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The New York Liberty sign three, add one to training camp roster

By Carly Grenfell

WHITE PLAINS, NY - JUNE 10: Rebecca Allen #9 and Amanda Zahui B. #17 of the New York Liberty arrive to the arena prior to the game against the Indiana Fever on June 10, 2018 at Westchester County Center in White Plains, New York. NOTE TO USER: User expressly acknowledges and agrees that, by downloading and or using this photograph, User is consenting to the terms and conditions of the Getty Images License Agreement. Mandatory Copyright Notice: Copyright 2018 NBAE (Photo by Steve Freeman/NBAE via Getty Images)
WHITE PLAINS, NY - JUNE 10: Rebecca Allen #9 and Amanda Zahui B. #17 of the New York Liberty arrive to the arena prior to the game against the Indiana Fever on June 10, 2018 at Westchester County Center in White Plains, New York. NOTE TO USER: User expressly acknowledges and agrees that, by downloading and or using this photograph, User is consenting to the terms and conditions of the Getty Images License Agreement. Mandatory Copyright Notice: Copyright 2018 NBAE (Photo by Steve Freeman/NBAE via Getty Images) /
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Katie Smith’s 2019 team begins to take shape.

The New York Liberty have re-signed restricted free agents Rebecca Allen and Amanda Zahui B and added Nayo Raincock-Enunwe to a one-year deal and Kelly Faris to the training camp roster.

These four players present a mixture of consistency, familiarity, newness and even second chances. While the bigger names and key contributors usually get most of the attention this time of the year, when a ton of movement is happening from team to team, there’s still value in signing players whose path in professional basketball may not be coined as traditional.

Let’s talk about them.

Allen and Zahui B are entering their fifth and fourth seasons, respectively, while Raincock-Enunwe enters just her second WNBA season after signing with New York in 2017. Faris was drafted 11th overall in 2013 by the Sun and spent four seasons in Connecticut up until 2016.

Both Allen and Zahui B are elite rim protectors, while each can hit the shot from beyond the arc. It’s a vital set of skills for both wings and bigs in the ever-evolving WNBA.

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After being waived in 2016, Faris went on to play for the Flying Foxes Post SV Wien of the Austrian Women’s Basketball Bundesliga and Bnot Hertzeliya of the Israeli Female Basketball Premier League two years ago. In February of last year, she also signed a training camp contract with the Liberty.

Similar to Faris, Raincock-Enunwe did not play in the 2018 WNBA campaign but competed overseas for Reze-Nantes Basket 44, the top women’s French professional basketball league, and later for Tango Bourges Basket after the conclusion of the 2018 FIBA World Cup.

Her path to professional basketball has been an unconventional one, too—going from Division II Simon Fraser University, to Switzerland, to Germany, to Australia, to France and finally the WNBA in 2017. She’s also played on the Canadian National team, who won its first-ever Pan American Games gold medal with a win over the United States and later competed in the 2016 Summer Olympics.

In 2017, Raincock-Enunwe played in all 32 games with two starts for New York, averaging less than four points. Faris averaged 2.1 points and 1.6 rebounds per game in her four seasons with the Sun. When looking at the stat sheet alone, it would be easy to wonder what value players like Faris and Raincock-Enunwe add to the team.

But each of their stories speaks a lot to persistence and many of the intangibles that every team needs and should want to have. The Liberty are also in flux, with many of last year’s team still unsigned, so roles are still up for grabs.

Playing internationally, and the growth that likely stems from those experiences is also undervalued. Each of these players’ fight in continuing their careers in whatever way possible is, more than anything, extremely admirable and sought after for very good reason.

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