By Kerry Van Malderghem
When Devin Gotham was named the women's basketball coach at Nazareth in the spring of 2007, he inherited a team that included a familiar face in point guard Kelly Dunne.

Having played basketball with Kelly's older brother, Greg, from 1995-98, Gotham remembered Kelly as an energetic six-year-old who traveled six hours from Long Island with her two older brothers and her parents, John and Eileen, to watch Greg's games.

Kelly wasn't six years old anymore, but her energy and love of Nazareth hadn't wavered.

“I didn't know Kelly all that well (at the time),” Gotham recalls. “But because of my relationship with Greg and their family, we were very comfortable with each other.”

Now four years later, the curtain is ready to close on the Dunne Family Affair with basketball at Nazareth. Kelly and fellow seniors, Kylie Bartlett and Rachel Pirozzolo, play their final home game tonight against Empire 8 rival St. John Fisher at 6 p.m.

Comfort was the primary reason that Kelly enrolled at Nazareth in the fall of 2005, exactly 10 years after Greg started his career as a Golden Flyer. A talented basketball and lacrosse player at Northport High School, Kelly chose to play basketball at Nazareth because of her connection to the school, the small class sizes and she would be in close proximity to Greg, who now head coach at SUNY Brockport.

“We've been able to rebuild the relationship,” said Kelly, a four-year starter and the Golden Flyers' second leading scorer this season at 10.3 points per game. “One of my favorite parts of the season is the Chase Tournament (now Wendy's Classic) because I'm able to go and watch some of his games.”

And Greg was just as excited to have his younger sister in Rochester.

“Selfishly, I was happy she was going to be so close to me,” Greg said. “Growing up there's an 11-year age gap so really I had only lived in the same house with Kelly when she was a little kid. It was nice to get to know her more as she's turned into an adult.”

Greg came to Nazareth after former men's basketball coach Mike Daley was impressed with his on-court awareness and his ability to see a play before it happens. It's a trait that's also evident in Kelly's game. But where Greg was a vocal leader, Kelly leads by example. 

“They're both very competitive people, they have different styles and different strengths but one thing they share is that they hate to lose,” Gotham added.

Win or lose, Kelly and Greg check in with each other after every game and the purpose isn't just to determine the final score.

“She asks me who plays well and she's very aware of our personnel and what's going on,” Greg said.

A four-year starter at point guard for Nazareth, Greg graduated in 1999 as the school's all-time leader in assists with 671. He was inducted in Nazareth's Sports Hall of Fame in 2008.

He became an assistant coach at SUNY Brockport following graduation and was elevated to the school's head coach in 2007 and led the Golden Eagles to a 21-8 overall record in his first season, the most wins by a first-year head coach at Brockport. Last season, Brockport earned an automatic berth to the NCAA Tournament after upsetting top-seeded Geneseo in the first round of the conference tournament, Oswego in the semifinals and Fredonia in the championship game. The Golden Eagles lost in double overtime to Carnegie Mellon in the first round of the NCAAs.

“A lot of times you're competitive in other things whether it's on the golf course or at work” Greg said. “For me, I still get to get my competitive juices out by coaching and it's just nice to have that outlet. I'm a competitive guy and I also like teaching young people the game.”

While he cannot attend all of Kelly's games due to his responsibilities, Greg is grateful for the support that he and Kelly receive from their family.

“My other two brothers and my mom and dad…they're the ones that like to give Kelly the advice and the criticism,” Greg said. “I like to be more supportive and just try not to be a coach as much as trying to be a supportive brother.”

The mutual respect is evident with Kelly as well.

“I love bragging to people about him and watching old tapes of him,” Kelly said. “Greg has proven to be an unbelievable basketball coach.”

As her career at Nazareth draws to a close, it's only appropriate that Kelly's final home game is against rival St. John Fisher. In what Kelly recalls as her most memorable moment from her college career, she sank two free throws to win a game for the Golden Flyers last season on Fisher's home court. While the crowd didn't know if Kelly would make both shots, Gotham never questioned the outcome because of her competitive nature.

“I told the team 'after Kelly makes both of these free throws', and the expression on Kelly's face never changed,” Gotham recalls. “You kinda knew that this was her moment and she was ready for it because she has been all her life. She's a gamer.”

With graduation a few months away, it's only natural that Kelly is unsure of her future. But recently a few people have suggested coaching as a possible career path. It's an avenue Greg could see her pursuing as well.

“Kelly and I have very similar personalities,” Greg said. “I think she's a good leader, I think she's got a good basketball IQ and she's been around it her whole life. If coaching is something that she'd eventually want to do, I think she could do very well at it.”

Whatever career path Kelly pursues, the Dunne family will always be connected by the experiences and the commitment and the love for Nazareth over the last 15 years.

“My love of Nazareth, their family's love of Nazareth…Kelly shares that same love,” Gotham said. “It's the people, people like them that make Nazareth special.”