Sarah Strong's numbers are not believable...(merged)

[JoePgh]

No one appears to have mentioned that Sarah seems to stay completely out of foul trouble -- almost unknown for a freshman front court player, especially one who gets a lot of rebounds and steals, and one who plays a ton of minutes.

What a luxury for Geno!

 

[JRRRJ]

Every UConn fan understands Sarah Strong is really, really good and going to get even better. But, there are a few that may not comprehend just how well she is playing she is right now. After only 4 games...
Consider:
1. Assists - Sarah LEADS the team with 19 assists. More than Kaitlyn (18) and Paige (17). She is not even a guard...
2. Rebounds - Strong also LEADS the team in rebounds with 32, of which 25 are defensive and 7 offensive. The next highest defensive total is Jana with 16.
3. Blocks - Sarah has 8 blocked shots. The rest of the team has 8 blocks COMBINED..
4. Minutes - Her 118 minutes played is the most on the roster. That averages 29.5 minutes per game.
5. Points - Ok, she is 2nd in points to Paige (64 vs 80), but in her defense, she has taken 1 less shot & only 2 free throws.
6. Steals - Again, 2nd on the team with 10 versus 11 for Paige and 11 for Ashlynn.

Strong is that rare combination of scoring, passing, rebounding and quickness. Hard to nit-pick any part of her game now that the threes are falling. Although it did take 4 whole games for that to work out....

Go Sarah..! Go Huskies..!!

I was going to wait a bit longer, until the ladies have accumulated more minutes. But, since you've started the ranking thing I'll lower my minimum to 80 minutes of playing time and produce the first rate-rating grid.

I still haven't seen the game -- that'll be later this evening -- so no analysis of play.

Since the raw numbers are so low, a difference of one or two would change the ratings in some of the categories. When the values are close enough for that to be true, I call a tie and give the average value with a leading ~. The player listed first of the two has the better value if taken out to more decimal places.

Points	Paige 28.07	Sarah 21.69	Jana 19.02
ORB	Jana 7.21	Sarah 2.37	Ice 2.25
DRB	Jana 10.49	Q 10.00	Sarah 8.47
TRB	Jana 17.70	Sarah 10.85	Paige 7.02
Assists	Kaitlyn 7.83	Sarah 6.44	Paige 5.96
Blocks	Sarah 2.71	Jana 1.31	Paige 0.90
Steals	Ashlynn/Paige ~3.9	Sarah 3.39	KK/Kaitlyn ~2.7
TO	Paige 0.70	KK/Ashlynn ~ 1.0	Sarah 1.69
Fouls	Ashlynn 0.00	KK/Paige ~1.0	Sarah 1.69
Made FT	Paige/Ice ~2.7	Jana 1.97	Kaitlyn 1.74

 

[Crossover]

I continue to marvel at how her size, physique, game
and skill-set are similar to that of JuJu.

And quite unlike anyone in the W

A position-less, power forward (?)

She's a way better defender than JuJu. And much more efficient on offense.

 

[Bone Dog]

She's a way better defender than JuJu. And much more efficient on offense.

And not so “handed” as Juju. The scout on Sarah is bound to be much trickier.

 

[CL82]

She plays like a mature adult, but in her most recent interview she displayed the innocent charm of a shy teenager. Great combination!

She also plays with humility. She's not out there thumping her chest after every play. Don't get me wrong, I don't mind kids playing with passion, but she's just out there doing what she does, making play after play expressionlessly like she is just taking a walk in a park. I can't help but feel she has just scratched the surface of how great she will be.

 

[yhun89]

Sarah is nuts.

A forward with elite passing skills, defense in the paint and the perimeter, can play bully ball, or stretch out to the 3 when needed. Much needed rebounder, who can hopefully help us close the rebound margins against the likes of ND and SC.

Not to mention just the pure, foul-less physicality. She's our next big star for the program after PB leaves.

 

[cohenzone]

To me her most surprising attribute given her build, is her quickness, speed, and use of body to stay ahead of everyone when she makes a steal. . She hasn’t been caught yet from behind that i can recall.

 

[Charliebball]

Her early success should be no surprise to anyone who has followed her career..........if anything I'm surprised her numbers aren't even better............she's that good..........double doubles and even triple doubles should be fairly frequent occurrences going forward.....

 

[Dawson]

Honestly have only been more impressed with the fundamentals and extensive abilities of a Freshman with Maya Moore.

She is going to be incredible.

 

[OldSchooler]

Sarah's poker-face demeanor belies her seeming lack of passion. She's good at every phase of the game, to a fault. Geno, at the FDU post-game presser, compared her to Maya: If Maya got the ball in the open, she would shoot it. Likewise, when she got the ball and was guarded by one defender, or even two defenders. And she would make those shots, or else get fouled. Sarah, on the other hand, got the ball in the open several times and passed it to a teammate. Geno wants Sarah to do more of what Maya did, and actually dressed her down for her unselfishness. (Similar to his "complaints" in the past about Paige.) We now have two players whose first option should be to shoot every time the get the ball in the open.

 

[Stagnant]

I am impressed with Sarah’s hands. She is able to steal the ball, snag a rebound, or catch the ball in traffic way better than most. There is an almost Velcro quality to how well her hands can gather the ball. This makes her a big asset when it comes to rebounding and team defense.

 

[Rowdy831]

The knock on the post players in recent UConn history has been their difficulty catching passes. Sarah does a lot of things really good but her hands and ability to control the ball are standing out to me. This team has a huge upside for sure and if they can figure out how to get her, Jana and Ice all on the floor at the same time they are a lot to handle inside and out.

The real schedule is right around the corner and this team is way more equipped to beat any team out there than the UConn teams of late. Not saying they couldn't win, but they certainly had opponents that were better than they were but those days may be numbered.

 

[dtbtbtb]

What impresses me the most about Sarah's game are her ridiculously high basketball IQ and her hands where she can catch anything coming her way. To think that she is only a freshman and will get even better, must be scary for UConn's opponents.

 

[hoophuskee]

I had always thought her Offense was elite. As well as her rebounding and when she grabs a ball it's hers. But what I didn't know is that her feet while I thought quick, they seem exceptionally quick, so her defense is much better, her range/ability to get rebounds is much better, as well as her lack of fouls because of her quick feet. And I never gave much thought of a pick and roll. Now I do.

Paige has kept UCONN "relevant" these past several years. Azzi when she was healthy and no Paige helped some. But now Sarah will keep UCONN among the top Alpha-Dogs in the WCBB food chain.

 

[Geew1992]

Sarah doesn't let the game speed her up. She plays at her speed. Most freshman don't have that instinct.

 

[Stagnant]

I mentioned it a bit in my earlier post. But I want to elaborate. Opposing players have beaten their UConn defender off the dribble a few times this year. And strong playing team defense reaches in and pokes the ball away before they can get to the rim.

Every defensive player does this. But rarely have I seen a player do it successfully as consistently as Sarah has so far this season.

 

[Sluconn Husky]

 

[RoadMaster]

 

[DennieEddy]

I continue to marvel at how her size, physique, game
and skill-set are similar to that of JuJu.

And quite unlike anyone in the W

A position-less, power forward (?)

Hey, how do you get the tag line next to the avatar...in your case, Maestro. I've been trying to figure it out.

 

[Cuango]

I continue to marvel at how her size, physique, game
and skill-set are similar to that of JuJu.

And quite unlike anyone in the W

A position-less, power forward (?)

Sarah is bigger, stronger, and is a much more “all around“ talent than JuJu. JuJu is indeed a special player and showed as much in her freshman year. I think the jury is still out as to how she will perform as a “part” of a more talented roster. Will she be able to blend her skills with other great players?
Though I personally believe Sarah is simply a better player than JuJu, I think this is where the difference will become very clear. Sarah is, even as a freshman, able to function as an integral piece of a team. She is a magnificent passer, tremendous rebounder, has great instincts, and has truly incredible hands! JuJu is an incredible scorer, she had 24 in what was clearly an “off” game against Notre Dame! However, Sarah is imo, far more effective as a part (a very big part) of a team. Though both are great players, I’m very happy to have Sarah!

 

[Zonepress]

Sarah is bigger, stronger, and is a much more “all around“ talent than JuJu. JuJu is indeed a special player and showed as much in her freshman year. I think the jury is still out as to how she will perform as a “part” of a more talented roster. Will she be able to blend her skills with other great players?
Though I personally believe Sarah is simply a better player than JuJu, I think this is where the difference will become very clear. Sarah is, even as a freshman, able to function as an integral piece of a team. She is a magnificent passer, tremendous rebounder, has great instincts, and has truly incredible hands! JuJu is an incredible scorer, she had 24 in what was clearly an “off” game against Notre Dame! However, Sarah is imo, far more effective as a part (a very big part) of a team. Though both are great players, I’m very happy to have Sarah!

Good post very much agree
Juju has all world athleticism and great skills
And can get her shot any time she wants
Not sure with her current coaching the rest of her game will develop
Will be a perfect fit in the wnba

 

[EricLA]

She's been much better than expected for me. I thought/hoped she'd be good. But she's really really good - at literally everything. Shooting, scoring, passing, defending, rebounding, etc. You name it, she's really good at it.

I'm totally on the Sarah Strong hype train!!

 

[hoophuskee]

Sarah is bigger, stronger, and is a much more “all around“ talent than JuJu. JuJu is indeed a special player and showed as much in her freshman year. I think the jury is still out as to how she will perform as a “part” of a more talented roster. Will she be able to blend her skills with other great players?
Though I personally believe Sarah is simply a better player than JuJu, I think this is where the difference will become very clear. Sarah is, even as a freshman, able to function as an integral piece of a team. She is a magnificent passer, tremendous rebounder, has great instincts, and has truly incredible hands! JuJu is an incredible scorer, she had 24 in what was clearly an “off” game against Notre Dame! However, Sarah is imo, far more effective as a part (a very big part) of a team. Though both are great players, I’m very happy to have Sarah!

I can't tell you the level of excitment I have to see her compete and perform vs Notre Dame.