As much as it might make fans of other college programs loathe to admit it, the ties between Duke and the Boston Celtics go back almost to the start of the Celtics as a professional ball club. A certain iconic head coach and general manager by the name of Red Auerbach got his start on that side of the clipboard before taking on jobs with the (then) Tri-City Blackhawks (now, Atlanta Hawks) and then Celtics, with a number of players, staff, and executives having had ties to the program over the decades since.
Kara Lawson, the current head coach of the Women's program, is of course among them. Though, she in some ways had Auerbach's career path in reverse, starting her coaching career as an assistant with Boston, leaving to coach at Duke after a season.
The former Celtics assistant shed some light on what it was like to take that leap of faith and leave her job with Boston in a recent interview, saying, "It was definitely a difficult decision in the sense that I knew where I was leaving, and I never once took that job thinking I'll leave in a year."
"I wasn't even thinking of leaving," she added. "I thought I was going to be in Boston. I enjoyed every day so much in Boston, I could have worked 10 more years in Boston. That's how much I loved it there. The people, the fans, the players, the staff; I still go up there every year to watch them, and I still root hard for them. I loved being there. There wasn't a day that I wasn't so happy, and so I wasn't looking for anything."
"One person who I forgot to mention who has had such an impact on me during my time there (and I still keep up with him too) is Danny Ainge, who was the president of the team at the time," said Lawson, "and Brad Stevens was (the) coach and Danny was such and continues to be, along with Brad, such great mentor for me."
"And Danny had great belief in me and my ability as a coach as well, and we used to talk about continuing to develop and coach, and where that could lead me with the team, and obviously with within the NBA. And so there was a lot to love about being there, and when you're around such great people, that's what makes it difficult to leave. I did want to be (a head coach) at some point. I didn't think it would it would materialize that fast, but I go back to (the fact that) Duke is so special and I couldn't I couldn't say no to Duke in the sense that if I did, it's probably not open for another 20, 25 years."
"I mean, that's how good a job it is at the collegiate level," added the former Celtics assistant. "And it just fit me in every way." Given she just won ACC Coach of the Year and is now also the head coach of the U.S. Women's National Team as well, it seems she made the right call.
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This article originally appeared on Celtics Wire: What it was like to leave the Boston Celtics to coach Duke: Kara Lawson
