STORRS, Conn. – A quick glance at the banners and retired numbers in Gampel Pavilion reminds us of the special players who came to UConn before Liam McNeeley and Sarah Strong.
However, it may be difficult to find a season where a pair of freshmen arrived at UConn and were asked to carry the load for the Huskies much like the two current freshman stars.
Before Strong played her first collegiate game, Hall of Fame coach Geno Auriemma suggested the 6-foot-4 freshman could change the trajectory of the UConn program. This came from the person who coached Rebecca Lobo, Sue Bird, Diana Taurasi, Maya Moore and Breanna Stewart.
The UConn men’s basketball team lost four starters from a team that won its second straight national title. Coach Dan Hurley made it clear that McNeeley wouldn’t be a player who would have a few months to figure things out.
In his first game, he had two points, a rebound and an assist in the first four minutes of the season-opening win over Sacred Heart. McNeeley finished with 18 points and 10 rebounds in the game. The next night, Strong had 17 points and six steals as the 11-time national champion UConn women’s basketball team opened the season by rolling past Boston University.
McNeeley is an outgoing 6-foot-4 Texan who was at times one of the most vocal players during timeouts as the Huskies lost three games in three days at the Maui Invitational. The soft-spoken 6-foot-2 Strong started playing basketball when her family lived in Spain before moving to North Carolina. She is more like a typical freshman in her interactions with the media, as she chooses her words very carefully. Despite their differences. both play a loud game and welcome the pressure of playing for elite college programs.
“I think they prove in high school that they are built for big moments, that they show their best when people expect it most from them,” Auriemma said. “That’s why they come to school (at UConn). We’ve certainly had our share of that and I don’t think you go into the season thinking this freshman is going to be ready. Every now and then you get unique guys that come along and from what I’ve heard on the men’s side, Liam is one of those players and Sarah is one of those players that comes along every now and then.
McNeeley and Strong don’t just thrive against overmatched opponents. Strong had 14 points, 13 rebounds, six assists and five blocked shots in a win over then-No. 14 North Carolina. McNeeley had 20 points in a loss to Colorado at the Maui Invitational. UConn played No. 15 Baylor at home without its lone returning starter. With Alex Karaban sidelined after suffering a concussion late in UConn’s final game at the Maui Invitational, McNeeley had 10 of his 17 points in the second half in a four-point win.
Games like this are why McNeeley came to UConn. He is ready to handle the pressure to help the program win a third straight national title.
“I decided to come here because I knew I was going to be pushed harder than anyone by the coaches and the team,” said McNeeley, who ranks second among the 25th-ranked Huskies with an average of 13 points per game. “That’s where I prefer to play my best.”
Strong leads UConn in rebounding and also tops the second-ranked Huskies with 19 steals and 11 blocked shots. Only All-American guard Paige Bueckers averages more points for UConn than the 15.6 Strong contributes for the 7-0 team. Getting the opportunity to play for Auriemma, who recently became the all-time winningest Division I college basketball coach, was a key factor in Strong’s commitment to UConn.
“He knows the game very well and he wants the best from all of us,” Strong said. “I know it will help me get better and develop so I can go to the WNBA.”
There was a moment in one of UConn’s early games when Strong came out of the game. Auriemma waited until she got to the UConn bench. As he stopped her and began calmly instructing his freshman on what he was looking for, Strong looked straight at her head coach and tried to take in every word coming her way. Many of those who came to UConn before Strong quickly retreated to the bench and let one of the assistants deliver the message. Strong opted for a more mature option.
“It’s very important,” Strong says. “I care about what he has to say and he will put me in the best position he can, so whatever he says, I will take it.”
Both freshmen will play high-profile games together with their teammates this weekend.
The UConn women head to New York to take on No. 22 Louisville at the Barclays Center in the Women’s Champions Classic. The men’s team will play its first real road game of the season against unranked Texas. McNeeley and his teammates will look to build on Baylor’s win with a matchup against No. 7 Gonzaga at Madison Garden on Dec. 14.
“We need to build on that,” McNeeley said. “There are two very big games on the schedule and then we play competition, so we have to keep the momentum going.”
