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Coach Lawson Media Availability Quotes (11.12.24)
11/12/2024 6:25:00 PM | Women's Basketball
DURHAM, N.C. – Duke women's basketball head coach Kara Lawson met with members of the media Tuesday afternoon via Zoom. Lawson recapped Sunday's game at Maryland before previewing the Blue Devils' upcoming games versus Dayton (Nov. 14) and at South Dakota State (Nov. 17) this week.
HEAD COACH KARA LAWSON
Opening Statement
"Another tough week for us, two good teams. For us, just trying to keep growing and trying to keep getting better. I think we learned a lot from this past week and having three games in the first week, having two of them on the road, was good exposure to our group on how you have to play on the road to win games. Hopefully, we have some transfer of that, but just overall, trying to get better day-by-day. This challenging week keeps being challenging, which was the intention when we put the schedule together. So, this week will test us a lot, and I'm looking forward to it."
On the takeaways from the Maryland game…
"Kind of bouncing back this week, progressing and learning from the mistakes and mishaps. I just think we learned we have to be more disciplined in how we play. Being able to show them that the film, the visual evidence of that is more assignment correct, more attention to detail within our scheme. When we do that on each end of the floor, possessions more often than not go in our favor. When we don't do that – teams are good that we play against – they capitalize and they score, or they get stops if we're not executing properly. So that's what we looked at, and that's what I'm hopeful that we've learned from it. But it's not just enough for them to say, I learned we have to do this better; they have to do it better. That's the challenge in this, in this game. It's not just that they have to see that they could be better in a certain way, they have to fix it on the court. So that's what I'm hoping to see. That's what I'm hoping to see come Thursday, is that we've corrected on the court some of the things that we didn't do well."
On what has stood out from the freshmen…
"You're talking about Fournier? I mean, Fournier is really good. You guys watch the games, you see her, she's a good player. She's productive, she scores, she rebounds, she gets to the line, all those things she does in the game, she does in practice every day. I thought there were things she could have done better, but for a freshman on the road in a top-20 matchup, in 22 minutes, almost gets a double-double. Like, that's pretty good, I'd say. Okay, that's pretty good. Now, we have a question: does she have a lot to work on? Sure. Are there things that she needs to be better at? Sure. But she's very competitive, she's very confident, she's very productive. So, just continuing to help build her foundation of how we play, because that's new to her. She doesn't know how we play. She's learning how we play and learning our schemes and learning our changing, things that we change, and how we do that. She's growing all the time. She's a presence on the court, offensively and defensively. So, I think she's been solid for a freshman in the first few games."
On the points of emphasis heading into the Dayton game…
"Yeah, our points of emphasis don't change from game to game, regardless of the opponent. We want to get back in transition and force people to play against our half-court defense. We don't want to give up open layups or open threes. We want every shot to be challenged, and then we want them to get one challenged shot. That's kind of the goal of every game. How you do that changes game-to-game from a scheme standpoint. So, we've got to get back in transition, we've got to get matched up. We did that poorly against Maryland. We can't give up open layups and open threes. We did that poorly against Maryland. And then we can't give up offensive boards. We did that poorly against Maryland. So, you can see we have a lot of work to do, and that's, that's what we're hoping to see, some improvement in those areas, versus Dayton. [They were the] number one offensive rebounding team in the A-10 last year. Almost 50 points in the paint last year. The two areas that we didn't do a good job in on Sunday. So, this is going to be a big ol' job, a big ol' challenge for us."
On associate head coach Tia Jackson…
"I thought, being a young head coach, it is important you have experience around you and, coach Tia was my first hire coming here. She's, she's a wonderful coach. She's excellent at every area. A lot of times, some coaches will have strengths [and weaknesses] – like people have strengths and weaknesses, and I haven't found a weakness for Jackson in coaching. She's excellent at recruiting, she's an excellent tactician, offensively and defensively. She's versatile. She can work with posts, she can work with wings, she can work with point guards. She has great charisma, and you feel good around her. So, she's a wonderful coach and has been a great confidant for me. She's the one coach who's been with me the whole time, so we have a great, great deal of trust in one another. You want to know my favorite part about her? My favorite part about her is that she'll tell me about myself. In this seat, sometimes people just agree with you, because you're their boss and you're in charge. So, nobody wants to disagree with you, and whatever you say is a great idea, and that's how it works. So, it's really important to have somebody that calls you on stuff if it's not right, and that's invaluable. She's done that from day one. If I'm off on something, she'll tell me. And nine times out of 10 – I'm not going to give her 100% – nine times out of 10, she's right when she does that. Like, if I have not done something all the way it should be done, or she's given me a different perspective that I hadn't looked at yet. You've got to have that, and I'm grateful to have that with her."
To stay up to date with Duke women's basketball, follow the team on Twitter, Instagram and Facebook by searching "DukeWBB."
50 Seasons of Duke Women's Basketball
The 2024-25 season marks the 50th anniversary of Duke women's basketball, a program rich in tradition, excellence and success. From its early foundations to national dominance, the Blue Devils have become a powerhouse in both athletics and academics. Join us in commemorating five decades of sisterhood, championships and iconic moments as we set the stage for the next 50 years. For more information, please visit goduke.com/WBB50
Duke Centennial
In 2024, Duke celebrates its Centennial, marking one hundred years since Trinity College became Duke University. Duke will use this historic milestone to deepen the understanding of its history, inspire pride and strengthen bonds and partnerships, and prepare for a second century of continued excellence and impactful leadership. To learn more, please visit 100.duke.edu
#GoDuke
HEAD COACH KARA LAWSON
Opening Statement
"Another tough week for us, two good teams. For us, just trying to keep growing and trying to keep getting better. I think we learned a lot from this past week and having three games in the first week, having two of them on the road, was good exposure to our group on how you have to play on the road to win games. Hopefully, we have some transfer of that, but just overall, trying to get better day-by-day. This challenging week keeps being challenging, which was the intention when we put the schedule together. So, this week will test us a lot, and I'm looking forward to it."
On the takeaways from the Maryland game…
"Kind of bouncing back this week, progressing and learning from the mistakes and mishaps. I just think we learned we have to be more disciplined in how we play. Being able to show them that the film, the visual evidence of that is more assignment correct, more attention to detail within our scheme. When we do that on each end of the floor, possessions more often than not go in our favor. When we don't do that – teams are good that we play against – they capitalize and they score, or they get stops if we're not executing properly. So that's what we looked at, and that's what I'm hopeful that we've learned from it. But it's not just enough for them to say, I learned we have to do this better; they have to do it better. That's the challenge in this, in this game. It's not just that they have to see that they could be better in a certain way, they have to fix it on the court. So that's what I'm hoping to see. That's what I'm hoping to see come Thursday, is that we've corrected on the court some of the things that we didn't do well."
On what has stood out from the freshmen…
"You're talking about Fournier? I mean, Fournier is really good. You guys watch the games, you see her, she's a good player. She's productive, she scores, she rebounds, she gets to the line, all those things she does in the game, she does in practice every day. I thought there were things she could have done better, but for a freshman on the road in a top-20 matchup, in 22 minutes, almost gets a double-double. Like, that's pretty good, I'd say. Okay, that's pretty good. Now, we have a question: does she have a lot to work on? Sure. Are there things that she needs to be better at? Sure. But she's very competitive, she's very confident, she's very productive. So, just continuing to help build her foundation of how we play, because that's new to her. She doesn't know how we play. She's learning how we play and learning our schemes and learning our changing, things that we change, and how we do that. She's growing all the time. She's a presence on the court, offensively and defensively. So, I think she's been solid for a freshman in the first few games."
On the points of emphasis heading into the Dayton game…
"Yeah, our points of emphasis don't change from game to game, regardless of the opponent. We want to get back in transition and force people to play against our half-court defense. We don't want to give up open layups or open threes. We want every shot to be challenged, and then we want them to get one challenged shot. That's kind of the goal of every game. How you do that changes game-to-game from a scheme standpoint. So, we've got to get back in transition, we've got to get matched up. We did that poorly against Maryland. We can't give up open layups and open threes. We did that poorly against Maryland. And then we can't give up offensive boards. We did that poorly against Maryland. So, you can see we have a lot of work to do, and that's, that's what we're hoping to see, some improvement in those areas, versus Dayton. [They were the] number one offensive rebounding team in the A-10 last year. Almost 50 points in the paint last year. The two areas that we didn't do a good job in on Sunday. So, this is going to be a big ol' job, a big ol' challenge for us."
On associate head coach Tia Jackson…
"I thought, being a young head coach, it is important you have experience around you and, coach Tia was my first hire coming here. She's, she's a wonderful coach. She's excellent at every area. A lot of times, some coaches will have strengths [and weaknesses] – like people have strengths and weaknesses, and I haven't found a weakness for Jackson in coaching. She's excellent at recruiting, she's an excellent tactician, offensively and defensively. She's versatile. She can work with posts, she can work with wings, she can work with point guards. She has great charisma, and you feel good around her. So, she's a wonderful coach and has been a great confidant for me. She's the one coach who's been with me the whole time, so we have a great, great deal of trust in one another. You want to know my favorite part about her? My favorite part about her is that she'll tell me about myself. In this seat, sometimes people just agree with you, because you're their boss and you're in charge. So, nobody wants to disagree with you, and whatever you say is a great idea, and that's how it works. So, it's really important to have somebody that calls you on stuff if it's not right, and that's invaluable. She's done that from day one. If I'm off on something, she'll tell me. And nine times out of 10 – I'm not going to give her 100% – nine times out of 10, she's right when she does that. Like, if I have not done something all the way it should be done, or she's given me a different perspective that I hadn't looked at yet. You've got to have that, and I'm grateful to have that with her."
To stay up to date with Duke women's basketball, follow the team on Twitter, Instagram and Facebook by searching "DukeWBB."
50 Seasons of Duke Women's Basketball
The 2024-25 season marks the 50th anniversary of Duke women's basketball, a program rich in tradition, excellence and success. From its early foundations to national dominance, the Blue Devils have become a powerhouse in both athletics and academics. Join us in commemorating five decades of sisterhood, championships and iconic moments as we set the stage for the next 50 years. For more information, please visit goduke.com/WBB50
Duke Centennial
In 2024, Duke celebrates its Centennial, marking one hundred years since Trinity College became Duke University. Duke will use this historic milestone to deepen the understanding of its history, inspire pride and strengthen bonds and partnerships, and prepare for a second century of continued excellence and impactful leadership. To learn more, please visit 100.duke.edu
#GoDuke
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