Sarah Strong came to UConn as the No. 1 recruit in her class. She was the 2024 Naismith High School Player of the Year. Even with all her accolades, she has been better than advertised. When you find out who her parents are, it all makes sense.
Allison Feaster, Danny Strong and the DNA for a Dynamo
Strong was a typical high-profile recruit arriving in Storrs last year for coach Geno Auriemma and UConn. She was the No. 1 recruit in her class, a two-time North Carolina Miss Basketball at Grace Christian School, and the 2024 Naismith High School Player of the Year. Her teams won three state titles in the North Carolina Independent Schools Athletic Association.
With the Huskies, all Strong’s done is average 16.1 points and a team-high 8.8 rebounds, 2.3 steals, and 1.6 blocks a game for the 35-3 Huskies. She was named the first-team All-Big East and the league’s Freshman of the Year. Through four games of the NCAA Tournament, Strong is averaging 17 points, 11.5 rebounds, and 4.8 assists. She is why UConn is in their usual second home at the Final Four.
Like many great athletes, Strong can thank her parents for passing down some incredible DNA. Her mother is Allison Feaster, a four-time first-team All-Ivy League forward at Harvard. She was also named the conference Player of the Year thrice from 1996 to 98. The Crimson reached the NCAA Tournament all three of those seasons.
Feaster and Harvard’s third and final appearance in the Big Dance resulted in the biggest upset in NCAA Women’s Basketball history. Feaster had a game-high 35 points and 13 rebounds as No. 16 seed Harvard defeated legendary coach Tara VanDerveer and No. 1 seed Stanford, 71-67, in a West Region first-round game. That was the first time in women’s or men’s tournaments that a No. 16 seed had won.
Over four years at Harvard, Feaster averaged 22.7 points, 11.3 rebounds, three steals, and 2.4 assists. She averaged 28.5 points and 10.8 rebounds while being named a WBCA All-American her senior year.
And Feaster did not stop there. The 5-foot-11 Feaster was drafted fifth overall in the 1998 WNBA Draft by the Los Angeles Sparks. She embarked on a 10-year career in the league with the Sparks, the now-defunct Charlotte Sting, and one final season with the Indiana Fever. Feaster averaged eight points and 2.4 rebounds and finished three times in the top 10 voting for Defensive Player of the Year.
Nowadays, Feaster is the vice president of team operations and organizational growth for the defending NBA Champion Boston Celtics.
That’s not a bad athletic resume for a mother to have. Strong’s father, Danny, is not too shabby either. Danny Strong was a JUCO All-American sophomore at Spartanburg Methodist College in 1995 before transferring to N.C. State, where he played two seasons for the Wolfpack, averaging 12.5 points and 4.9 rebounds.
Following his time in Raleigh, Strong spent 15 years playing professionally in Europe. He made four All-Star appearances in the French National Basketball League and led his team to the 2005 French Cup Championship. But his odyssey didn’t end there. He was named MVP in the Portuguese National Basketball League. Strong played overseas for her first 10 years in Spain with her father.
Danny Strong is now the director of sports management at Grace Christian, his daughter’s former high school. He founded the Strong Center, a non-profit youth sports and community outreach organization.
KEEP READING: UConn’s Paige Bueckers and Sarah Strong Receive All-American Recognition
Now Feaster and Danny Strong get to watch their daughter perform on the biggest stage this weekend at the Women’s Final Four in Tampa.
Allison Feaster, born on February 11, 1976, serves as the Vice President of Team Operations & Organizational Growth for the Boston Celtics. A former professional basketball player, Feaster is celebrated as a trailblazer in the sports industry.
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