Kara Lawson balances leading Duke and Team USA amid March Madness
Kara Lawson has had a busy March Madness. After guiding Duke to an ACC title and coaching Team USA, a Sweet 16 trip is at stake for her Blue Devils.
DURHAM, NC — Kara Lawson has had a busier March Madness than most coaches. After guiding Duke to its second consecutive ACC Tournament title in Georgia on March 8, Lawson jetted down to Puerto Rico to make her debut as the head coach of the U. S.
National Team in a qualifying tournament for the FIBA World Cup. Lawson coached the star-studded Americans in three lopsided victories — winning by an average margin of 47 points — and then handed the reins of Team USA over to assistant Nate Tibbets while she flew back to Durham to join the Blue Devils for Selection Sunday. For Lawson, switching gears from coaching Duke to leading Team USA wasn’t all that difficult.
While she was at the FIBA tournament, she gave her Blue Devils the week off to rest ahead of the NCAA Tournament, which is something she has typically done across her six-year tenure at Duke. And during those breaks, Lawson often still worked anyways. This time, she just had games to coach.
“Everybody kind of gets that time off. Maybe not seven days, but like a big chunk of time,” Lawson said Saturday. “So I just worked during my time off, which is typical for me anyway.