This free agency period was different for Rebecca Allen than previous ones.
Not only because it was condensed to such a short window, but also because the former Liberty guard/forward knew exactly what she wanted to do.
“I was very clear,” Allen recalled Tuesday. “I had a narrow sort of, ‘Hey, this is what I want. If I don’t get it, I get it.’ But it’s so wonderful when things fall into place.”
What Allen wanted was to be immersed in a winning culture.
Her sights were set on returning to a place that meant something special to her — New York, where she started her WNBA career more than a decade ago.
Allen, who played for three different teams over the past three years, got her wish, signing a one-year, $350,000 contract with the Liberty.
“Even being the opposition, coming in, you realize it’s actually quite daunting to play here when you’re not the home team,” said Allen, who played the first seven years of her career with the Liberty. “So I’m really happy to now be back on this side of things.”
Allen is part of the Liberty’s retooled bench, which was a top three unit last season that experienced some turnover in free agency.
Gone are Nyara Sabally, Kennedy Burke and Isabelle Harrison.
In are Allen, 6-foot-11 Chinese center Han Xu, Spanish forward/center Raquel Carrera and French point guard Pauline Astier.
Rebekah Gardner and Marine Johannès are also back. And with Betnijah Laney-Hamilton cleared to play, Leonie Fiebich might be in the reserve pool this season, too.
All seven of those players allow for lineup versatility. They provide scoring, defense and a breather when needed.
“One thing we talked about early on is being a star in our role,” Gardner said. “So I just feel like that’s one thing not only the starters are focused on, but us as, like, coming off the bench are focused on as well. And I think if we do that, then, we don’t have to pay attention to who’s first, who’s second, who’s third, we’ll be at the top automatically.”
Allen believes she’ll thrive in the Liberty’s new offensive style — which embraces proper spacing and ball movement — and its defensive identity.
“I’m also, I would say, a selfless player,” she said. “So there’s moments that, ‘Hey, it’s not about me,’ and you need someone like that on the court, too. You got to get the ball to the right person, the right time. And sometimes it’s gonna be me, sometimes it’s gonna be someone else. Look at the roster. And so yeah, I really see myself fitting in well offensively but defensively in particular, you can tell that we’re developing that trust defensively and that’s pretty cool after three days.”
Allen’s conversation with new coach Chris DeMarco resonated with her. She liked that the two discussed basketball tactics and strategy as much as they shared personal interests, including restaurant recommendations.
“His approach is different, that’s why I like it. You can tell he’s very clear in what he wants but the way it’s said, it’s just different than what I’ve experienced before. I really like it because he’s making sure that he’s speaking to everyone and you feel that you’re seen.”
Training camp is still in its infancy. The Liberty are still missing five players because of overseas commitments.
There’s a lot of work that needs to be done for everything to come together, but players feel fulfilled in the foundation that’s being established in the first few days.
“The way that our training camp has been going and things like that, I don’t know if anybody’s working as hard as us,” Gardner said. “So I would just say that’s something that will come and I feel like it’s not something we’re focused on, it’ll just come.”
