A while back Nan posted an article about Geno going to Albany, N.Y. to watch Olivia Owens of Niskayuna High School play. I recently got to see Olivia play Saratoga Springs in person and had some thoughts about her. Olivia is 6'3", athletic and very strong physically. Not bulky, but strong. During warmups she was working on passing and dribbling the ball while her teammates shot baskets. Saratoga did a good job of denying her the ball all game and she ended up with 11 points, but she did not show frustration, set very good screens, rebounded well and made a spin move for a basket in the lane that had people buzzing. What impressed me most was her running ability. She ran 3/4 of the court after a Saratoga fast break and made players look like they were standing still. I think her upside is huge. I think most people in this region would say the best female player ever to come out of the Capitol District was 6'5" Anita Kaplan of Stanford. Olivia is the best player I've seen since Anita and given she is only a sophomore, I think she can really be special by senior year.
I would like to give a shout out to her family for being so nice after the game. I met her sister, brother, mother and Olivia and they couldn't have been nicer. Maryland is looking at Olivia, too.
I would like to give a shout out to her family for being so nice after the game. I met her sister, brother, mother and Olivia and they couldn't have been nicer. Maryland is looking at Olivia, too.