Kara Lawson's "Handle hard better" one year later

[Carnac]

 

[Carnac]

In case you missed it......................here's Kara's "Handle Hard Better" speech.

 

[TheFarmFan]

I hate to say this, but I am beginning to think her highest and best talent was as a broadcaster. I really miss her in the booth, where she was one of the very best in the biz.

 

[triaddukefan]

Hopefully we can handle those expletive deleted chapel hillers better this season.

 

[Cuango]

I think she deserves two more years for sure. If things aren’t looking up by then, maybe she should go back to what she was clearly very good at. I think her first years have been compromised by the pandemic and it’s aftermath. I’m sort of looking at last season as the start and I think she will get that program back to here it belongs by 2025-26!

 

[Ladeeeeda]

I think she deserves two more years for sure. If things aren’t looking up by then, maybe she should go back to what she was clearly very good at. I think her first years have been compromised by the pandemic and it’s aftermath. I’m sort of looking at last season as the start and I think she will get that program back to here it belongs by 2025-26!

I'd say NIL has had a much bigger impact on the Duke program at this point. Duke like Stanford isn't funding their athletes through a collective. Unless they start soon, Duke is going nowhere fast.

 

[nwhoopfan]

I'd say NIL has had a much bigger impact on the Duke program at this point. Duke like Stanford isn't funding their athletes through a collective. Unless they start soon, Duke is going nowhere fast.

K got out just in time. Did he see the writing on the wall?

 

[bballnut90]

I think she deserves two more years for sure. If things aren’t looking up by then, maybe she should go back to what she was clearly very good at. I think her first years have been compromised by the pandemic and it’s aftermath. I’m sort of looking at last season as the start and I think she will get that program back to here it belongs by 2025-26!

At the trajectory she's going, she'll be Duke's coach for the forseeable future. 26-7 and I believe a #2 finish in the ACC in year 2 is phenomenal. Her incoming class is elite too, she has the #3, #27 and #29 recruits coming in. Duke is good hands.

 

[triaddukefan]

At the trajectory she's going, she'll be Duke's coach for the forseeable future. 26-7 and I believe a #2 finish in the ACC in year 2 is phenomenal. Her incoming class is elite too, she has the #3, #27 and #29 recruits coming in. Duke is good hands.

I agree..... she did a tremendous job last season, she is bringing in good recruits, I'm happy that she is our coach, and I hope she remains so for a long time. After a few years of sneaking into the ACC Women's tournament keeping a low profile in my Duke gear, I was able to walk confidently through the parking lot with my head held high, while decked out in beautiful blue Duke apparel. Entering the gates of the Coliseum with a smug look on my face, it felt good to have a respectable coach manning the ship.

That being said.......we can't stay losing to that bunch on 15/501 South . or else I might have to start writing the Athletic Director.

 

[cancontent]

Considering one season was wiped out and that she's had to rely on transfers while building up the roster through recruiting, she's done better than I expected. I agree that the next couple years will provide better insight as to her coaching future. Not sure how they're losing in the NIL game when they've landed a good 2023 class and have a 2024 commit like Fournier. Only time will tell.

 

[Jumper33]

At the trajectory she's going, she'll be Duke's coach for the forseeable future. 26-7 and I believe a #2 finish in the ACC in year 2 is phenomenal. Her incoming class is elite too, she has the #3, #27 and #29 recruits coming in. Duke is good hands.

A #2 finish in the ACC, but it was VERY nearly #1 outright. And even if Duke and ND had tied, Duke had the head to head win. Rough day for them, letting that game slip away while ND’s improbable comeback was happening simultaneously.

But I agree, this was absolutely a successful season for Lawson all things considered! And the fact she was able to get Fournier is a great sign.

Their lack of offense didn’t really catch up with them until that last regular season game they dropped, and then it further hurt them in the postseason. Their defense was really stifling through ACC play. If Lawson can get some more offense going they could be a good team again this year even without Celeste Taylor. I’m still surprised at her transferring, but Mair from BC is a good addition.

 

[azfan]

I hate to say this, but I am beginning to think her highest and best talent was as a broadcaster. I really miss her in the booth, where she was one of the very best in the biz.

Absolutely agree. Consummate professional in the booth, always had something insightful to add to the broadcast, and I think a great teammate with her partners.

 

[azfan]

K got out just in time. Did he see the writing on the wall?

I think absolutely. And my view this is why CTT retired at ASU. Both coaches recognized the changing landscape and probably self-assessed that their skills that was not going to transfer well to this new environment

 

[Ladeeeeda]

Considering one season was wiped out and that she's had to rely on transfers while building up the roster through recruiting, she's done better than I expected. I agree that the next couple years will provide better insight as to her coaching future. Not sure how they're losing in the NIL game when they've landed a good 2023 class and have a 2024 commit like Fournier. Only time will

When money is the reason you don't get top recruits, you are losing the NIL game. The transfer portal is evidence of that. Duke wasn't able to fill a lot of their needs this year. Sure some recruits don't care about it as much (the ones that committed this year), but many do. As a program, you try to eliminate reasons why top players wouldn't want to come or stay at your school. Duke can't eliminate that reason right now. Hopefully it changes soon. Unlike Stanford, I think it will. However, Lawson has a lot of work to do....primarily gaining the trust of donors that jumped ship as the program declined under her predecessor.

 

[DefenseBB]

At the trajectory she's going, she'll be Duke's coach for the forseeable future. 26-7 and I believe a #2 finish in the ACC in year 2 is phenomenal. Her incoming class is elite too, she has the #3, #27 and #29 recruits coming in. Duke is good hands.

Year 2? She is starting year 4, so this was year 3, you still have to count that she quit her first year and booted many players off the team, so while 26-7 and a #2 finish was something to be proud of (even if the traditional powers of ND & Louisville were rebuilding), her team in year two collapsed down the finish and didn't even make the NCAA. I agree completely with @TheFarmFan that who best skill was as a broadcaster and while the record to be written still has a long way to go, I think Kara has to learn to handle losses and adversity better than she has, so perhaps her message here was more "in the mirror" than to her team. She needs to lead more by example.

 

[bballnut90]

Year 2? She is starting year 4, so this was year 3, you still have to count that she quit her first year and booted many players off the team, so while 26-7 and a #2 finish was something to be proud of (even if the traditional powers of ND & Louisville were rebuilding), her team in year two collapsed down the finish and didn't even make the NCAA. I agree completely with @TheFarmFan that who best skill was as a broadcaster and while the record to be written still has a long way to go, I think Kara has to learn to handle losses and adversity better than she has, so perhaps her message here was more "in the mirror" than to her team. She needs to lead more by example.

This whole post is grasping for straws to find negatives about her coaching. What examples are you referring to when you say she needs to handle losses and adversity better?

 

[JellyBean]

When money is the reason you don't get top recruits, you are losing the NIL game. The transfer portal is evidence of that. Duke wasn't able to fill a lot of their needs this year. Sure some recruits don't care about it as much (the ones that committed this year), but many do. As a program, you try to eliminate reasons why top players wouldn't want to come or stay at your school. Duke can't eliminate that reason right now. Hopefully it changes soon. Unlike Stanford, I think it will. However, Lawson has a lot of work to do....primarily gaining the trust of donors that jumped ship as the program declined under her predecessor.

Great points but I take an opposite view. I think Coach Lawson is getting some decent recruits to Duke. Throw in that fact that she was able to add a solid recruit like Toby Fournier for next season to go with the four for this season, Coach Lawson is doing great things at Duke. The donors will come. If they are serious about the Duke WBB program, those donors will come.

 

[Ladeeeeda]

Great points but I take an opposite view. I think Coach Lawson is getting some decent recruits to Duke. Throw in that fact that she was able to add a solid recruit like Toby Fournier for next season to go with the four for this season, Coach Lawson is doing great things at Duke. The donors will come. If they are serious about the Duke WBB program, those donors will come.

I don't think she is doing a bad job. I think she is doing really well, but many expected better and it is and was completely unrealistic. The current situation has made it a lot harder than it would have been say 5-7 yrs ago at a place like Duke.

 

[Gamecockfan77]

K got out just in time. Did he see the writing on the wall?

I have much less hate in my heart for the ACC than most Gamecocks, but I do lol at the idea that Coach K didn't have good funding.

 

[Ladeeeeda]

I have much less hate in my heart for the ACC than most Gamecocks, but I do lol at the idea that Coach K didn't have good funding.

The Duke men will always be fine moneywise. K insured that himself.

 

[Alydar]

K got out just in time. Did he see the writing on the wall?

Do you believe that the payments to athletes started with NIL? Or that no Duke player ever received anything from boosters? The entire clamor is due to having it rubbed in the public's faces instead of hidden from view. All we need is Claude Raines saying "I'm shocked that players are being paid to play".

To me, the real danger I see happening already is the corporatization of college sports. We are not that far from Roller Ball.

 

[nwhoopfan]

Do you believe that the payments to athletes started with NIL? Or that no Duke player ever received anything from boosters?

Nope, not that naive. And there have been plenty of fishy circumstances w/ Duke men's bb over the years. But somehow the NCAA was never that interested in looking into it.

 

[Alydar]

Nope, not that naive. And there have been plenty of fishy circumstances w/ Duke men's bb over the years. But somehow the NCAA was never that interested in looking into it.

IMO the NCAA put on blinders a long long time ago and only acted when it was shoved into their faces. I wasn't picking on Duke and it isn't just basketball.

 

[CAbballfan2]

Really enjoyed the feature Sportscenter did this morning on Kara’s Handle Hard Better message. It was nice hearing the stories of some of the people it impacted around the country. Also highlighting, how much the passing of her father and Pat Summit impacted her journey.

 

[Nash83]

Really enjoyed the feature Sportscenter did this morning on Kara’s Handle Hard Better message. It was nice hearing the stories of some of the people it impacted around the country. Also highlighting, how much the passing of her father and Pat Summit impacted her journey.

Is this it?