STORRS — Geno Auriemma isn’t easy to impress after 40 seasons at the helm of the UConn women’s basketball team, but the head coach’s entire face lights up every time he talks about sophomore Sarah Strong.
Strong arrived at UConn with a pedigree as the No. 1 overall recruit in the class of 2024 and the daughter of former WNBA All-Star Allison Feaster. Now at the precipice of her second college season, the star forward is exceeding even Auriemma’s wildest expectations.
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“There isn’t a day that goes by (without) one of the coaches and I just kind of looking at each other going ‘Man, there’s just something about her right now,’” Auriemma said with a wide grin after practice Friday. “I look forward to going to practice just to see what might happen next, some things she might pull off.”
In her freshman season, Strong already became one of the best players in the country. She was named the WBCA Freshman of the Year and earned second-team All-American honors, helping power the Huskies to their first national championship in nearly a decade. She averaged 16.4 points and led UConn with 8.9 rebounds, 2.3 steals and 1.6 blocks per game. Strong got even better in March Madness, breaking the record previously held by Tennessee legend Tamika Catchings for most points by a freshman in the NCAA Tournament with a team-high 24 points plus 15 rebounds in the title game.
But according to Auriemma, Strong’s historic rookie year only scratched the surface of her capabilities.
“It took a little bit of time for her to do anything other than just play. The other stuff, she really just was not comfortable being a voice on the team or standing out in some way,” Auriemma said. “This year, she’s really good. I thought she was really, really good last year, and I think she’s even better. … Her game is on a whole other level from last year.”
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It’s common for players to take a leap from freshman to sophomore year, but Auriemma said the 6-foot-2 Strong came back to campus this fall looking like a completely different person. Part of the development is physical after an offseason focusing on conditioning and weight training now that she has a better understanding of her body and the demands of the college game. Strong can also lean into different aspects of her skillset now that UConn has more depth in its frontcourt, opening up opportunities for her to play more like an oversized guard than the undersized center role she took on most of last season.
“I feel like I kind of know what to expect, so I can prepare mentally and physically,” Strong said after the team’s first official practice last week. “I’ve been working on dribble pull-ups, more guard stuff, learning the plays from the guard perspective. … It’s kind of weird because I’m not used to playing that much on the guard side, but I’m looking forward to it.”
But the biggest change in Strong is her confidence and willingness to embrace a leadership role. Redshirt senior Caroline Ducharme, one of the team’s most vocal leaders, said she’s challenging Strong to step out of her comfort zone because she understands how impactful the sophomore’s voice can be.
“Her style is more just lead by example, but this year we’ve definitely had conversations about it,” Ducharme said. “She kind of thought, ‘Well I’m still an underclassman’ and whatever, but I’m like, you’re still Sarah Strong. Everybody’s going to look when you say something. Everybody’s going to listen. You’ve earned that respect from everybody. You’re not just anybody saying something. I think she’s really taken that and been able to really lead her group.”
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Strong spends much of her time in practice working alongside Ducharme and freshman Blanca Quinonez, who have dubbed themselves ‘the hybrids’ as players that work with both the guards and forwards. Quinonez said Strong is the player she looks to the most on the court as a role model for her own game — though the Ecuador native joked that Strong won’t speak Spanish with her even though she knows the language from her childhood in Spain.
“Sarah says that she doesn’t speak in Spanish, but I know that she does,” Quinonez said with a smile. “She’s one of the players that I used to watch (before college), because I think we have the same game, so it’s fun to have someone that knows the game. And it’s fun to watch her because, you know, it’s Sarah Strong.”
