PARENTS OF SARAH STRONG tell a story about when she was young and the family was coming home from a professional game that her mother, Allison Feaster, had just played for Spanish Euroleague team CB Alcobendas.
Late in the game, with his team down by three and little time on the clock, Feaster decided to take an open 3 in transition instead of going for what looked like a no-contest layup. She missed and Alcobendas lost.
“You should have just taken the layup,” young Sarah said defiantly.
Her father, Danny Strong, and her mother shared that look, both surprised but slightly impressed. Sarah remembers her mother saying something like, “It’s time to shut up,” but she smiles proudly as she recounts the memory.
“I always remind her that three is more than two,” Allison said, laughing as she shared memories of Sarah’s childhood and development away from their current home in North Carolina.
This young basketball mind has blossomed into the No. 1 player in the class of 2024 and the latest 2024 ESPN Top 100 recruit to commit. Most know her as a two-time 3X3 U18 World Championship gold medalist, McDonald’s All American Game co-MVP, Naismith High School Player of the Year, adidas Eurocamp MVP, Jordan Brand All-American, Nike Hoop Summit participant, two-time Gatorade North Carolina Player of the Year and two-time Miss Basketball North Carolina.
Starting Saturday, she will be known more as the most recent top recruit to sign with UConn and coach Geno Auriemma, a commitment made at the Chipotle Nationals.
The accolades and commitment are just the latest steps in a basketball story that spans multiple continents and a family path through the high school circuit. Her rise as the top recruit in the country is uniquely her own, a distinction earned after understanding who she is and where she comes from.
SARAH IS BORN in Spain, as both her parents played professional basketball after memorable college careers in the States.
Feaster was an All-American in high school and played at Harvard, where she was named the Ivy League Player of the Year three times and is considered by many to be the best women’s player in conference history. She was the fifth pick in the 1998 WNBA draft and played nine seasons in the league before moving to Europe.
Danny, meanwhile, played at NC State, where he averaged 12.5 points and 4.9 rebounds and shot 75.6 percent from the free throw line and 38.8 percent from 3 before going on to a European career that saw his most success in France. He was named a four-time All-Star of the French National Basketball League and won the 2005 French Cup championship.
With basketball pedigree in her family, it’s no surprise that one of Sarah’s earliest memories is in the gym with her mom and CB Alcobendas.
“We played in the morning and they played in the evening and [I remember] I was just there all day watching them work out and try to do the drills that they were doing,” she said.
Her first experience with the game was to observe and use her imagination through imitation, as she was influenced by the professional female players in Europe. It soon joined the familiar European club model of organized basketball.
“That’s when we really noticed that she had some unique talent,” Pfister said. “We watched her … it was a little special for me, she would catch the ball and start making passes the length of the court … You could tell she understood and had vision and could think a game at a young age.”
When her parents decided to return to the United States, her transition from Europe to school in the States at age 10 was smooth. She attended a Spanish-American private school while in Spain with a bilingual curriculum, but understanding some of the more colloquial jargon was an adjustment.
“I watched a lot of Disney movies and I expected it to be like that, but it really wasn’t. Like, I expected there to be a bully and all that,” Sarah said with a laugh. “[Sports] made it much easier. I was able to make friends through the Strong Center because most of the kids went to the same school as me.”
The Strong Center is a sports-based foundation and community founded by her father in 2016 that has programs in basketball, football and wrestling, with an emphasis on community outreach.
“Community services – working with families who are less fortunate. Feeding families or helping them with clothes or things like that,” Danny said. “Just mentoring students who are having a hard time adjusting to school, sports, or whatever. Any way to help families or build the community where we are needed.”
The center remains a constant influence and place of support for Sarah as she navigates her new life in the States
She played her freshman year at Fuquay-Varina High School in North Carolina before she and her family decided she would choose a private school for her sophomore year. They visited several, but something about Grace Christian Sanford made her feel at home while on campus.
“When I went there, they were really welcoming. It was during COVID and I wanted attendance hours. I felt normal,” Sarah said.
That decision proved to be the right one as she built close relationships with her teammates over three years. During her time there, the basketball team won three straight state championships and was invited to the Chipotle Nationals.
She chose to stay with her independent club — the Strong Center club team, Lady Strong — over the summer. In today’s environment, it’s challenging for an independent team outside of the big chains to find consistent, high-level competition, but Lady Strong has prepared a schedule to accommodate what they need in their recruitment, while also focusing on what they need other team members.
“The team always wins over individuals. It started early [for me]. And that’s how we keep our family and our circles tight,” said Danny, who coaches Lady Strong.
Again forging her own path, Sarah is not as active on social media as many of her peers; she often shares the successes of teammates and friends as much as her own.
“I never had a post, I just shared or retweeted my teammates and my stuff. I’ve only had Instagram for about a year and I said my first post would be my commitment, so I just stuck with it,” Strong said.
There are no workout videos or self-promotional roles on her timeline. For the age of social media, her game isn’t necessarily one that catches the eye of the average scroller — at least not yet. She has a multi-faceted game and the magic is in the small details — the depth of which is more understood as one examines how she got here.
Strong has a quiet and unassuming demeanor. She’s not usually the first person in the room to speak and doesn’t seem to be the center of attention in new social settings, but she describes herself as “caring, loving, funny and competitive.”
Her personality shines through on the basketball court as she takes the time to settle in, read the other team and accordingly go on to a lot of success. Her goals go far beyond the court, however, as she feels a significant pull to community and philanthropic endeavors.
“I really like what my dad has built with the Strong Center and what my mom has done. I’m pretty sure I want to do something like what they both did – like a mix of the two in some way,” she said. “The strong center is a big family – they will do anything for each other and support each other. I’m definitely proud of my mom. It’s weird seeing her post all the stuff on Instagram, but I’m genuinely proud of her. Everyone in my family is.”
Before she can achieve those future goals, her next stop is Storrs, Connecticut, and a role at one of the most prestigious programs in the country.
THROUGHOUT HIGH SCHOOL Strong’s vision was stamped as a future “Go to UConn” target, but when it came time to check out schools, she kept her options open with official visits to Oregon, LSU, Louisville, North Carolina, UCLA and a few unofficial visits to Duke. She didn’t imagine going on multiple official visits when she started, but it was a new world in recruiting.
She first went to UConn to see a practice and visit the campus during her sophomore year when she and her friends took a trip to Boston. She then visited campus several times for practices or games after that, and her official visit was during UConn’s annual First Night weekend, the only weekend the UConn program hosts official visits in the fall. Future classmates Ali Ziebel and Morgan Celli also attended, and Strong has studied their games ever since.
“They’re both really good players – they have different styles but they both have strong games. Ali can really shoot and Morgan is a little bit of everything – her footwork is really good when I’ve watched her play,” she said.
She characteristically took her time and watched, searching for that feeling and spirit that first brought her to Grace Christian. When she talks about UConn, it’s in a respectful way similar to her high school decision.
“Just watching them play … watching and realizing that I can help them and be there. I’m just ready to be out there and practice and play,” Strong said. “I like the style and I feel like I’m filling a need there. I’m attracted to the culture of the championship.”
She clearly remembers discussing her development needs with the UConn staff during recruiting to help ultimately reach her potential.
“I remember Geno [and assistant coaches Jamelle Elliott and Morgan Valley] coming into that little gym in 10th grade,” she said. “UConn kept it real. They were telling me what I needed to work on — just telling me I needed to get in better shape, and now they’ve noticed the difference. Some coaches would say, ‘You’re so good,’ and obviously I know I’m not ready to be at the college level [currently]. I just love that they kept it honest.”
Despite the comfortable fit, small adjustments still need to be made.
“[Geno] it kind of scares me sometimes. He’s really serious, but I also know he cares about his players,” Strong said, smiling. “At first I thought it was just going to be basketball, but as we talked more and got to know each other better, I feel that he genuinely cares about his players. His sense of humor is different. Sometimes he’s very serious when he texts, no emoticons or anything. And then sometimes he’ll text ‘heyyy’ with a bunch of Y’s and a smiley face.’
Despite their dominance of the sport this century, Auriemma and UConn haven’t won a national championship since 2016. They knocked on the door by returning to the Final Four, but didn’t bring home the title, a standard they’ve set for themselves in recent years. 20 years and more.
Now, with star Paige Bookers returning and Strong entering the program as a likely difference-maker, expectations are high for the globe-trotting, soon-to-be freshman and her new program.
