A player from Kara Lawson’s first team at Duke is moving on.
Graduate point guard Vanessa de Jesus is entering the transfer portal, first reported by On3’s Talia Goodman. De Jesus played four seasons for the Blue Devils, excluding the 2023-24 season that she missed with a knee injury.
“She’s such a special player, and I will always remember that … When you’re a new coach, you gotta have some kids that believe in you before anybody else,” Lawson said of de Jesus’ support. “I could coach another 20 years and never coach a kid like de Jesus, her team-first approach, her work ethic, her mentality and how she really gives to everybody in the program.”
This season, de Jesus came off the bench as the reserve point guard. Despite limited minutes, she shined in spots, including an eight-point performance in Duke’s Sweet 16 win against North Carolina. The Valencia, Calif., native was a reliable floor general who shot 47.6% from the field and 36.1% from deep. She averaged 3.1 points per game and 1.8 assists per game following her injury.
“Most people around the country probably didn’t have de Jesus on the Bingo card today, but we did. And we know she can change the game for us,” Lawson said after the 47-38 win.
The 5-foot-8 guard started all four games of the 2020-21 season and averaged 12 points per game in that span. She followed that up by starting 13 games in her sophomore campaign, scoring 4.2 per contest. In the summer of 2023, de Jesus represented the Philippines National Team at the FIBA Women’s Asia Cup.
She will have one year of eligibility remaining.
