Rebecca Allen signs one year deal with Good Angels Košice
Rebecca Allen will join Slovak side, Good Angels Košice, on a one year deal.
Allen recently announced the signing on Twitter.
I'm excited to announce that I have signed with Slovakian team Good Angels for my first European season! Looking forward to what lies ahead
— Rebecca Allen (@becallen8) August 7, 2016
This will be Allen’s first sojourn into the European game.
“I am really excited about signing with the Slovakian team, ‘Good Angels,” she told The Pick and Roll. “They are a very successful team, well coached -- winning multiple championships in the Slovakian league -- as well as being a very competitive team in Euroleague.”
Allen will link up with Good Angels after her WNBA commitments with the New York Liberty conclude at the end of the season.
“I am really looking forward to being a key player in this team as I am building a lot of confidence playing for New York Liberty in the WNBA. I know that playing in this intense environment will transfer well when I go to play in Europe.”
In the Good Angels, Allen has chosen a team with incredible pedigree – they’re a club that has dominated the domestic Slovak league in recent years and achieved enormous continental success. And Allen is looking forward to the challenge.
“A big reason for my decision to play with the Good Angels is because as well as their own domestic league, they will also be competing in Eurocup this season and the Eastern European Women's Basketball League,” she said.
The Good Angels see Allen has a significant player on their roster, and she is looking forward to taking on a leadership role within the team.
The athletic Aussie has no doubt that her time in the WNBA has only made her a more well-rounded player.
“I am really looking forward to being a key player in this team as I am building a lot of confidence playing for New York Liberty in the WNBA. I know that playing in this intense environment will transfer well when I go to play in Europe,” she said.
“They share the ball well and play at a quick pace so that will fit perfectly with my style of play.”
The 23-year-old Opals starlet has enjoyed continued progression in her second year with the New York Liberty in the WNBA. After a promising rookie season was cut extremely short due to injury, Allen has continued to flash her potential in the world’s greatest female league.
At New York, Allen has been busy refining her game, flashing positional adaptability, becoming more involved in the offense, and even working on a post game.
Allen has averaged 5.1 points and 10.7 minutes in 13 games for the Liberty this season. She is also shooting 43.4 percent from the field.
.@becallen8 with @N_Asonye after her 11 points off the bench spurred the @nyliberty past Atlanta: pic.twitter.com/Y0xOVvYzLi
— Slam City - DUNK360 (@SlamCity_360) July 13, 2016
“Although it is my second season in the WNBA it really feels like my first as I only played two games before getting injured last year,” she said.
“I came in late to this season and I feel each week I have made more and more of an impact in games. A big focus for me this season is to build on from where I was before I got injured -- being able to play both small and tall, further develop my game at the post, to be a very versatile player and a strong scoring threat are the qualities that New York want from me.”
And want they did.
The Liberty were quick to snap up Allen, re-signing the versatile swing player back in June.
Allen missed the first twelve games of the regular season due to Opals training camp commitments, but she has wasted little time in getting acclimated back into Liberty coach Bill Laimbeer’s system.
“He is very demanding but he also has enormous trust in all of his players and this is a great confidence builder for any athlete,” Allen said of the legendary WNBA mentor.
“Confidence in my body and my ability are two areas that I have had to trust whilst coming back from my knee injury, and I really feel that now I am showing what I can do and am playing with a lot of energy and purpose.”
The Liberty currently sit atop the Eastern Conference standings.
Despite the disappointment of missing out on Opals selection for Rio, Allen has been keeping abreast of the team’s progress via Twitter and cheering them on from afar. Though not to be this time, Allen shows maturity beyond her years and understands that she can only control what she can control.
“I am obviously very disappointed to not be playing in Rio,” she conceded.
“I am still only 23 years old. I am only at the beginning of my career as an international basketballer. In four years time when the team for the Tokyo Olympics is selected, I will be a more complete and mature player. And I intend that my performances will be such that I will be making a strong claim for a significant role in future Australian teams.”
Those claims will only get stronger after securing herself another opportunity to test herself – this time in Europe.
“Playing and challenging yourself in Europe and in the WNBA against the best basketballers in the world can only make you a better player,” she concluded.
It's a sentiment that Australian basketball fans can agree with.