Allen talks difference in eras of college, WNBA ball

(Editor’s note: This is Part 2 of a three-part series on Monessen star Charel Allen.)

When Charel Allen coached at Cal State Fullerton, she used to occasionally take to the court with her players.

“I try not to get out there now unless it’s a shooting drill, but I will challenge some of my (Notre Dame) players in a shooting competition just for fun. But we’re top 10 in the country — there’s no way I’m getting out there and show them anything that they can’t do themselves,” Allen said.

She still has a screw in her knee from an old injury, so it has taken a toll on her.

“When I retired, I wanted to literally be able to walk away, not limp away, not being forced out due to injury,” she added.

Allen is one of the first women from the Valley to play in the WNBA.

“That’s an honor and hopefully it will pave the way for local talent and show it doesn’t matter where you’re from or what kind of background you come up from, you can do anything you set your mind to,” Allen said.

She quickly pointed out there were other Valley stars when she played for the Greyhounds. “Among the big rivals we played against was Kamela Gissendanner from Clairton. We always brought the best out of each other,” Allen recalled. “I always respected her and looked forward to playing against her in high school — fun competition.”

At Notre Dame, Allen continued to face some very stiff competition.

“I’m in the same class as Candace Parker and we always played Tennessee on our non-conference schedule, so I went up against her.”

Parker won three WNBA titles and two MVP trophies before retiring this season.

“Going up against Maya Moore of UConn was tough — she was unstoppable. She was the Big East Player of the Year as a freshman which is pretty hard to do. Then you have Essence Carson and Matee Ajavon from Rutgers University,” she said.

Allen is proud of her current Fighting Irish players like underclassman Hannah Hidalgo. Olivia Miles and Skylar Diggins-Smith came in and made an impact on our program also.”

Allen noted the contrast between the WNBA when she played in 2008 and today.

“Back then, you didn’t see your dominant post players like you do now, but there are a few like Brittney Griner and Liz Cambage from Australia. Now they’re more versatile and they’re 6-7 and 6-8, they’re more fluid.

“You see forwards like Candace Parker, Elena Delle Donn and Jonquel Jones — they’re all about 6-4 or 6-5 and they’re capable of handling the ball like a point guard, shooting the three like the best shooters and posting up. It’s like position-less basketball. I would also say the speed of the game is different. Generations are getting taller, stronger, and quicker. I’m not going to give this generation credit for being more fluid than us in the past.”

Allen shared her expert take on Iowa sensation Caitlin Clark.

“She’s a great player. I mean, what she’s done in four years is something I don’t think anyone can take away from her. And that’s why I commend her more on being the all-time scorer and she could have went back with a COVID year.”

It’s especially difficult because Allen said Clark “is at the top of everybody’s scouting report list to figure out ways to stop her.”

It may surprise some fans, perhaps not those from Monessen, but Allen really did score more points in high school than Clark did. Clark poured in 2,547 points. Allen drilled 563 more, which surprised her.

“Wow! I did not know that. I just went out and played the game,” she said proudly.

Check out next week’s Sports Stew for the conclusion of Allen’s story.