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The Transition Game
10/2/2020 1:04:00 PM | Women's Basketball
By: Chris Edwards, GoDuke The Magazine
DURHAM, N.C.-- Anytime you have an opportunity to take over a prestigious program, there is certainly a level of excitement and anxiety as you try to revitalize and make your mark. But doing this in the midst of a global pandemic while being sequestered in a hotel room in Florida, well, that's just so like a typical day in 2020.
Kara Lawson was officially announced as the fifth head coach in Duke women's basketball history on July 11 after going through an interview process that was conducted virtually due to the coronavirus pandemic.
While the interview process might have been different, Lawson says it was pretty straightforward, "What you saw is pretty much what happened. I woke up, took part in the interview process, I went to bed, woke up and had the job. It was fast… it was less than a week interviewing, talking to different people about Duke, and I found out a few days later they offered me the job. It's not a long story or a great story associated with the process. It was fast and I am thankful that I am the candidate they settled on."
But it wasn't just the hiring process that was virtual; the introductory press conference and subsequent team meetings were all conducted that way as well.
Lawson exited the NBA bubble in Orlando, where she was bunkered down with the Boston Celtics as an assistant coach, and arrived on campus shortly after getting the job. As the expression goes, she hit the ground running.
She quickly assembled a coaching staff with a wealth of college basketball experience in Beth Cunningham, Tia Jackson and Winston Gandy. For the new head coach, the experience of her staff has been the guiding light through the transition process. "It has been made easier because of our staff. They are incredible…They are my three bosses and I try to do what they tell me each day and at the end of each day, I get a report card from the three of them.
"They are so experienced in all the nuances in being a college coach and the parts that are new to me in being a college coach. I lean on them very heavily to make sure I'm doing the right things. I lean on them a lot and the experience they have."
To make things tougher, building relationships with the roster was made even more challenging since players were not yet back on campus when Lawson was hired. Due to covid-19, face-to-face meetings were not yet an option. "I talked to them on Zoom and a couple on phone calls, and all through text. It is always a challenge when you take over a new program because you are new to the players, so my number one priority when I took the job was to build a relationship with the players and introduce them our way of doing things and our system of doing things as quickly as possible but have a good time doing it."
Back to the assistant coaches for a moment — all three had jobs at other institutions and had to quickly pick up and sprint to Durham to start the on-boarding process for their current roles. And all faced different challenges. Cunningham made the trip to Durham while her husband Dan and three children wrapped up the school year back in Indiana. For Jackson, it was one trip to Durham to say hello before driving back to Miami in the middle of a hurricane to pack up and move back to the Bull City (where she coached previously in 2006 and 2007). And for Gandy, he came in from Houston and had to scurry to Durham to meet the rest of his co-workers.
Lawson had no doubt about her staff's ability to make their moves seamlessly, praising the collective group. "Their work ethics are off the charts. It is incredible the time and effort they put in on a daily basis."
Finally, players arrived in Durham in early August and now the countdown is on to what everyone hopes is the start of the college basketball season in late November.
Another burning question remains, though: what does the former Tennessee standout, Olympic medalist, WNBA All-Star and ESPN broadcaster want to be called?
"Kara is fine, that's what I told my staff," says the 39-year-old Virginia native. "The default is Coach, but I'm fine with Kara. Around the office, people who work with me every day, they call me Kara. If they are trying to get on my nerves a little bit, they'll call me Coach or something else that I don't like very much.
"But I take the title of Coach very seriously, and if players are more comfortable calling me Coach, that's okay but Kara is fine."Â Â
It appears Lawson has adjusted well to life at Duke, embracing every part of the culture, which includes a daily lunch in the West Union ordering the same item on the menu — eggs and a vegetarian pancake.
The tough transition is over. Now the Kara Era of Duke women's basketball can officially commence.
#GoDuke
DURHAM, N.C.-- Anytime you have an opportunity to take over a prestigious program, there is certainly a level of excitement and anxiety as you try to revitalize and make your mark. But doing this in the midst of a global pandemic while being sequestered in a hotel room in Florida, well, that's just so like a typical day in 2020.
Kara Lawson was officially announced as the fifth head coach in Duke women's basketball history on July 11 after going through an interview process that was conducted virtually due to the coronavirus pandemic.
While the interview process might have been different, Lawson says it was pretty straightforward, "What you saw is pretty much what happened. I woke up, took part in the interview process, I went to bed, woke up and had the job. It was fast… it was less than a week interviewing, talking to different people about Duke, and I found out a few days later they offered me the job. It's not a long story or a great story associated with the process. It was fast and I am thankful that I am the candidate they settled on."
But it wasn't just the hiring process that was virtual; the introductory press conference and subsequent team meetings were all conducted that way as well.
Lawson exited the NBA bubble in Orlando, where she was bunkered down with the Boston Celtics as an assistant coach, and arrived on campus shortly after getting the job. As the expression goes, she hit the ground running.
She quickly assembled a coaching staff with a wealth of college basketball experience in Beth Cunningham, Tia Jackson and Winston Gandy. For the new head coach, the experience of her staff has been the guiding light through the transition process. "It has been made easier because of our staff. They are incredible…They are my three bosses and I try to do what they tell me each day and at the end of each day, I get a report card from the three of them.
"They are so experienced in all the nuances in being a college coach and the parts that are new to me in being a college coach. I lean on them very heavily to make sure I'm doing the right things. I lean on them a lot and the experience they have."
To make things tougher, building relationships with the roster was made even more challenging since players were not yet back on campus when Lawson was hired. Due to covid-19, face-to-face meetings were not yet an option. "I talked to them on Zoom and a couple on phone calls, and all through text. It is always a challenge when you take over a new program because you are new to the players, so my number one priority when I took the job was to build a relationship with the players and introduce them our way of doing things and our system of doing things as quickly as possible but have a good time doing it."
Back to the assistant coaches for a moment — all three had jobs at other institutions and had to quickly pick up and sprint to Durham to start the on-boarding process for their current roles. And all faced different challenges. Cunningham made the trip to Durham while her husband Dan and three children wrapped up the school year back in Indiana. For Jackson, it was one trip to Durham to say hello before driving back to Miami in the middle of a hurricane to pack up and move back to the Bull City (where she coached previously in 2006 and 2007). And for Gandy, he came in from Houston and had to scurry to Durham to meet the rest of his co-workers.
Lawson had no doubt about her staff's ability to make their moves seamlessly, praising the collective group. "Their work ethics are off the charts. It is incredible the time and effort they put in on a daily basis."
Finally, players arrived in Durham in early August and now the countdown is on to what everyone hopes is the start of the college basketball season in late November.
Another burning question remains, though: what does the former Tennessee standout, Olympic medalist, WNBA All-Star and ESPN broadcaster want to be called?
"Kara is fine, that's what I told my staff," says the 39-year-old Virginia native. "The default is Coach, but I'm fine with Kara. Around the office, people who work with me every day, they call me Kara. If they are trying to get on my nerves a little bit, they'll call me Coach or something else that I don't like very much.
"But I take the title of Coach very seriously, and if players are more comfortable calling me Coach, that's okay but Kara is fine."Â Â
It appears Lawson has adjusted well to life at Duke, embracing every part of the culture, which includes a daily lunch in the West Union ordering the same item on the menu — eggs and a vegetarian pancake.
The tough transition is over. Now the Kara Era of Duke women's basketball can officially commence.
#GoDuke
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