Alyssa Thomas and Tina Klotzbeecher-Thomas
Alyssa Thomas, the Connecticut Sun's introverted forward with a demonstrative game, was asked to describe her mother, Tina Klotzbeecher-Thomas.
"The complete opposite of me," she aid with a laugh. "She is very talkative; kind of the life of the party. You can hear her a mile away. Just a loud lady."
Asked why she didn't inherit that attribute, Alyssa said, "I couldn't get a word in edgewise."
Klotzbeecher-Thomas has an enormous influence on her daughter in other ways.
She played basketball at Millersville (Pa.) University (as did Bob, Alyssa Thomas' father) and coached Alyssa throughout grade school and AAU. She also pushed Alyssa into trying basketball when she was just five.
"I was not happy about it," Alyssa said. "I've always been a shy kid. I didn't really want to get out there and interact like that. She thought that basketball would help get me out of my shell. She came home one day and she had signed me up for basketball. I just remember crying and telling her, 'how could you do such a thing to me?'
"At the time, I enjoyed soccer more. I was really into it at the time, but once the whole weather and rain and mud thing (first) happened, I was over soccer."
Alyssa Thomas' versatility has made her one of the most unique players in WNBA history. The rugged 6-foot-2 native of Harrisburg, Pa., rebounds like a center who can run Connecticut's offense as a point guard. She and Breanna Stewart of the Seattle Storm were the only players to finish in the top 15 in scoring (15.5 ppg), rebounding (9.0 rpg), assists (4.8 apg) and steals (2.0 spg) last season.
"She's a huge reason why I'm such a versatile player," Thomas said. "From a young age, she had me playing one (point guard) through five (center). She always said you don't know what position you'll play when you get older. She always thought it would benefit me to learn every position."