If the praise coming from within the UConn Huskies was not enough, Syracuse head coach Felisha Legette-Jack’s statement about Sarah Strong is further proof that she is the next big thing from Geno Auriemma’s legendary program.

Following Sarah Strong’s 15-point, six-rebound showcase at Mohegan Sun Arena, which helped UConn defeat Syracuse 88-60 in the preseason opener, Legette-Jack was highly appreciative of last season’s National Player of the Year, while also hinting that her presence hides the fact that the program lacks in the experience department.

“Sarah Strong’s so good. The only reason why we were getting close, everybody knows, she’s on the bench… There could be four kids from middle school and Sarah Strong, and they got a chance to win unless you get her on the bench.” Legette-Jack said on her postgame media availability, via Storrs Central’s YouTube channel.

“Love everything about her, and you know what’s the best part of her game? She’s a wonderful human being, and I think that gives credit to the coaching staff and her family, there’s not a bad thing about that young lady here. She defends. She runs. She shoots the 3-ball. She can post you up. She is, to me, a No. 1 draft pick whenever she decides to go to the league.” The Syracuse head coach has high expectations for the 20-year-old.

It is true that we will see a new-look Huskies this season, considering both Paige Bueckers and Azzi Fudd will not be present in Auriemma’s lineups. The 2025 NCAA champions are now prospering in the WNBA with the Dallas Wings, both entering the league as the No. 1 overall draft picks. While the program can obviously take pride in that, it currently leaves them shorthanded in experience.

KK Arnold and Ashlynn Shade headline the program as seniors, while the likes of Kayleigh Heckel, Jana El Alfy, and Allie Ziebell support them as juniors.

But while Auriemma’s side lacks experience in high-stakes clashes in the latter half of the season, the attention is currently on the international freshmen, Jovana Popovic from Serbia and Olivia Vukosa from Croatia.

The Eastern Europeans recorded 10 points each in their preseason debut, with Vukosa adding a team-high nine rebounds. Vukosa’s offseason onboarding has been mostly about conditioning, and it’s safe to say Auriemma was pretty impressed by the 6’5 former Gatorade Player of the Year’s performance.

“I don’t think Olivia has had one day of practice that was as good as today, so maybe she’s just one of those kids that – I don’t know what they’re teaching in Catholic schools these days, but her practice habits are not great and, yet, here in the game, I thought she played that, if you were looking at it, you’d say, ‘She doesn’t look like a freshman out there,’ some of the things she did,” Auriemma said about Vukosa, who came out of Christ the King in New York.

As for the Serbian, she was one of the best players on the hardwood alongside Strong and Vukosa. Popovic played with confidence, driving into the paint for layups and dishing in no-look passes without thinking twice.

“She’s really smart for a young player. She makes good decisions for the most part… She doesn’t lose her composure out there. She knows what she’s good at. Even though she’s theoretically a freshman in college, I think her basketball mindset and mentality is a little bit higher than that.” Auriemma said about Popovic, who averaged 27.1 points, 4.7 assists, and 4.7 steals per game last season in Serbia’s flagship league.

Regardless, Sarah Strong remains the anchor of the Huskies, and Legette-Jack believes she will be the next player from the Huskies to carry on the legacy of Bueckers and Fudd, and eventually step into the WNBA as the top rookie. And in two seasons under Auriemma, Strong’s career trajectory is heading in the right direction, already having a national championship under her belt while elevating herself as last season’s best player.

Apart from the Syracuse head coach and Auriemma, Strong will be facing high expectations from another prominent UConn figure from the sidelines this season.

Nykesha Sales sees herself in Sarah Strong

With Bueckers and Fudd gone, the rest of UConn will look at Sarah Strong when the going gets tough. And while she is still in her junior year, Strong now has to become the leader of a program that sees anything less than a championship as a failure.

But to Strong’s advantage, she will have Nykesha Sales as her assistant coach this season, someone who has already done this tango during her playing career at UConn back in 1994. Just like Strong, she won the national championship in her debut year, and just like Strong, she had to step up when the likes of Rebecca Lobo and Jennifer Rizzotti left the program.

“It’s the same storyline. She came in, she won a national championship; I came in, won the championship. Then the big dogs leave, so now you have to not only still produce what you did as a freshman and as a sophomore, but now you have to be way more vocal. I wasn’t very vocal, I liked to show by example. Now she has to be the true leader.” Sales said, per the Hartford Courant.

“A lot (of people) compare me to Sarah Strong. Being able to play inside, outside a little bit, body type. Obviously, she’s one of the best players in the country — I don’t know if I was when I was here like that — and she has a lot of responsibility and a lot of growth.” Sales added.

Sales graduated as UConn’s all-time leading scorer with 2,178 career points (currently ranks seventh), while she remains the ultimate thief in program history with 447 career steals. Sales also holds UConn’s single-game scoring record with 46 points back in 1997.

While becoming the anchor of a highly demanding program is certainly difficult, Sarah Strong is surrounded by past examples, tons of coaching experience, new teammates, and her own potential, which Auriemma believes she can unlock further. Sarah Strong’s junior year is her most important yet, and it will be interesting to see the heights last season’s National Player of the Year can reach.