The No. 3-ranked USC Trojans have won their first two games by an average of 60 points.
While all eyes are on JuJu Watkins’ return, Saniyah Hall looks like a player who could steal the show throughout her freshman campaign, much like Sarah Strong did during her freshman year at UConn. Let’s break down the similarities, as well as key differences, between Hall and Strong.
How Hall is similar to and different from Strong
Hall and Strong were both the number one recruit in their respective class, but don’t have too many points of direct comparison as their high
school careers walked vastly different paths.
International play often becomes an useful equalizer for prospect evaluations, as many of the top American prospects play a decent sample size of games on the FIBA U18/U19 circuits. Strong was predominantly a 3×3 player on the global stage. Her only 5×5 international appearance came at the 2024 FIBA U18 AmeriCup Championship, where she averaged seven points and seven rebounds through six games.
Hall had a remarkable U19 run in the summer of 2025, where she averaged 20 points, six rebounds, and three steals through seven games in the FIBA U19 World Cup. During that run she shot 58 percent from two, 39 percent from 3 and 82 percent from the free throw line—professional level splits.
The more accurate comparison between the two recruits comes not from stats but from archetype and dominance.
Hall and Strong are part of a ceiling-raising faction of big wings coming up in women’s basketball. The Breanna Stewart blueprint has not been one easily reproduced, despite the success of the jumbo ball-dominant wing in men’s basketball (Giannis Antetokounmpo, LeBron James, Kevin Durant, Jayson Tatum, etc.). Stewart was one of the first to push the boundry of forwards moving like guards, but Strong and Hall boast strength advantages that Stewie never saw in her prospective years.
Strong stands at 6-foot-2 with a post-player frame, but has consistently shown an ability to play the point-forward role at UConn. Hall is listed at an inch shorter, but her slightly less built frame leans into her guard positioning. Both had similar physical advantages coming into their freshman year, especially for their age. However, they play uniquely different games.
Strong is a volume 3-point shooter, but most of her self-creation comes from drives and advantages created inside the 3-point line. In Geno Auriemma fashion, she doesn’t overcomplicate her best features. If you allow her to straight line drive, she will. If you back off to protect against that drive, she will shoot a 3. The more “complicated” parts of her game come when she’s used as a screener, which opens up a handful of new advantages for her to run with.
While she can wear many hats, Strong is more relentless than she is crafty.
Hall, on the other hand, is a premier advantage-creator past the 3-point line. She has an elite handle for her size, and her ability to manipulate defenders by shifting her weight is one of the most pro-ready parts about her game. What separates her from many other prospective ball-handling wings is her ability to make tough shots, and lean on a physical game when her handle doesn’t earn her a clear advantage.
Even in comparison to her new teammate Watkins, Hall’s ability to find contact and create a second advantage when being cut off or bumped is hard to parallel. Her physicality allows her to switch between paces with ease, as she can attack defenders at full speed and hold off mismatches with her body, sometimes within the same possession.
Hall’s playstyle is often more highlight-inducing, but it has its inconsistencies.
Strong’s ability to be relentless with her size has contributed to her historical scoring efficiency. She doesn’t get tired of dominating the interior, nor does she ever feel the need to “prove herself” with her handle or perimiter isos. Hall’s perimiter ability may be greater as a freshman, but that’s a less consistent form of offense. Hall doesn’t have all the strength of the aptly-named Strong, but finding a more dominant balance between her size and her guard skill could help her evolve into a more demanding and dominant opponent.
Like Strong, Hall could be a national championship difference maker
While their futuristic frames yield some interesting comparisons, Hall is also starting her career in a similar situation to Strong.
Both came into the NCAA as freshmen on top-five teams. Both came in playing behind a National Player of the Year candidate (Paige Bueckers, JuJu Watkins) and an All-American level co-star (Azzi Fudd, Jazzy Davidson). Both could play a role in a national championship campaign.
Strong was notoriously quick to prove herself as one of the best players in the nation, with some spectators reasoning that she was the best player on the 2024-25 national champion UConn team. That’s a tough race to call, but the argument is certainly there.
While Hall has a tall mountain to climb for that level of reverence, she’s off to a hot start.
Through USC’s first two outings, she’s averaging 21 points, six rebounds, two blocks and two steals while shooting 67 percent from the field and 56 percent from 3. While two games is an unreasonably small sample size, Hall is already displaying the ability to be an All-American as a freshman. Watkins will remain the ball-dominant feature on USC’s depth chart, but as they creep into tougher matchups and conference play, don’t be surprised if Hall is featured more and more as a playmaker and on-ball creator.
In just two seasons, Strong has already claimed a national championship and a National Player of the Year award.
Setting that expectation for Hall would be outwardly demanding. Not many players, especially external of the UConn collective, have achieved those kinds of feats so early in a collegiate career. However, Hall is in a rare position to contend as a top option alongside proven competitors, and her play style is mature enough that she won’t be relegated to an ancillary role.
While all eyes are on the return of Watkins to USC, Hall should never be ignored as someone who could be the real difference maker.
