Starting Five: The side of Sarah Strong we don't see

UConn’s two star players couldn’t be more different in terms of their on-court demeanor. Paige Bueckers has a flair for the dramatic — whether it be arguing with the refs, firing up the crowd or skipping in front of the opposition’s bench after hitting a 3-pointer.

Sarah Strong is the polar opposite. She’s stoic, so she doesn’t get all that excited when things go well but also doesn’t get rattled when things go wrong. Despite being a freshman, Strong is as even-keeled as they come.

But off the court and away from all the cameras — when only her friends and teammates are around — Strong transforms into a different person.

“Her personality off the court is probably completely opposite of what she is on the court,” Bueckers said. “Her sense of humor, her quick wittedness, just everything — she fits right in with the team.”

It’s not as if Strong changes the minute she steps off the court, though. During interviews, the freshman is shy and soft-spoken. She rarely responds with anything more than a sentence or two.

As it turns out, Strong is just saving up those words for later.

“People don’t think she talks a lot or anything. She doesn’t stop talking,” Allie Ziebell revealed.

From the outside, Strong is the antithesis of KK Arnold. The sophomore guard is UConn’s biggest personality — a goofy, fun-loving ball of energy with no off-switch. As it turns out, Arnold and Strong are a lot more similar than they appear on the surface.

“She's only quiet with you guys. That girl is loud. She's basically KK,” Fudd said. “My first time, I was like, ‘Oh my gosh, I didn't know she had that in her.”

“People get caught off-guard by how shy she is on camera, but she’s a little mini me,” Arnold added.

For the record, Strong denied the allegations.

“I don’t think that’s true. I’m not like KK. I’m just more outgoing (around friends),” she said.

While the exact nature of Strong’s personality remains in dispute, there’s a preponderance of evidence to suggest there’s more to her that we don’t see — even if it seems hard to believe.

“I promise I'm not [lying]. I was just as shocked. I did not believe it at first,” Fudd said. “When I first saw it, I was actually like, ‘Wait, is this normal? Did she just get a bunch of energy at this moment, or is it normal?’ It’s normal.”

It took some time for Strong to reveal that side of herself, though. She missed most of summer workouts while fulfilling national team obligations and admittedly felt like an outsider when she returned to Storrs for the fall semester. It took a few weeks for her to settle in.

Strong exclusively reserves that for those she’s closest with, though. Even the coaching staff doesn’t see it.

“I think she's wiser beyond her years because she only has fun with her friends. She has no time for me, for you, for anybody else. Whatever you get from her is what we all get as coaches,” Auriemma said. “Her friends, her teammates, that's a whole different story. She's very, very bright. She don't care about me. She don't care about whoever has a microphone, whoever has a camera, she could care less. [With] her friends, she has a blast — always.”

In fact, that’s what initially endeared Strong to the coach. Their first conversation on the recruiting trail didn’t go much farther than ‘Hi, how you doing?’

“I thought, ‘I really like her,’” Auriemma said.

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