EL GRAD CARLY THIBAULT-DUDONIS AND MOM NANCI
Carly Thibault-DuDonis grew up in a basketball family. It's a familiar narrative: Her dad, Mike, coached the Connecticut Sun for 10 years and led the Washington Mystics to the WNBA title last year. Her brother, Eric, played at East Lyme High and has become his dad's top assistant. And then there's the family's head coach. They call her "Nanci Pants." "Every coaching staff has a head coach, a couple of assistant coaches, and then an operations person who holds the whole thing together," Carly said. "Welcome to the Thibault family. Head coach (my dad aka "Coach T"), a couple of assistants (my brother Eric & me) and the operations department (my mom, Nanci). "What the general public sees is three coaches who love their jobs, love their players and win a decent number of games. What you don't see is how my mom has developed a social and compassionate side of me that helps me to relate to our players." Nanci, born in the state of Washington and who worked many years as a nurse, was the closest thing the town of East Lyme ever had as a social director. A friend to many. But nothing ever mattered to her more than Mike, Carly and Eric. Carly's coaching career has spanned much of the country, following her graduation from East Lyme in 2009. She played at Div. I Monmouth before coaching at Florida State, Eastern Michigan, Mississippi State and now the University of Minnesota, where she is Lindsay Whalen's assistant. All these stops later, Carly still has her mom in her head every day. "What you don't see is how she has helped me pick out countless gameday outfits so I don't look like a hot mess," Carly said. "What you don't see is how she might actually be the most competitive member of the Thibault family. I'm beyond grateful for one of the most fun-loving, joyful, passionate and vivacious people on this planet, and to be able to call her 'mom.'"