Duke got its basketball coach from the Boston Celtics.

It’s ironic, if maybe not prophetic, that the Blue Devils hired their latest high-profile coach from the Celtics. After all, wasn’t Brad Stevens supposed to succeed Mike Krzyzewski?

Stevens, of course, has long been rumored to wind up on Tobacco Road at either Duke or Carolina following Coach K or Roy Williams, two of the four 70-year-olds who will be coaching in the ACC this coming season, if there is a coming season.

But the Celtics coach now wearing Duke blue is Kara Lawson, who was named to succeed Joanne P. McCalllie with the lady Blue Devils. She also makes the Research Triangle the hub of women’s college hoops, alongside the men, with N.C. State’s Wes Moore and Carolina’s Courtney Banghart, who both came from smaller programs.

Lawson has yet to coach a game in Cameron Indoor Stadium, but she brings a better resume to the job than either Moore or Banghart, having played for Pat Summit at Tennessee and then starring in the WNBA before she retired to broadcasting and eventually coaching.

Just like Banghart said about working with the other Tar Heels’ varsity coaches, particularly Roy Williams in her sport, Lawson will have even closer proximity to Krzyzewski because they practice and play in the same arena and have offices in adjacent buildings.

Frankly, the question most Duke basketball fans are probably asking is might she be an influence on Stevens if he accomplishes what he wants in the NBA when the men’s job at Duke opens up. Not directly, of course, because Stevens knows plenty about the Blue Devils from his days at Butler, but more so comparing the Big Four atmosphere to the more corporate, contract-driven life in the NBA.

Lawson was one of the first women to be an assistant in the NBA, and now she gets her shot at head-coaching on the college level, on the biggest stage for a game that still toils deeply in the shadow of the men. How she adjusts to a much smaller spotlight will be the biggest challenge she faces, personally and professionally.

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