Duke has hired Celtics assistant coach Kara Lawson as their new head women’s basketball coach. Kara Lawson is the first Black Female Head Coach, this is super dope!
Lawson is a former Tennessee and WNBA guard. She recently was serving as the assistant coach for the Boston Celtics.
Duke’s former head coach Joanne P. McCallie announced on July 2 that she would not be returning for a 14th season with the Lady Blue Devils.
OFFICIAL.
Welcome to Duke, Kara Lawson! pic.twitter.com/0IIV5WprPD
— Duke Women’s Basketball (@DukeWBB) July 11, 2020
Well, it is a dream come true for me, Lawson said in a statement. I have wanted to be a coach since I was a kid. To have an opportunity to lead a group of young women at a prestigious university like Duke — I have run out of words; it is unbelievable and very exciting!
Everybody I spoke with and had a chance to interact with, I immediately felt a great connection. It wasn’t a decision based on emotion, but there was a lot of emotion involved in it because of how excited I am and how ready I am to get started and to work with the players.
Not only is Lawson the first Black Female Head Coach in Duke’s history but she is also the 5th Black coach in the ACC.
Lawson played in the WNBA from 2003 to 2015, winning the 2005 championship with Sacramento, and was part of the gold-medal-winning 2008 U.S. Olympic team. She worked as a TV commentator for NBA and college basketball games before the Celtics hired her in June 2019.
A highly-seasoned champion at multiple levels within the basketball landscape, Kara Lawson is the ideal fit for Duke University, athletic director Kevin White said in a statement.
This is great to see that Black women are getting the opportunities they deserve. I am more than positive that Kara Lawson will do great things at Duke. Congratulations!
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