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Wanisha Smith, Keturach Jackson
Photo by: Duke Athletics
Fire & Ice
10/19/2019 5:40:00 AM | Women's Basketball
By Jim Sumner, GoDuke.com
DURHAM, N.C.-- "Fire and Ice."
That's what Duke women's basketball coach Joanne P. McCallie calls the newest additions to her staff. Wanisha Smith is fire, Keturah Jackson is ice.
They are brand new.
Well, not exactly. Smith and Jackson both played for McCallie at Duke, both graduated from Duke and both have paid the dues necessary to be able to translate those experiences to the 14 women on the Duke team.
McCallie lost one of her top assistants, Rene Haynes, after last season. She's now the head coach at Long Island, where her staff includes Faith Suggs as Director of Basketball Operations. Suggs was a 2019 starter and co-captain at Duke.
Haynes played for McCallie at Michigan State, providing a comfort level which enabled Haynes to better translate McCallie's schemes to their players.
Haynes is one of almost two-dozen former Coach P players and/or assistants currently working as coaches or staff members in college programs.
"My coaching tree is a getting pretty big and that's a lot of fun," McCallie says. "It's all good and you're always proud of the people who are moving on and moving up."
Assistant Hernando Planells also left the program.
McCallie responded by upgrading returning assistants Jim Corrigan and Sam Miller, hiring Smith as an assistant coach and Jackson as special assistant.
Smith was recruited to Duke by Gail Goestenkors and played three seasons for her. She was Duke's only senior when McCallie replaced Goestenkors for the 2007-08 season. McCallie praises Smith's value as a bridge between the Goestenkors program and her program, someone who immediately bought into her goals.
Smith was the kind of player coaches love; smart, tough, no excuses. She was good enough to play for the Detroit Shock in the WNBA after scoring over 1,200 points at Duke.
She's spent the last eight seasons coaching at Longwood College. She's 34, young enough to relate to the players but experienced enough to command their respect.
And about that fire.
"It's about having fun," Smith says. "It's a kid's game. Everybody forgets that. That energy carries you to the next thing. It's going to help you get that deflection, it's going to help you sprint over and give somebody a pat on the back because they did something right. Duke is defense. If you don't have the energy to play defense, you won't play at Duke. When you step on the court, you have to be a beast. I think they get it but when they get more comfortable with it, they'll go further with it."
Smith was a ferocious defender and she's determined to ingrain that ethos, starting with the benefits of communication.
"Right now they are paying attention because they understand the little things make things work, communication and understanding that if you don't communicate, you're putting yourself at risk for mistakes, for losing. We're letting them know that communication gives your teammates confidence and you're getting confidence and that's the fun way to play the game. You use all your resources to defend your basket. You use your hands and feet but you also use your voice."
Duke graduate student Kyra Lambert confirms the team is paying attention.
"Everybody loves 'Nish.' She brings an energy and a vibe and she knows what it means to have that Duke across your chest."
Keturah Jackson played her final three years under McCallie, graduating in 2010. Like Smith, she was versatile, defense-first perimeter player. Jackson ranks 10th on Duke's career steals list, with 193 and was named to the 2010 All-ACC defensive team.
Jackson is a native of Columbia, South Carolina and, yes, she's very much looking forward to this season's Duke-South Carolina match. She coached Lower Richland High School in her home state to a 52-26 mark over the last three seasons.
But she never hesitated when Duke called.
"I love it here. I'd rather be here than anywhere else."
Jackson can't recruit off campus and cannot work on the court, practices or drills.
She has a more reserved personality than Smith but is no less passionate about what she does.
"Most of what I do is a lot of team building, just trying to get the kids mentally right because it's such a big part of the game to me. The more mentally tough you are, the easier it is to succeed and exceed expectations. Understand the power of teammates, understand the little details, pride and how you carry yourself as a student-athlete, representing yourself and your team, taking care of the locker room, all those little things that translate into discipline. If you can do it off the court, it will translate on the court."
It helps that both have walked the same minefields their players are now navigating, balancing basketball and academics and a social life at a demanding university.
"They've got a lot to say, a lot of history," according to McCallie. "They can really explain the way things should be. That's appreciated."
"We know what they're going through so that means they can't slip anything by us," Smith jokes. "But it is one of those things where we can be extremely real with them because we did those things. We know what you're supposed to be doing and they respect that."
"She [Smith] and KJ were in our shoes," Lambert adds. "They do have that connection to the players."
There's another addition to the program. Cat Lass is the new trainer, coming to Duke from Seton Hall, where she established credentials as an expert on elbows, labrums and scaphoids, among other things. McCallie praises Lass' enthusiasm for trying new things.
Of course, not everyone is new. Jim Corrigan has been involved in college coaching for over 30 years. Corrigan's uncle Gene was ACC commissioner from 1987 to 1997 and his cousin Boo is athletic director at North Carolina State. Jim walked on to Bill Foster's 1980 ACC team and won the Ted Mann Award as the reserve who contributed the most to team morale. He spent 23 years at Old Dominion University, mostly as an assistant coach before coming to Duke three years ago as a special assistant. He's now an assistant coach.
Corrigan's daughter Keenan also graduated from Duke. He says adding that to his playing and coaching career gives him a "unique perspective" on being a Duke student-athlete. "It's a serious deal. I think if they [the players] have an issue that requires an answer from someone who has been around awhile, they would come to me. But it's not like a constant flow."
Sam Miller is in the middle, not quite a newbie but still learning the ropes. He came to Duke as a video coordinator but is now in his third season as a coach.
Miller loves what Smith and Jackson have brought to the program.
"I couldn't ask for a better program to work for, a better AD than Kevin White, a better coach than Coach P, a better group of players." The young coaches have brought a "new energy. Wanisha is very hands on, very much in the trenches with the players in workouts. That's something we haven't had at that level and that goes back to her playing days here at Duke and that's a resource to our players, a huge, huge thing that we can give our players."
McCallie certainly likes the blend of youth and experience.
"Everybody shifted a little bit, Jim moving up, Sam moving up, Wanisha moving in, Keturah moving in, a lot of good energy, a lot of good change and that's important."
#GoDuke
DURHAM, N.C.-- "Fire and Ice."
That's what Duke women's basketball coach Joanne P. McCallie calls the newest additions to her staff. Wanisha Smith is fire, Keturah Jackson is ice.
They are brand new.
Well, not exactly. Smith and Jackson both played for McCallie at Duke, both graduated from Duke and both have paid the dues necessary to be able to translate those experiences to the 14 women on the Duke team.
McCallie lost one of her top assistants, Rene Haynes, after last season. She's now the head coach at Long Island, where her staff includes Faith Suggs as Director of Basketball Operations. Suggs was a 2019 starter and co-captain at Duke.
Haynes played for McCallie at Michigan State, providing a comfort level which enabled Haynes to better translate McCallie's schemes to their players.
Haynes is one of almost two-dozen former Coach P players and/or assistants currently working as coaches or staff members in college programs.
"My coaching tree is a getting pretty big and that's a lot of fun," McCallie says. "It's all good and you're always proud of the people who are moving on and moving up."
Assistant Hernando Planells also left the program.
McCallie responded by upgrading returning assistants Jim Corrigan and Sam Miller, hiring Smith as an assistant coach and Jackson as special assistant.
Smith was recruited to Duke by Gail Goestenkors and played three seasons for her. She was Duke's only senior when McCallie replaced Goestenkors for the 2007-08 season. McCallie praises Smith's value as a bridge between the Goestenkors program and her program, someone who immediately bought into her goals.
Smith was the kind of player coaches love; smart, tough, no excuses. She was good enough to play for the Detroit Shock in the WNBA after scoring over 1,200 points at Duke.
She's spent the last eight seasons coaching at Longwood College. She's 34, young enough to relate to the players but experienced enough to command their respect.
And about that fire.
"It's about having fun," Smith says. "It's a kid's game. Everybody forgets that. That energy carries you to the next thing. It's going to help you get that deflection, it's going to help you sprint over and give somebody a pat on the back because they did something right. Duke is defense. If you don't have the energy to play defense, you won't play at Duke. When you step on the court, you have to be a beast. I think they get it but when they get more comfortable with it, they'll go further with it."
Smith was a ferocious defender and she's determined to ingrain that ethos, starting with the benefits of communication.
"Right now they are paying attention because they understand the little things make things work, communication and understanding that if you don't communicate, you're putting yourself at risk for mistakes, for losing. We're letting them know that communication gives your teammates confidence and you're getting confidence and that's the fun way to play the game. You use all your resources to defend your basket. You use your hands and feet but you also use your voice."
Duke graduate student Kyra Lambert confirms the team is paying attention.
"Everybody loves 'Nish.' She brings an energy and a vibe and she knows what it means to have that Duke across your chest."
Keturah Jackson played her final three years under McCallie, graduating in 2010. Like Smith, she was versatile, defense-first perimeter player. Jackson ranks 10th on Duke's career steals list, with 193 and was named to the 2010 All-ACC defensive team.
Jackson is a native of Columbia, South Carolina and, yes, she's very much looking forward to this season's Duke-South Carolina match. She coached Lower Richland High School in her home state to a 52-26 mark over the last three seasons.
But she never hesitated when Duke called.
"I love it here. I'd rather be here than anywhere else."
Jackson can't recruit off campus and cannot work on the court, practices or drills.
She has a more reserved personality than Smith but is no less passionate about what she does.
"Most of what I do is a lot of team building, just trying to get the kids mentally right because it's such a big part of the game to me. The more mentally tough you are, the easier it is to succeed and exceed expectations. Understand the power of teammates, understand the little details, pride and how you carry yourself as a student-athlete, representing yourself and your team, taking care of the locker room, all those little things that translate into discipline. If you can do it off the court, it will translate on the court."
It helps that both have walked the same minefields their players are now navigating, balancing basketball and academics and a social life at a demanding university.
"They've got a lot to say, a lot of history," according to McCallie. "They can really explain the way things should be. That's appreciated."
"We know what they're going through so that means they can't slip anything by us," Smith jokes. "But it is one of those things where we can be extremely real with them because we did those things. We know what you're supposed to be doing and they respect that."
"She [Smith] and KJ were in our shoes," Lambert adds. "They do have that connection to the players."
There's another addition to the program. Cat Lass is the new trainer, coming to Duke from Seton Hall, where she established credentials as an expert on elbows, labrums and scaphoids, among other things. McCallie praises Lass' enthusiasm for trying new things.
Of course, not everyone is new. Jim Corrigan has been involved in college coaching for over 30 years. Corrigan's uncle Gene was ACC commissioner from 1987 to 1997 and his cousin Boo is athletic director at North Carolina State. Jim walked on to Bill Foster's 1980 ACC team and won the Ted Mann Award as the reserve who contributed the most to team morale. He spent 23 years at Old Dominion University, mostly as an assistant coach before coming to Duke three years ago as a special assistant. He's now an assistant coach.
Corrigan's daughter Keenan also graduated from Duke. He says adding that to his playing and coaching career gives him a "unique perspective" on being a Duke student-athlete. "It's a serious deal. I think if they [the players] have an issue that requires an answer from someone who has been around awhile, they would come to me. But it's not like a constant flow."
Sam Miller is in the middle, not quite a newbie but still learning the ropes. He came to Duke as a video coordinator but is now in his third season as a coach.
Miller loves what Smith and Jackson have brought to the program.
"I couldn't ask for a better program to work for, a better AD than Kevin White, a better coach than Coach P, a better group of players." The young coaches have brought a "new energy. Wanisha is very hands on, very much in the trenches with the players in workouts. That's something we haven't had at that level and that goes back to her playing days here at Duke and that's a resource to our players, a huge, huge thing that we can give our players."
McCallie certainly likes the blend of youth and experience.
"Everybody shifted a little bit, Jim moving up, Sam moving up, Wanisha moving in, Keturah moving in, a lot of good energy, a lot of good change and that's important."
#GoDuke
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