Great point.
And along with that, academics tends to matter more to women because they are likely to be around for four years and they aren't going to be getting seven-figure pro contracts right out of school.
I said this before I even knew who Duke was considering. The right coach can turn things around quickly. And I'm really excited by this hire. It might be too late for Duke to flip anyone from the prep class of 2020 but I would expect her to get Duke involved with any top prepsters from 2021 even remotely open to re-evaluating their short list.
Her mother, Katie Smrcka-Duffy, was an All Met (probably player of the year but my memory is a little hazy) in the DC area and played at Madison High School, which competed against Kara's. I cannot recall if she and Kara competed against each other but I am confident they are acquaintances if not friends. As a freshman at NC State, Smrcka-Duffy was ACC Rookie of the Year and honorable mention all-ACC. She transferred to Georgetown and led the Big East in scoring as a sophomore and junior, and was a second-team all-Big East selection as a sophomore, junior, and senior. She was drafted by the Sacramento Monarchs but was plagued by injuries.
Color me impressed by the hire. These are tough times to hire, but she is a known name, from a historically great program, Yes, coaching tenure is short, but given the budgetary and pandemic constraints, what sort of experienced coach were you likely to get? How many 73-59 coaches turn out to be Hall of Fame quality? I'm thinking ... one, and we already have that guy.
True. But Lawson has a much higher profile than Krzyzewski did in the early 1980s.
And K really only had one down recruiting class. Foster didn't have any commitments when he bailed and there wasn't much left in the spring of 1980. K's second class was Dan Meagher and not much else. He hit the jackpot with his third class but these guys had the misfortune of hitting the ACC when it was full of great, upperclass talent.
Statement from Kevin White:
EcrWp31XgAAHBjX.jpg
"This is the best of all possible worlds."
Dr. Pangloss - Candide
Sage Grouse
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'When I got on the bus for my first road game at Duke, I saw that every player was carrying textbooks or laptops. I coached in the SEC for 25 years, and I had never seen that before, not even once.' - David Cutcliffe to Duke alumni in Washington, DC, June 2013
Another classy tweet.
Gail Goestenkors
@gailgoes10
Congrats Kara! Wishing you all the best!
@karalawson20
GG, always a class act.
"This is the best of all possible worlds."
Dr. Pangloss - Candide
It's neither fun nor completely accurate.
She was on the Tennessee team in 2002 (they lost to UConn, Duke to Oklahoma in the semis), and in 2003, when Tennessee beat us in the semis (and then lost to UConn in the finals.)
But, there was also 2006. Still too soon to discuss...
I don't know what "emotional intelligence" is, but with statements such as "contemporary vision", and "ability to connect with future (athletes)", it is clear that Dr. White is very prone on looking ahead, and that he thinks that Coach Kara can bring that future. And it shows why Coach G was ruled out so early.
Q "Why do you like Duke, you didn't even go there." A "Because my art school didn't have a basketball team."