Sarah Strong, the No. 1 recruit in her class, named the 2024 Naismith High School Player of the Year, spent her first 10 years in Spain. Moving to North Carolina later she quickly made her mark by helping Grace Christian secure three state titles in the North Carolina Independent Schools Athletic Association. She takes the momentum to the second-ranked Huskies, easily becoming one of their top scorers.

Months into her freshman year, Strong averaged 17.7 Points, 8.7 rebounds and 3.8 assists. The explosive freshman has shown that she’s made of pure basketball inculcated by her parents, who were former notable basketball names.

Allison Feaster plants strong roots in the family

Strong is the daughter of basketball icons Allison Feaster and Danny Strong. Her mother, a standout at Harvard, went on to play in the WNBA from 1998 to 2008, while her father played collegiately at NC State and professionally overseas.

Allison Feaster, born on February 11, 1976, serves as the Vice President of Team Operations & Organizational Growth for the Boston Celtics. A former professional basketball player, Feaster is celebrated as a trailblazer in the sports industry.

During her standout college basketball career, Allison Feaster made history as the first athlete in any sport to earn Ivy League Player of the Year honors three times. If that wasn’t enough, she played a crucial role in delivering No.1 seeded Stanford an upset during the 1998 NCAA Tournament. Putting up 35 points, 13 rebounds and three steals in 39 minutes, the basketball icon led her No.16 seed team to victory.

This game would change Feaster’s career trajectory. She hadn’t exactly thought of continuing in the sport past college, but as fate would have it, the game sealed the deal for her. “That played a huge part in just me being respected as a player,” she says. In the next few months, she was being drafted into the WNBA as a first-round pick.

Feaster finished her senior year as a lead scorer in the nation with 28.5 points per game. She also showcased her versatility by ranking 14th in rebounding with 10.8 boards per game. Over the next two decades, she played for Los Angeles Sparks, Charlotte Sting, and Indiana Fever. Her role was crucial for her teams, but she was also loved and respected enough to have received full support when she announced her pregnancy in 2005.

“She has been a significant contributor this season and while we will certainly miss her leadership and on-court presence, the Charlotte Sting fully supports her,” then Charlotte Sting coach, Trudi Lacey had said. Feaster would retire from WNBA after playing a couple of seasons more and averaging 8 points, but she kept up with the sport internationally — Portugal, France, Italy, and Spain — until 2016 alongside her husband.

Strong couple take their talents overseas

Allison Feaster married her high school sweetheart Danny Strong, a former basketball player from North Carolina State, in 2005. Their daughter, Sarah, was born in 2006 in Spain, where the family was living while Danny continued his professional basketball career overseas.

Born on January 18, 1975, Danny Strong made himself known from his time at Great Falls High. The centre averaged an impressive 28.9 points per game, along with 11.2 rebounds and 1.5 blocks per game, showcasing his all-around presence. He also shot 56.0% from the field and an impressive 37.8% from beyond the arc. The momentum was kept up as Strong moved to Spartanburg Methodist College, where he had earned first-team JUCO All-America honors and then to NC State.

The 6-6 centre finished his college run with an average of 12.5 points, 4.9 rebounds, and 0.9 assists. He would then go on play at European Basketball leagues, make four all-star appearances in the French National Basketball League, and lead his team to victory in the 2005 French Cup Championship. He retired in May 2012 after playing for 15 years.

Much like her parents, Sarah Strong is witnessing notable start to college basketball career.

Sarah Strong: A High School Basketball Phenom

Born on 3 February 2006, Sarah Strong attended Grace Christian School, only to come out as the top-ranked recruit in the nation. She had led her team to three NCISAA state titles, with an average 21.0 points, 16.8 rebounds, 4.6 assists, and 2.8 steals per game.

Strong has also had an incredible journey with USA Basketball, earning gold medals at the 2024 FIBA U18 AmeriCup, the 2023 FIBA 3×3 U18 World Cup, and the 2022 FIBA 3×3 U18 World Cup.

If that wasn’t enough to speak of the game she had established, in 2023 and 2024, the 6’2″ forward earned the title of North Carolina Miss Basketball, a spot in the 2024 McDonald’s All-American Girls Game, and  became the first player from North Carolina to be named the 2024 Naismith High School Player of the Year.

The Strong family’s basketball legacy, shaped by the incredible careers of Allison Feaster and Danny Strong, lives on through their daughter, Sarah.