Who will Sarah Strong pick?

[Geew1992]

You can have more commitments than you have scholarships to give so no need to worry about that now. The scholarship situation will sort itself out.

No you cant. Unless someone’s walking on

 

[hoopsnloops32]

No you cant. Unless someone’s walking on

Yes you can. You don’t need a scholarship open for a player to commit. It’s a matter of enrollment in the fall but fans don’t need to worry about that. Coaches know what is happening with the scholarships chart and each player.

 

[ABCDFE]

Well now we know the whole Duke picking up steam was a real thing. I'm just glad South Carolina and LSU are officially out!

Hope we can land her!

Do we know how Duke started making inroads? It seems like they came late to the party. I know Arianna Roberson and Strong made it to Uconn's first night together, but other than that, not sure. Connection to coach Lawson?

 

[RockyMTblue2]

To not screw with the mojo gods I am abstaining. As far as scholarships go there is talk about a UConn player hitting the portal, but I don't dabble in such and especially not here!

 

[FormerCTrez]

Do we know how Duke started making inroads? It seems like they came late to the party. I know Arianna Roberson and Strong made it to Uconn's first night together, but other than that, not sure. Connection to coach Lawson?

I believe Duke’s coach, Kara Lawson, previously worked with the Boston Celtics, and so does Sarah Strong’s mom, Allison Feaster.

 

[RadfordRam]

If she wants to improve her game and have the best chance to make the pros, she'd pick Uconn. Although, she could do an A'ja Wilson

She'll make the pro's no matter what school she chooses. A'ja was never going anywhere but Carolina.

 

[bballnut90]

I believe Duke’s coach, Kara Lawson, previously worked with the Boston Celtics, and so does Sarah Strong’s mom, Allison Feaster.

They were both in the WNBA at the same time as well (never teammates though).

 

[AzzisBraids]

Sarah has a career defining choice to make. I do not like Duke in the mix. Lawson is creating an East Coast pitch of academics and basketball that is pulling these recruits in. North Carolina to me seems the least to gain her services. UConn is the mainstay and without bias is where I think she fits the most. Her versatility on the court will get her playing time and her NIL profile will soar the most if that is factor for her.

 

[topogigio]

Really curious if what happened between LSU and South Carolina on Sunday is what led to this announcement.She hasn’t said anything about her recruitment until now so the timing is a bit coincidental…

Me thinks the shenanigans going on the court with LSU and SC are going to have top notch recruits think long and hard about their choice. Especially if they are the well rounded student/athlete/great kid model.

 

[Urshurak]

65% on here voted UConn. What is this based on exactly? I have not seen any indication she is leaning one way or another. If anything, it seemed like she was leaning more towards SC than anything else. I see that has changed.

I don't think she will pick UConn in my opinion. I think she wants to be the focus for 4 years and being close to home is at least some consideration. Just my .02. I hope I'm wrong as I think she would be great at UConn.

 

[stamfordhusky]

I read a few days ago that Paige is estimated to be pulling in about $650,000 a year from NIL. And she's done a lot of very good things for others with some of that money. It wouldn't shock me in the least if she were willing to give up her scholarship if that's what it took to put UConn on the inside track to the National Championship. It also wouldn't shock me in the least if Geno and Paige have already had a discussion on that possible contingency.

To say that is extremely unlikely, would be an understatement.

 

[stamfordhusky]

I wonder if Paige and her high GPA might also be eligible for an academic scholarship. Does anyone have any info on academic vs athletic scholarships at UConn (assume full ride)?

If she received any scholarship money of any type, it would count the same as an athletic scholarship.

 

[darrell]

Sarah has a career defining choice to make. I do not like Duke in the mix. Lawson is creating an East Coast pitch of academics and basketball that is pulling these recruits in. North Carolina to me seems the least to gain her services. UConn is the mainstay and without bias is where I think she fits the most. Her versatility on the court will get her playing time and her NIL profile will soar the most if that is factor for her.

I completely agree. I honestly think it’s between UConn and Duke.

On one hand, she gets a Duke education and can become an integral part of a young, but very promising team whose HC happens to have a good relationship with her Mom.

On the other, she can choose the school and HC that’s produced countless WNBA talent and whose returning players and team offense would suit her almost perfectly.

I won’t be mad at either decision, she’s a good kid and I’ll support her regardless.

 

[dtbtbtb]

it is a clear choice between schools close to home or a school which is away from home. as someone who is not objective, i think that Sarah's. best choice would be UConn as while she'll most probably will get to the WNBA regardless of who she chooses, she'll be the best prepared if she comes to UConn (as mentioned by a lot of coaches). While i think that the coaches of Duke and NC are excellent i don't think they compare to Geno. While i do think that Duke is a top contender (because of their sudden appearance of interest), i do not know why Sarah will want to go to a school which is so limited on offense (unless Kara is trying to convince her that with her, they'll have a flowing offence).
At UConn she'll have the freedom to shoot from all 3 levels. My concern is that if Sarah didn't choose UConn till now, why will she do it.

 

[Reypl21]

I can see Sarah Strong at UConn. UConn plays an offense that takes advantage of her skillset, and Geno can always adjust it too. Kara Lawson has been a good defensive coach, but offensively has struggled. UNC coach, umm.

I think she's heading to UConn. She will have really good teammates to play with, and be in a cog in an elite offensive system. Plus Geno develops players better than anyone.

 

[Fore!]

I wonder if Paige and her high GPA might also be eligible for an academic scholarship. Does anyone have any info on academic vs athletic scholarships at UConn (assume full ride)?

I thought I had read that scholarships have a specific pecking order in terms of how they are accounted for, so a school can't simply allocate a scholarship from one sport to another (as in Scott Burrell’s case, had he not signed a BB contract). Wonder if the same would apply to an academic scholarship?

 

[hoophuskee]

it is a clear choice between schools close to home or a school which is away from home. as someone who is not objective, i think that Sarah's. best choice would be UConn as while she'll most probably will get to the WNBA regardless of who she chooses, she'll be the best prepared if she comes to UConn (as mentioned by a lot of coaches). While i think that the coaches of Duke and NC are excellent i don't think they compare to Geno. While i do think that Duke is a top contender (because of their sudden appearance of interest), i do not know why Sarah will want to go to a school which is so limited on offense (unless Kara is trying to convince her that with her, they'll have a flowing offence).
At UConn she'll have the freedom to shoot from all 3 levels. My concern is that if Sarah didn't choose UConn till now, why will she do it.

I think of the bold "a lot."

 

[VA Huskie]

Me too. It seems to me that many (most?) of the top players who’ve come to UConn knew pretty early on that this was where they wanted to be. Stewie, DT, Paige. Not sure how early Maya decided, though I know Tennessee was in the running. Bird, Charles, Collier - don’t know about any of them. I don’t think Mo Jeff was an early commit.

I voted that SS would come to UConn, but I’m not very confident.

 

[BRS24]

. My concern is that if Sarah didn't choose UConn till now, why will she do it.

I think of the bold "a lot."

Whole lotta thoughts on this one -

• What if she made the decision a while back, and Geno said, great, but just make sure?
• What if this was always her final list, however went on visits to other schools to ensure her instincts were correct, that she wasn't missing anything?
• Maybe LSU & SC were on her list until this week, for reasons we'll never know?
• Perhaps she wanted to get through her HS season without any targeted (something) to her?
• If it's UConn, maybe Geno said wait a bit, as if she declared, it would raise a whole host of other questions on the roster for next season, and the coaches have been holding this team together with duct tape, bubble gum, wishes, prayers, hopes, dreams, luck, and didn't want yet another distraction?

Unless I'm mistaken, this is the first time that an "official" list has been released.

 

[Dillon77]

As a Notre Dame fan, whose team plays in the ACC, I'd love to have her NOT be in our conference.
That sentiment aside, I could see her fitting in with all three teams:

• Her all-round technical ability and three-stage game would work with UConn;
• North Carolina has a mess of bigs which would give her virtual carte blanche. Plus, she'll take over the Alyssa Ustyby-forward all over the court role; and,
• Duke has a young squad of athletic guards/wings that could use Strong.

UConn allure is strong, but I can sense Duke sneaking up...Stay tuned.

p.s. I watched some footage of her recently and she does a lot of things that Maddy Westbeld does for the Irish, including solid rebounding and dribbling/passing, in addition to three-tier scoring. Great prospect.

 

[hoopsnloops32]

definitely gonna be Duke. Personally I think it’s. Waste of offensive talent but we’ll see how it turns out.

 

[stamfordhusky]

I thought I had read that scholarships have a specific pecking order in terms of how they are accounted for, so a school can't simply allocate a scholarship from one sport to another (as in Scott Burrell’s case, had he not signed a BB contract). Wonder if the same would apply to an academic scholarship?

Under the rules, an academic scholarship would count exactly the same way as a basketball scholarship. You can’t circumvent the scholarship limit by giving out academic scholarships, or need based scholarships, etc.

 

[cancontent]

Me thinks the shenanigans going on the court with LSU and SC are going to have top notch recruits think long and hard about their choice. Especially if they are the well rounded student/athlete/great kid model.

This happened in one game, so how is this a pattern? This is a narrative that doesn't make sense to me. South Carolina has examples of well rounded student athletes, who are also continuing to do so since graduating.

Their freshies 2019 class had several on the team who excelled academically and off the court. Laeticia Amihere graduated with 2 degrees, was part of their Student Council (or it's equivalent), and ran charitable events in Africa in her spare time. Aliyah Boston has used her platform along with her mother to help educate other on various topics including financial literacy.

A'ja Wilson has used her challenges with dyslexia to help others see they can make it at the college level. She's currently using her platform to partner with companies like AT&T to small business owners succeed. Her best selling book is a great message for young women who are learning to build confidence in themselves.

Alisha Gray is using her AU platform this season to build awareness for defibrillators and CPR training on behalf of her team mate Naz Hillmon's brother's charity, similar to what Tina Charles has done.

It's not a good idea to assume that programs like South Carolina lack the ability to develop players who also have good character based on one incident.

 

[Zarathustra]

Some words of advice for Sara from Did You Ever Have to Make Up Your Mind:

“Then you bet you'd better finally decide!
And say yes to one and let the other one ride
There's so many changes, and tears you must hide
Did you ever have to finally decide?”

One of my Favorites! (song that is). But then..... so is Sarah Strong!

 

[Cuango]

Per my latest count, yes, as she'd make #15, and that's w/o any announcement from Aaliyah.

I’m pretty sure it has to be either Aaliyah or Strong! There is not room for both!