The Liberty are usually not positive what the total id of their revamped crew needs to be. However they’re sure about one side of it.
“I need groups to type of be fearful of us once they must be on offense,” stated ahead Natasha Howard, who gained the W.N.B.A.’s Defensive Participant of the 12 months Award in 2019, when she was with the Seattle Storm.
This will likely be Howard’s second season with the Liberty, however in some ways, and for a lot of causes, it appears unlikely to be very similar to her first. The crew has a brand new head coach (Sandy Brondello), a brand new veteran middle (Stefanie Dolson) and, gamers stated, a brand new dedication to changing into a championship contender as soon as the season begins Might 6.
“There’s a way of urgency,” guard Sabrina Ionescu stated through the Liberty’s media day on Thursday. She added that the crew didn’t wish to wait years to develop into higher, and had a “Why not us?” mentality.
The Liberty completed final season with a 12-20 document and slid into the playoffs because the eighth seed. They misplaced to the fifth-seeded Phoenix Mercury in a first-round single-elimination sport. The crew had harm woes all season: Jocelyn Willoughby tore an Achilles’ tendon in a preseason scrimmage; Howard missed 15 video games due to a knee harm; Ionescu handled a lingering ankle harm.
All three are again and stated they’re feeling good.
“I’m method forward of the place I was,” Willoughby stated.
One other returner is guard Asia Durr, who goes by AD. Durr, the second total draft choose in 2019, missed the previous two seasons as they recovered from Covid-19. On Thursday, Durr stated they have been nonetheless coping with confusion and mind fog however that Liberty teammates had been useful.
“It’s fairly difficult to remain affected person each single day,” Durr stated, punctuating the final three phrases.
Like Howard and a number of other others, Durr talked about protection as the main focus of this yr’s crew. Brondello, who coached the Mercury to the finals final season in her eighth yr with the crew, stated she wished the Liberty to have an “aggressive mentality.”
Extra factors within the paint. Fewer turnovers. Not settling for outdoor photographs. Drawing extra fouls.
“We’re making an attempt to develop a troublesome crew,” Brondello stated.
On the core of the crew are gamers like Ionescu; Howard; Betnijah Laney, who was named to her first All-Star crew final season; and Michaela Onyenwere, the 2021 W.N.B.A. rookie of the yr. “I’m at all times trying to develop,” Laney stated, including that she’s surrounded by nice gamers.
Becoming a member of them is Dolson, who gained a championship with the Chicago Sky final yr.
Dolson, a 6-foot-5 middle coming into her ninth season, stated she likes to put up up — although individuals don’t suppose she does — and that it will likely be tough for groups to face off towards her and the 6-foot-2 Howard.
“It’s onerous to scout when each put up gamers can type of do all the pieces,” she stated.
Dolson averaged 7.5 factors and three.5 rebounds per sport final season, and shot 40.4 p.c from 3-point vary. Howard averaged 16.2 factors and seven.2 rebounds in 13 video games final season.
Veterans like Howard and Dolson will likely be key to the Liberty’s success, however so will the youthful gamers, who spoke on Thursday about how they’ve grown and what they nonetheless want to enhance.
“I used to be so misplaced final yr,” stated DiDi Richards, a second-year guard-forward.
Richards stated she typically was in her personal head whereas on the court docket, as a substitute of being vocal, however she is engaged on altering that as coaches ask her to tackle a much bigger management function. “I’m prepared for it,” she stated.
Onyenwere spoke confidently about protection — “not likely a ability; it’s all effort” — but in addition stated she wished to enhance on offense after capturing simply 32.7 p.c from 3-point vary final season.
Guard Sami Whitcomb, who went 42.5 p.c from 3-point vary final yr, is the crew’s most prolific and finest long-range shooter. She got here to the Liberty final yr after 4 seasons in Seattle, and she or he stated she was enthusiastic about serving to the crew create a brand new id. However, she stated, it gained’t occur “in a single day.”
Some issues do occur rapidly in sports activities, although — like going from W.N.B.A. prospect to Liberty rookie.
The Liberty traded with the Storm to get the 18th choose within the draft on April 11 and used it to pick out Lorela Cubaj, a 6-foot-4 ahead from Georgia Tech. 4 days later, she signed a rookie contract with the crew. Three days after that, coaching camp started.
On Thursday, she stated that she had developed as a facilitator whereas at Georgia Tech and hoped to make use of that ability with the Liberty. “I simply wish to put my teammates in one of the best place to attain,” she stated.
One factor she needs to depart in Georgia: the meals. Cubaj, who’s from Italy, joked that she wouldn’t miss the pizza from Atlanta now that she is in New York.
