Duke basketball: Five reasons Chris Carrawell should coach women
By Matt Giles
The Duke basketball bench has the best candidate to guide the women’s team.
On Thursday, after compiling a 330-107 record across 13 seasons in Durham, Joanne P. McCallie announced her resignation as the head coach of the women’s Duke basketball program. Following four straight Elite Eight appearances from 2010 to 2013 — while twice earning ACC Coach of the Year honors — the 54-year-old’s last seven campaigns have mostly consisted of ho-hum results.
Moving on, considering the players are set to arrive on campus exactly one month from now, athletic director Kevin White must quickly find a replacement. While one popular option might be McCallie’s predecessor, Gail Goestenkors, who boasted an impressive 396-99 record at Duke from 1992 to 2007 before taking over at Texas (2007-12), it’s unclear at this point as to whether the 57-year-old would have any interest in returning to her old gig.
Other potential targets include Alana Beard, who raised her jersey to the Cameron Indoor Stadium rafters after becoming the program’s all-time leading scorer in 2004, and Lindsey Harding, Beard’s former college teammate at point guard who nowadays serves as a player development coach for the Sacramento Kings.
But if White and the board of trustees are looking for the ideal hire in light of all the uncertainty, limitations, and financial issues within the sports world, then they should look no further than one particular member of the men’s staff. Here are five reasons why third-year Duke basketball assistant coach Chris Carrawell could be a perfect fit to lead the ladies…