Sarah Strong has quickly become one of the most important and talked about players in women’s college basketball. Geno Auriemma has placed her full trust in Strong and she is touted to be the leader for the Huskies for the next two years. Geno demands a lot more initiative from her.
All her teammates only have good things to say about her. She was extremely instrumental in her freshman year itself when UConn won the national championship. And then last year when they tried to win back to back NCAA titles, she was on the precipice of a historic season as their unbeaten run ended in the Final Four.
Now that both Paige and Azzi have advanced to the WNBA, Sarah Strong is the obvious candidate for Geno Auriemma to form his team around. Recently, he compared Sarah Strong to UConn legend Paige Bueckers.
This season, Auriemma has already seen a shift in how Strong carries herself. “She’s on the court now acting almost like a senior instead of a sophomore,” he said. “I think last year she was way more deferential to everybody else, but this year, I see her—she’s got a lot to say about a lot of things and talks a little bit of trash that makes me laugh. [If] she threw a bad pass or missed a shot, or I think she fouled somebody and I called her on it during practice, before she would just kind of shrink. Now she wants to go at me.”
It’s a moment that perfectly encapsulates both where Strong is now and where she’s headed. “She’s getting to act like Paige, like, I did get fouled, I get fouled every time I miss!” he says with a laugh.
Sarah Strong is living the dream at UConn
Sarah Strong has always been attracted to UConn Huskies. Her dream was to play for Geno Auriemma. For her one of the biggest inspirations was her mother Allison Feaster who played in the WNBA and was also an All Star.
She also watched UConn legend Maya Moore growing up and a lot of Sarah’s game is based off of her. “It was always my dream school,” she said. “A lot of my favorite players played here, and I just wanted to be part of what they built here.”
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