Duke head coach Joanne P. McCallie talks with two of her players before the start of the NCAA first-round matchup between No. 1 Duke and No. 16 Austin Peay on Sunday at Breslin Center. Duke will face off against the Spartans, her former team, on Tuesday at Breslin Center.
There was an eerily familiar feel to it all.
The name that blared over the Breslin Center public address system was as familiar as the woman who paced the sidelines with meditative determination and focus. But this time, there was no green blouse under the dark suit and the team backing her was wearing an unfamiliar color — blue.
She’s back.
Two years after leaving MSU for bluer pastures at Duke, coach Joanne P. McCallie returned to East Lansing this weekend and will face her former team in the second round of the NCAA Tournament at 7:16 p.m. tonight at Breslin Center.
First speaking to reporters Saturday, McCallie was tight-lipped about her MSU reunion, as her former recruits have been all week. But an 83-42 slaughter of No. 16 seed Austin Peay on Sunday coupled with MSU’s 60-59 comeback victory against No. 8 seed Middle Tennessee State set the stage for the highly anticipated showdown.
“That was a great seven-year run, recruiting Michigan kids to MSU and having the success we had and building the attendance we did,” McCallie said. “Seven years is a long time and a long commitment and one that I’m proud of and I learned from. I think it sends the message to follow your dreams. Michigan State was a big part of my dream and that’s an important piece.”
All MSU players except this year’s freshmen — Porschè Poole, Courtney Schiffauer and Taylor Alton — were recruited by McCallie to come to MSU. McCallie said it would be “inappropriate” to be in contact with any current MSU players, but said she has kept in touch with former Spartans she coached and led to a 2005 National Championship final.
“Coach P did a lot of good things for MSU, and playing for her was good for me,” junior forward Aisha Jefferson said.
“There were no hard feelings (when she left). There’s going to be adversity and coaching changes. We learn these things when we become college athletes.”
Curious placement?
Jackie Silar, associate athletic director at Duke, is also the chair of the NCAA Tournament selection committee responsible for sending the Blue Devils to East Lansing.
“What happened happened,” said Rick Atkinson, MSU assistant athletic director for facilities and event management.
“I just find it incredibly amusing that her boss is the head of the basketball committee and she ended up here. I’m not a politician, but I can tell you I would have vetoed that as hard as I could have if I was.”
When McCallie, the 2005 National Coach of the Year, announced she was leaving East Lansing for Durham in 2007, she called the Duke position her “dream job.” Regarded as one of — if not the most — premier college basketball schools in the nation, Duke became the next stop for McCallie, who came to MSU after an eight-year stint at Maine.
“She did an amazing job here at MSU and a lot of kids came here for obvious reasons,” MSU head coach Suzy Merchant said.
“I’m excited that I have my own opportunity to put my stamp on things. As a coach, no matter who you’re playing, if you go beyond the realm of what you can control, you’re going to lose control. We don’t play the game — the kids do.”
Through her second season on the Duke sidelines, McCallie has compiled a record of 52-15. In that same period, the Spartans have been 44-24 under Merchant. Duke is 40-15 all-time in NCAA Tournament games and the Spartans are 12-8.
But one common denominator of the résumés of both programs is the number of National Championship banners hanging in the rafters above their respective home courts: Zero.
Both teams have reached the National Championship game (MSU in 2005, Duke in 1999 and 2006), but neither has come away with two consecutive wins in the Final Four.
The difference is McCallie did it at MSU with a group of girls who likely wouldn’t have contributed at Duke. She hasn’t done the same in Durham.
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Mixed reception
McCallie said former neighbors greeted her family at Duke’s hotel this weekend. She said her children and husband have been busy with old friends, but she hasn’t been socializing.
“For us, it’s different,” she said. “It’s business. … I’m not going to be out and about. This is not about that. If I want to do that, I can come back and do that.”
Prior to the Duke-Austin Peay game, McCallie didn’t receive the same warm welcome. There were a few scattered cheers outside the Duke fan section, but resonating boos masked the praise.
The crowd at MSU’s game on Sunday (official attendance of 4,348) didn’t fill the lower bowl, but still propelled the Spartans to victory. Tuesday’s game is sure to bring a more pro-MSU crowd, but how will they react to the coach who arguably put MSU women’s basketball on the map before bolting for the seemingly better job?
“Maybe that’s their way of showing feelings,” McCallie said. “There’s nothing to boo. If you want to boo, that’s OK. We get booed a lot. Duke gets booed a lot.”
