The Atlanta Journal-Constitution
McCoughtry refreshed, ready
Return to WNBA will follow year off to promote healing.
After taking a year off from the Atlanta Dream, Angel McCoughtry announced Thursday she will make her return to the WNBA.
With her mind and body fully rested, the two-time Olympian is ready to step back on the hardwood.
“(The time off ) didn’t affect anything,” McCoughtry said. “It only benefited me in the long run to have a longer career. And everything with the Dream is now fresh and new, and I’m fresh and new and ready to come back rejuvenated.”
In January 2017, McCoughtry wrote a letter to the WNBA and fans revealing her decision to take a year off to preserve her career’s longevity.
Just as she suspected, taking the 2017 season off allowed her body to heal after being worn down from the year-round play she participated in since she was a senior at Louisville in 2009.
The year-round play and resulting fatigue is something many WNBA stars such as McCoughtry experience. They agree to play overseas a few weeks after the WNBA season ends to compensate for the difference in their salaries compared to their male counterparts in the NBA. If they don’t take a break, they can wear out.
Just over a year after making that tough decision to sit out, McCoughtry said she has no regrets.
McCoughtry acknowledged she gained a few pounds while taking some time off from her training schedule, but enjoying sitting still for a little while at her home in Atlanta and spending time with her family and her dogs was worth it.
“Sometimes we don’t get to enjoy the fruits of our labor,” McCoughtry said. “You have to enjoy that, and I think the greatest investment is definitely yourself.”
McCoughtry, who averaged 19.5 points in eight seasons with the Dream, re-enters the league needing 10 points to become the second-fastest and 18th player in WNBA history to reach the 5,000-point mark.
While taking that time for herself, McCoughtry — the first overall pick in the 2009 WNBA draft — attended several Dream games and kept tabs on her team throughout the season, but even off the floor, she had that competitive edge.
Her heart was still with her team.
“When I watched, sometimes I would itch to get out there because some (of the team’s) leadership skills would lack and I would think ‘I could do this in this moment,’ or ‘I could’ve helped her in this moment,’ so that’s always going to be inside of me,” McCoughtry said.
The Dream will welcome McCoughtry’s competitiveness, experience and hunger this season after undergoing several changes in the past few months.
In September, after going 12-22 and missing the playoffs for the second time in three years, the Dream fired coach Michael Cooper after four seasons.
McCoughtry got a call in October from team owners Mary Brock and Kelly Loeffle to let her know Connecticut Sun assistant Nicki Collen would take over as head coach.
Collen was an assistant at Louisville in 2005 when McCoughtry was recruited and signed with the Cardinals.
“I think that Nicki is just a great person, she has a lot of experience and I think she’s excited,” McCoughtry said. “She wants to build that relationship, and you don’t have a lot of coaches out here who care about you off the court. I particularly want a coach that cares about me when I’m not putting up 30 points a game.
“Nicki does.”
While this season will be largely about her return and how she can impact the Dream, McCoughtry knows that much of her role this season will be teaching a young team how to win and what it means to be a member of the Atlanta Dream.
“(I’m) a different player. I’m ready to help the young ones,” McCoughtry said. “I’m ready to start passing the torch to someone else, to be the face of the Dream, and that’s what it’s supposed to be. You pay your dues. I feel like I’ve paid my dues, and it’s time for me to teach the young ones. They deserve it.”