbilt basketball program would overtake the Lady Vols basketball program. That's how giddy some Tennessee fans were about Stephanie White.

Four years: 42-79 (.347) and SEC 13-51 (.203) Has never won more than four SEC games in a single season.

 

[BowlBrother85]

I remember many Lady Vol fans stating what an awesome Home Run hire Vanderbilt made when they hired Stephanie White, another woman without any college head coaching experience. One person even said that the Vanderbilt basketball program would overtake the Lady Vols basketball program.

Four years: 42-79 (.347) and SEC 13-51 (.203) Has never won more than four SEC games in a single season.

I would be surprised if she doesn't prove to be a very good bench coach. She is highly intelligent and articulate. She was a great student and a workout warrior in the gym. Pat loved her as a floor general. However, there is no way to know what kind of a recruiter she will be until she has actually done it. It's a high risk, high reward kind of hire. We just have to wait and see.

 

[lfvol]

What CULTURE are you speaking of?

Positive team environment, discipline, representing the school well. Pretty much what she did when she was here. Recruiting is the key though.

 

[Franklin Pierce]

Positive team environment, discipline, representing the school well. Pretty much what she did when she was here. Recruiting is the key though.

It seems to me that Lawson insinuated that the University of Tennessee is running a racist athletic's department. That ain't going to win you a lot of friends. Representing the school well.

All of the Rah Rah stuff goes only so far.

 

[Volsfaninva917]

Lawson would be the first Black head coach in program history. The former University of Tennessee star, who played under Hall of Fame coach Pat Summitt, is on the board of trustees at her alma mater.

Lawson, however, recently criticized the lack of diversity in Tennessee's coaching ranks during a June board meeting.

"It's not just striking," Lawson said of the lack of diversity at Tennessee, "There isn't any."


Source: Duke, Lawson talk women's hoops job

Yeah, she's not my favorite right now. Won't even consider the UT job, b!tches about a lack of diversity and then runs off to Duke. Lol you b!tch about diversity and then go to Duke.... OK

 

[Franklin Pierce]

Yeah, she's not my favorite right now. Won't even consider the UT job, b!tches about a lack of diversity and then runs off to Duke. Lol you b!tch about diversity and then go to Duke.... OK

If Duke offers Lawson the job, and she takes it, maybe that will remove her from the UT board of trustees.

She can also put into the Devils program everything she has learned from Geno Auriemma.

 

[LVsinceJV]

I get feeling bitter about possibly "missing out" on Kara coaching at Tennessee, but it feels like people are forgetting that another beloved former player is about to land a top coaching gig. This is great news for Kara, and I can't wait to see what she does with Duke's program.

 

[ttharp]

Yeah, she's not my favorite right now. Won't even consider the UT job, b!tches about a lack of diversity and then runs off to Duke. Lol you b!tch about diversity and then go to Duke.... OK

That’s not a fair critique at all. Do you know for sure that she didn’t consider the UT job? Also, the responsibility shouldn’t be on Kara to single-handedly solve UT’s diversity issue, and that shouldn’t disqualify her from speaking on such matters. She has room to offer constructive criticism to an institution that she deeply cares for and has invested in.

 

[lfvol]

Yeah, she's not my favorite right now. Won't even consider the UT job, b!tches about a lack of diversity and then runs off to Duke. Lol you b!tch about diversity and then go to Duke.... OK

Lol, she commented to the board about our lack of leadership on the issue compared to others. That is a fact that no opinion can change. It’s exactly the type of discussion boards have. How can anyone not understand that? It’s is a topic for most boards these days. And, it’s hard to run off to Duke when you aren’t employed at TN or offered as far as I know.

 

[feathersax]

She has never won a game, never ran a program and never shown anything except admiration for all things "geno". At least Kelly started small and worked her way up toward the top level. Kara is the next Stephanie White?

Agree. Glad our coach is KJH.

 

[BigBadVol]

Like the NY Times, I love Unnamed sources.

Exactly!

 

[Franklin Pierce]

That’s not a fair critique at all. Do you know for sure that she didn’t consider the UT job? Also, the responsibility shouldn’t be on Kara to single-handedly solve UT’s diversity issue, and that shouldn’t disqualify her from speaking on such matters. She has room to offer constructive criticism to an institution that she deeply cares for and has invested in.

Lawson insinuated that UT has a racist athletics program. She probably wanted the UT job, but Fulmer was not going to hire anyone with zero college basketball coaching experience.