Kara Lawson came to Duke ahead of the 2020-21 season, set to serve in her first role as a head coach of one of the most well-known and prestigious brands in college basketball.
With no head coaching experience and not yet 40 years old, Lawson was suddenly in charge of a one-time powerhouse that made four Final Fours and produced some of her toughest pro competition in the WNBA.
But the last of those Final Fours came in 2006, and Lawson was immediately faced with a public health crisis. She and her team elected to sit out the 2020-21 season due to the COVID-19 pandemic, focusing on fundamentals, roster-building and a positive culture of support.
Now, two seasons and 41 wins later, the Blue Devils are reaping the benefits of Lawson's system as one of the top defensive teams in the country, coming one game short of the Sweet 16 in Lawson's first NCAA Tournament appearance as a coach.
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Monday's 61-53 overtime loss to No. 6-seeded Colorado (25-8) in Durham eliminated No. 3-seeded Duke (26-7) from March Madness. The Buffaloes move on to face No. 2-seeded Iowa (28-6) in Seattle, Washington's Climate Pledge Arena.
Lawson got to the Sweet 16 plenty as a Lady Vol playing for the legendary Pat Summitt. Lawson's name is still written in Tennessee record books after she played on three Final Four teams as a four-time All-SEC guard before going pro as the No. 5 overall pick in the 2003 WNBA Draft.
She leans on her experiences as a player to guide today's Blue Devils.
"I've been where they've been, and the best thing you can do as a leader is, if you've been where they've been, help show them the way so maybe they don't make the same mistakes as you do," Lawson said after Duke's 89-49 win over No. 14 seed Iona in the first round of March Madness.
"I mean, the most important thing you can do as a coach is tell your players the truth. If you want to be in any type of relationship, the most important thing is to tell people the truth. If you're not authentic with what you're doing, people spot a fake from a mile away. Basketball players are particularly astute at spotting fakes. They know when you're being real with them and when you're not."
Focus on defense
One of those truths is that defense wins, and effort on that side of the ball should be consistently high.
"There’s not an ebb and flow in terms of your focus and your discipline and your work ethic. I don’t believe in an ebb and flow in that. Like, that is solid daily," Lawson said.
Duke has held its opponents to just 50.7 points per game — tying Norfolk State for the best defense in the nation. And that average is almost 12 points lower than the Blue Devils allowed last season when their opponents averaged 62.2 points per game.
In Monday's loss to Colorado, Duke erased a 12-point deficit to send the game to OT, largely behind its defense, which had 17 steals — 10 of them from ACC Defensive Player of the Year Celeste Taylor, who put up a double-double with steals and 10 rebounds. She also had eight assists.
Duke also jumped from 10th place in the ACC final regular-season standings last season into a tie for second this season and had the Blue Devils beaten the Buffaloes, they would have been the fifth ACC team in the Sweet 16. Along the way, Lawson's articulate messages and motivational speeches have gone viral, reaching an audience well beyond college basketball.
She responds with hand-written letters when people reach out to her, often touched by words of encouragement or faith. Most of her followers are coaches, but some are more unexpected — like the 75-year-old woman from Montana who still rides horses, or the eighth-grade science teacher from California who assigned her students to write a report on one of Lawson's speeches.
"I get messages from people all over the country. It's cool. It inspires me too, I think, just keep putting stuff out there that resonates with people," Lawson said.
Keeping it real. Being authentic. Those attributes have created a strong culture of accountability and support among the Blue Devils, who have gone from watching the NCAA Tournament at home last season to playing in it this year.
"Coach always believes in us," Jordyn Taylor, a junior transfer from Baylor said after Duke's first-round NCAA win. "She always told us throughout the whole year that we are a confident team and we can score on offense. She always told us we are a great team in March."
More importantly, these Blue Devils believe it.
Sports editor Monica Holland can be reached at mholland@fayobserver.com.
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