UConn forward Sarah Strong shows she's college basketball's next prodigy

TAMPA, Fla. — University of Connecticut forward Sarah Strong is the best freshman in college basketball — men’s or women’s. That may seem blasphemous in a season where everyone has been saying that distinction belonged to Duke forward Cooper Flagg.

But while Duke was eliminated from the men’s tournament on Saturday, Strong’s 24-point, 15-rebound performance against South Carolina on Sunday helped lift UConn to an 82-59 victory and a national championship.

In Geno Auriemma’s 40 seasons as the Huskies’ head coach, UConn has had several high-profile freshmen. With Strong’s performance not just on Sunday but throughout the tournament and UConn’s season, she has put her fingerprints all over school and tournament history.

She became the first freshman in history with 20 points and 15 rebounds in the national title game. Strong was the third freshman ever with 20 points in both the national semifinal and national championship game. She became the first freshman in UConn history with four 20-point games in a single NCAA tournament and the first UConn freshman with three straight 20-point games in the tournament.

She also set a record for points in a single NCAA tournament.

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Paige Bueckers, who won her first national championship on Sunday, is clearly the UConn star. Azzi Fudd sets the tone for the team. But Strong has been UConn’s everything engine this season — rebounding with a vengeance, scoring when necessary and playing suffocating defense on the opponent’s best player.

Auriemma said he saw this in Strong when he watched her as a 10th grader.

“When I saw Sarah play in high school, in 10th grade, I couldn’t think of a woman’s player to compare her to,” Auriemma said. “I said, ‘She’s Charles Barkley.’ I said, ‘This kid’s great on her feet, great hands. She knows the game. She competes. She plays passionately every game.’

“I just think that when you have a kid who’s that young — who knows the game so well and has the ability, no matter what situation she’s in on the court, no matter what part of the court, no matter what it calls for, she has the ability to do it — that’s very rare in professional basketball players, much less a 19-year-old college freshman.”

During the season, critics and some coaches chided South Carolina head coach Dawn Staley for packing her team with McDonald’s All-Americans. Strong is the All-American South Carolina did not get. She was the top recruit in the Class of 2024.

There was a point in Sunday’s loss for South Carolina when the difference between a true freshman and a prodigy became apparent.

The moment took place with 39 seconds left in the third quarter, UConn leading 59-40. South Carolina’s talented freshman Joyce Edwards had fouled Strong and put her on the line. As Edwards left the game, clearly frustrated, Strong — typically stoic — coolly sank two foul shots. At that point, Strong already had 17 points, 14 rebounds and three blocked shots.

That’s when the distinction became apparent: Edwards was a true freshman. Strong is a prodigy.

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She grew up in and around the game. Strong’s mother, Allison Feaster, is vice president of team operations and organizational growth for the Boston Celtics. Feaster was a star player for Harvard and played in the WNBA. Strong’s father, Danny Strong, played collegiately at North Carolina State and overseas for 15 years.

Throughout the tournament, Strong’s teammates consistently described her as a player who is wise and mature beyond her years. They call her an even-keeled player who avoids highs and lows.

She has enjoyed a fantastic freshman season, and her stat line shouts it out: Big East Freshman of the Year. Associated Press Second-Team All-American. Averages of 16 points, 8.7 rebounds, 3.4 assists, 2.3 steals and 1.6 blocks per game.

Strong is a force.

As Feaster watched her daughter on the championship stage on Sunday, I asked her about the source of Strong’s maturity.

Feaster said it goes beyond basketball.

“I think it’s faith,” she said. “I think it’s faith in the process, faith in her purpose. God put her here for a reason. She is who she is, and I’m just grateful.”

Asked how she felt watching her daughter experience a championship moment, Feaster said, “The only emotion that I have is just pure gratitude for all of it. You don’t get to this point without going through some things and a lot of sacrifices, a lot of struggles, a lot of talks, a lot of joy and a lot of pain.”

As Strong’s father watched the confetti falling, he reflected on all of the years of sacrifice, the hard work his daughter put in.

“It took a whole lot of prayer, a lot of taking the time and overseeing the whole process,” Danny Strong said. “She knew this is where she wanted to be from the sixth grade. It was in her heart. We’re definitely happy that we’ve had the opportunity to be here, and on the stage, like we are right now.”

Strong’s journey is just beginning and will likely continue at UConn. Unlike Flagg, who is expected to leave Duke after one season for the NBA, Strong likely will spend her next three years at UConn competing for championships and perhaps developing into the program’s next superstar.

I asked Danny Strong what his expectations were for his 19-year-old daughter.

“Stay humble, stay hungry, continue to work and keep working until you’re ready to hang your shoes,” he said. “No matter what you do, no matter what you achieve, stay thankful, stay prayed up and keep working hard. That’s it.”

He all but guaranteed that Strong’s next three years will be spent in Storrs, Connecticut.

“Oh yeah, definitely,” he said. “We raised her to be a locked-in and loyal person. Once you start something, you finish it. We’re not going to be jumping around and doing all that crazy stuff.”

This season has been crazy enough. Their daughter is the best freshman in college basketball. Period.

And now she’s a national champion.