Paige Bueckers declared for the WNBA Draft, with a UConn jersey in the rafters to show for it. To bridge the transition and begin this next rebuild, Head Coach Geno Auriemma secured the signature of ESPN’s top recruit of 2024, Sarah Strong. Over the course of this season, and the early portions of this tournament, Strong has been arguably the best player in the nation, providing anything and everything that UConn needs on the floor.

Her resume before college is about as illustrious as a player could hope for; three state championships, matching back-to-back Gatorade Player of the Year and North Carolina Miss Basketball awards, 3 FIBA U18 gold medals across 3x3 and 5x5 formats, and a 2024 Naismith HS Player of the year.

Strong’s offensive game is as versatile as it is dominant, capable of fusing center’s footwork and post scoring with perimeter offense. In the first round matchup against Arkansas State, you can see Strong bringing defenders down into the post and using deft right-handed touch to score on the block. Strong also comfortably spaces out to 3 point range, taking more than three attempts a game and making them at about 36%. While capable of making mid-range shots, Strong is also disciplined enough offensively to keep her shot diet efficient. Eschewing contested pull-ups for open layups and threes in rotation has helped Strong scale into the college game seamlessly.

Strong takes a short fall-away jumper from one of her preferred spots on the floor.

“She is someone who can genuinely do it all, it doesn’t matter where it’s on the court, if it’s on offense or defense, she’s going to affect the possession at every moment,” said WSU Graduate Assistant Robin Jeffery in an interview with 5wins. “Every time you’re on the court with her you’re going to notice or feel it, and she’ll probably make you look silly at least once.”

Strong is not a star that dribbles the air out of the ball, nor does Strong catch on the wing and jab for 20 minutes. Her offensive game fits cleanly around other stars and roleplayers alike, which is the genius of an effective player. Without a true advantage creator, toss to Strong in the post and watch her live up to her name. Have multiple All-American level players on the floor? Strong can easily complement them with screens, good rolling, and space to operate in.

Her 3.4 assists a game may look meager in an age of inflated stats, but Strong only turns the ball over 1.6 times per game. She’s unselfish and doesn’t make a lot of mistakes, all keys to endearing yourself to a veteran roster and coach.

Strong’s versatility is mirrored on the defensive end, where she can essentially fill every role and take any assignment. As a helping forward that rotates over to cover a center, Strong can get soaring blocks. In smallball alignments, Strong can be trusted as an undersized center to take care of rebounding, boxing out and anchoring the defense. When covering perimeter players, or being switched out onto guards, Strong more than holds her own by blocking shooters at the 3 point line for easy transitions.

Sarah Strong is as effective a Freshman as college basketball has seen in the past 5 years, who’s doing exactly what is required on a team with championship aspirations.

“It’s more significant when we go to our small lineup and people have to matchup with Sarah playing in the middle,” said head coach Geno Auriemma at a press conference ahead of the Sweet Sixteen matchup with Oklahoma, “we pose a different sort of problem.”

UConn and Strong had their toughest test of the tournament against Oklahoma and Junior Center Reagan Beers. Beers had early success against UConn, but Strong and their platoon of centers managed to slow Beers as the game progressed. Beers only finished with a 10 point double-double, being held in check by Strong. The 3rd Quarter saw UConn blow the doors of Oklahoma behind a 21 point unanswered run.

Part of that run came with that small lineup that Auriemma is talking about, with Strong being surrounded by shooters and creators on every side. Paige Bueckers’ final two buckets came off top of the key dimes from Strong, as the superstar guard finished with 40 points on 16-27 shooting. Strong ended with 11 points, 11 rebounds and five assists, scaling down when struggling to find her own offense and making space for her guards. The ability to impact the game even while struggling to score is a key skill, and key value of UConn under Auriemma.

Two-seed UConn faces one-seed USC in the Elite Eight, who now tout four players over 6’0” since JuJu Watkins’ knee injury. Sarah Strong supported a Bueckers masterclass in the previous round, but against a team with so much size, UConn will need a strong performance from their talented young forward.

Even with Bueckers leaving at the end of year, UConn keeps Sarah Strong and Azi Fudd for a bright future in the post-Bueckers era.