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2020 Tokyo Olympics | 3x3 with Kara
7/23/2021 9:00:00 AM | Women's Basketball
"Don't go to the bathroom or go for a snack. It's only 10 minutes so the game is going to be over in 15, 20 minutes, real time."
That's Kara Lawson's advice to novice observers of 3x3 basketball.
Lawson knows what she's talking about. She's the head coach of the United States Olympic Women's 3x3 team.
And almost all of us are novice observers.
If you've played basketball, even at the recreational level, you've almost certainly played some sort of half-court basketball, maybe in a gym, maybe on a playground, maybe even in someone's back yard. Harlem's Rucker Park has become famous for the quality of its half-court, pickup games.
But 3x3 isn't pickup basketball, at least not at its highest levels. And this year, for the first time, that highest level is the Olympics. Duke women's coach Kara Lawson is leading the U.S. charge for that first gold.
A brief tutorial might be in order. 3x3 is played on a court that is 49-by-36 feet, with a single basket. A team consists of four players, three on the court at any time. There's a 12-second shot clock. A made basket inside the arc counts for one point, a made basket outside the arc counts for two. When the defense gets possession of the ball inside the arc, they have to move the ball outside the arc in order to initiate their offense. A game lasts 10 minutes or until one team reaches 21 points.
Your favorite search engine should be able to fill in the gaps.
Blink and you'll miss it.
Which has its attractions, according to Lawson.
"The good side of that is that you can see a lot of different teams play. You don't have to sit down and have to watch two hours of basketball. Or you can sit down and watch six 3-on-3 games in two hours."
Lawson started coaching 3x3 basketball in 2017, when she was approached by USA Basketball.
"They needed a coach for a high school team back in 2017 and it couldn't be a college coach. And I was just a TV person at the time."
This was U18 and under Lawson's tutelage the United States captured the 2017 and 2019 U18 FIBA World Cup, the 2018 Youth Olympics Games, the men's 2019 FIBA World Cup and the men's and women's 2019 Pan American Games titles.
So, it was no surprise when Lawson was named head coach of the U.S. Olympic women's team.
But first the United States had to qualify for the Games. Qualifying was held in Graz, Austria this past May. The U.S. went 6-0 to advance to Tokyo. One of those wins was 21-17 over France.
The significance? Well, France is considered one of the world's best teams in 3x3.
Meanwhile, the U.S. men lost to the Netherlands and failed to make it to the Olympics.
Lawson says she didn't have any input in roster selection but she's adaptable.
"Honestly, I don't know what the best characteristics are of 3x3. I think in basketball in general, you have to have players who can make good decisions. But I think you can win a lot of ways, with different players. That's one of the reasons I like it. I've had all kinds of different teams, stylistically. You've got to figure out the best way for that group of four players to play. The margin for error is a lot smaller than 5-on-5, that's for sure. You only play 10 minutes, so you have to play well."
She adds that versatility is a must. There aren't any specialists in 3x3. Players have to be able to process information quickly, play inside and outside and switch from offense to defense and vice-versa in the proverbial blink of an eye.
"The transition game? You are focused in on that. That can be the difference between winning and losing a game."
Lawson's four players are familiar names to people who follow college and professional women's basketball.
Stefanie Dolson is the post player. She's 6-5. But she also can step outside, hit a long shot and defend on the perimeter. Dolson helped Connecticut to the 2013 and 2014 NCAA titles and plays for the Chicago Sky, where one of her teammates is former Duke star Lexie Brown.
Katie Sue Samuelson is another former Husky. She played for their 2016 NCAA title team, although she missed the championship game with an injury. The 6-3 Samuelson plays for the Seattle Storm.
Allisa Gray began her college career at the University of North Carolina before transferring to the University of South Carolina. She starred for their 2017 NCAA title team. The 2017 WNBA Rookie of the Year, the speedy Gray plays for the Dallas Wings.
Kelsey Plum is the leading scorer in NCAA women's history. She scored 3,527 points at Washington and led them to the 2016 Final Four, that school's first appearance in the final weekend. Plum plays for Las Vegas, along with former Duke standout Chelsea Gray.
Three NCAA champions, another Final Four participant. In other words, a quartet of players who knows how to play and win under the big lights.
Which is what they had to do in Graz. Lawson notes that other national teams train year round but hopes her team's successes will help them in Tokyo.
"We're not as experienced as other teams because they've been playing together. It gives us something to draw on, gives us a base. But we still have to get up to speed. Most of the teams have been training together since Austria and we haven't seen each other since Austria. That's one of our challenges. They [the returnees] know our system, know our plays and that will definitely help when we get back together."
Knowing the system is vital. Once the game begins, there is no coaching. Lawson's contributions will come in practice and preparation. Once the game starts, the players are on their own.
Not an easy adjustment, Lawson says.
"The challenges are you might see something that could help your team and you can't tell them. You can't call timeout and fix it. You have to wait until the end of the game and hope it doesn't cost you the game."
Does Lawson have a distinctive style? She says it's based on pragmatism.
"The style is based on the personnel you have. The team you have depends on how you can and cannot play. You work with who and what you have and find a way to help them win."
Eight teams will tee it up. Lawson says the field is wide open.
"France is the best team in the world. Them and Japan, China, lots of teams that can win the whole tournament. I think the first world-wide showcase, where you're going to hit people who aren't just basketball people, will see really good games, really exciting games and people are going to judge it on that basis."
The gold medal game will be held July 28.
But that won't end Lawson's stay in Japan. She's signed on as an analyst for NBC's coverage of women's basketball. The U.S. team includes Chelsea Gray.
Lawson won a gold medal playing for the U.S. in 2008, in Beijing.
Player, coach, analyst. A trifecta matched by few. Lawson says it's not something she thinks about. She's got a team to train.
Credit: Jim Sumner, GoDuke the Magazine
#GoDuke
That's Kara Lawson's advice to novice observers of 3x3 basketball.
Lawson knows what she's talking about. She's the head coach of the United States Olympic Women's 3x3 team.
And almost all of us are novice observers.
If you've played basketball, even at the recreational level, you've almost certainly played some sort of half-court basketball, maybe in a gym, maybe on a playground, maybe even in someone's back yard. Harlem's Rucker Park has become famous for the quality of its half-court, pickup games.
But 3x3 isn't pickup basketball, at least not at its highest levels. And this year, for the first time, that highest level is the Olympics. Duke women's coach Kara Lawson is leading the U.S. charge for that first gold.
A brief tutorial might be in order. 3x3 is played on a court that is 49-by-36 feet, with a single basket. A team consists of four players, three on the court at any time. There's a 12-second shot clock. A made basket inside the arc counts for one point, a made basket outside the arc counts for two. When the defense gets possession of the ball inside the arc, they have to move the ball outside the arc in order to initiate their offense. A game lasts 10 minutes or until one team reaches 21 points.
Your favorite search engine should be able to fill in the gaps.
Blink and you'll miss it.
Which has its attractions, according to Lawson.
"The good side of that is that you can see a lot of different teams play. You don't have to sit down and have to watch two hours of basketball. Or you can sit down and watch six 3-on-3 games in two hours."
Lawson started coaching 3x3 basketball in 2017, when she was approached by USA Basketball.
"They needed a coach for a high school team back in 2017 and it couldn't be a college coach. And I was just a TV person at the time."
This was U18 and under Lawson's tutelage the United States captured the 2017 and 2019 U18 FIBA World Cup, the 2018 Youth Olympics Games, the men's 2019 FIBA World Cup and the men's and women's 2019 Pan American Games titles.
So, it was no surprise when Lawson was named head coach of the U.S. Olympic women's team.
But first the United States had to qualify for the Games. Qualifying was held in Graz, Austria this past May. The U.S. went 6-0 to advance to Tokyo. One of those wins was 21-17 over France.
The significance? Well, France is considered one of the world's best teams in 3x3.
Meanwhile, the U.S. men lost to the Netherlands and failed to make it to the Olympics.
Lawson says she didn't have any input in roster selection but she's adaptable.
"Honestly, I don't know what the best characteristics are of 3x3. I think in basketball in general, you have to have players who can make good decisions. But I think you can win a lot of ways, with different players. That's one of the reasons I like it. I've had all kinds of different teams, stylistically. You've got to figure out the best way for that group of four players to play. The margin for error is a lot smaller than 5-on-5, that's for sure. You only play 10 minutes, so you have to play well."
She adds that versatility is a must. There aren't any specialists in 3x3. Players have to be able to process information quickly, play inside and outside and switch from offense to defense and vice-versa in the proverbial blink of an eye.
"The transition game? You are focused in on that. That can be the difference between winning and losing a game."
Lawson's four players are familiar names to people who follow college and professional women's basketball.
Stefanie Dolson is the post player. She's 6-5. But she also can step outside, hit a long shot and defend on the perimeter. Dolson helped Connecticut to the 2013 and 2014 NCAA titles and plays for the Chicago Sky, where one of her teammates is former Duke star Lexie Brown.
Katie Sue Samuelson is another former Husky. She played for their 2016 NCAA title team, although she missed the championship game with an injury. The 6-3 Samuelson plays for the Seattle Storm.
Allisa Gray began her college career at the University of North Carolina before transferring to the University of South Carolina. She starred for their 2017 NCAA title team. The 2017 WNBA Rookie of the Year, the speedy Gray plays for the Dallas Wings.
Kelsey Plum is the leading scorer in NCAA women's history. She scored 3,527 points at Washington and led them to the 2016 Final Four, that school's first appearance in the final weekend. Plum plays for Las Vegas, along with former Duke standout Chelsea Gray.
Three NCAA champions, another Final Four participant. In other words, a quartet of players who knows how to play and win under the big lights.
Which is what they had to do in Graz. Lawson notes that other national teams train year round but hopes her team's successes will help them in Tokyo.
"We're not as experienced as other teams because they've been playing together. It gives us something to draw on, gives us a base. But we still have to get up to speed. Most of the teams have been training together since Austria and we haven't seen each other since Austria. That's one of our challenges. They [the returnees] know our system, know our plays and that will definitely help when we get back together."
Knowing the system is vital. Once the game begins, there is no coaching. Lawson's contributions will come in practice and preparation. Once the game starts, the players are on their own.
Not an easy adjustment, Lawson says.
"The challenges are you might see something that could help your team and you can't tell them. You can't call timeout and fix it. You have to wait until the end of the game and hope it doesn't cost you the game."
Does Lawson have a distinctive style? She says it's based on pragmatism.
"The style is based on the personnel you have. The team you have depends on how you can and cannot play. You work with who and what you have and find a way to help them win."
Eight teams will tee it up. Lawson says the field is wide open.
"France is the best team in the world. Them and Japan, China, lots of teams that can win the whole tournament. I think the first world-wide showcase, where you're going to hit people who aren't just basketball people, will see really good games, really exciting games and people are going to judge it on that basis."
The gold medal game will be held July 28.
But that won't end Lawson's stay in Japan. She's signed on as an analyst for NBC's coverage of women's basketball. The U.S. team includes Chelsea Gray.
Lawson won a gold medal playing for the U.S. in 2008, in Beijing.
Player, coach, analyst. A trifecta matched by few. Lawson says it's not something she thinks about. She's got a team to train.
Credit: Jim Sumner, GoDuke the Magazine
#GoDuke
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