Jovana Popovic Commits to UConn | Page 3 | The Boneyard
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Jovana Popovic Commits to UConn

oldude said:
Wonderful news. A couple thoughts:
  • If anyone on the BY had Jovana Popovic on their Bingo card, I want to know about it.
  • Geno had 3 scholarships available this year. The Big O & Jovana account for 2 of them. I suspect that Okeke may be #3, and we may not know about her until next spring. If I am correct, then UConn did not offer either Bjorn or Robinson.
  • For some reason I see Nika’s fingerprints all over this recent surge of recruits with connections to Eastern Europe.
  • Geno typically lets everyone know when he’s done recruiting for the year. No word so far may just mean there’s one more recruit (Okeke?) yet to commit.
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From the article in the last year or so she sounds like a high-level talent in Europe. Was she even on any school recruiting list? It is interesting that Geno has put a lot of focus on recruiting international players the last few years.
 
oldude said:
Wonderful news. A couple thoughts:
  • If anyone on the BY had Jovana Popovic on their Bingo card, I want to know about it.
  • Geno had 3 scholarships available this year. The Big O & Jovana account for 2 of them. I suspect that Okeke may be #3, and we may not know about her until next spring. If I am correct, then UConn did not offer either Bjorn or Robinson.
  • For some reason I see Nika’s fingerprints all over this recent surge of recruits with connections to Eastern Europe.
  • Geno typically lets everyone know when he’s done recruiting for the year. No word so far may just mean there’s one more recruit (Okeke?) yet to commit.
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I think even more than Nika in eastern Europe. Dorka and the Makurat sisters are also from Eastern Europe. They also took a trip there along with their skip through Italy. I'm sure kids in the basketball world came to see them and Nika must know her.
 
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What also helps is that Geno is known worldwide as the best college coach. How many coaches are known worldwide? From Ecuador/Italy, to Egypt, to Croatia, to Serbia, to Poland and elsewhere? Maybe someday NJ...
 
First of all, WOW! This came out of the blue. Geno is always three steps ahead. This girl is lightning in a bottle.

Second, I haven't found any highlights showing her defensive play. That's not surprising, but that's gonna be an important question for her at UConn. Her offensive skills are very refined.

Third, I'm officially dubbing her "Special J." On offense, she looks a lot like Kaleena, though maybe less rushed and frenetic. But similarly aggressive mentality. I'm not sure Geno needs a Special K and a Special J at this point.

Fourth, she's little. We haven't had a true little since Crystal. It's about time. And she seems to have big hands for a little, at least judging from the way she moves the ball. She also appears to be very fit, like she's seen the inside of a weight room.

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Fifth, contrary to one poster above, she looks nothing like CC in the face.

Sixth, the guard corps for next year appears to be pretty much set. Who knows about what happens after that.
  • 26-27: KK Ash Kayleigh Allie Morgan Kelis Jovana -- that's a handful for any opposing team to deal with
  • 27-28: Kayleigh Allie Morgan Kelis Jovana
  • 28-29: Kelis and Jovana and maybe still Morgan -- the first post Sarah season. Olivia Gandy and Blanca holding down the front court.
  • 29-30: Jovana and Olivia and Gandy
 
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As the saying goes, " the rich keep getting richer and the others can only hope. " With the recent signings. Uconn has cemented it's latest. DYNASTY. I. myself has been continually pressed to have to watch Uconn BB into it's future reign of terror on the other teams. I am now 92 years old and my total joy in life is Uconn's basketball and their almost perfection in playing this game. Now the DYNASTY has reached into the 2029/30 season and I haveto find some way to see all the games. I have been BLESSED with good genes and now look forward to 5 more years of Uconn BB until I am 97 years old. I have been a DIE=HARD fan since 2010. GO HUSKIES!!!!!!!!!!
 
Bone Dog said:
Fourth, she's little. We haven't had a true little since Crystal. It's about time. And she seems to have big hands for a little, at least judging from the way she moves the ball. She also appears to be very fit, like she's seen the inside of a weight room.

View attachment 113437
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I think Jovana is about average-sized for a PG. She's listed at 5'8" and 5'9". She's smaller than Paige, but decidedly bigger and taller than Moriah and Crystal.
 
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Serbian and Croatian are actually not two separate languages, but two dialects of the same language (language books usually lump them together as Serbo-Croatian). Not identical, but definitely mutually intelligible. The primary difference is that Serbian is written in Cyrillic like Russian, while Croatian is written in the Latin alphabet.
 
victor64 said:
Three questions.

Did anyone notice in the tape that she beat Okeke off the dribble against Spain?

Those with opinion, how does she compare to Robinson or Bjorn?

Did anyone else notice the facial resemblance to Caitlin Clark?
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IMO, a comparison really can't be made. Completely different games. Bjorn is a wing and Robinson is a SG. This kid is a classic combo guard and I haven't seen one better other than Bueckers and Clark coming out of HS in the last 5 or so years. Her ballhandling, court vision, shooting mechanics, ability to create separation, and particularly her unselfishness are elite. Her 5-9 size isn't a problem either for the same reason it wasn't for Kelsey Plum, that uncanny ability to create separation. She could play fulltime PG easily if needed and I believe that along with Kate Harpring, would be the top CG in the 2026 US class. And she might be a better passer.
 
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Charliebball said:
Geno clearly likes these international players who seem to have strong work ethics and are less caught up in all of the hype......that should keep him a bit more stress free........unless they're all like Nika...... ☺️
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I'm guessing that internationals are easier to recruit when you get closer to retirement. A 16-yr old kid might have more questions/concerns about if Geno will be there when they graduate. A foreign kid could probably stay where they are and go pro -- they're coming to the US to get as much top-notch coaching as possible. And when it runs out, they can go back home.
 
Charliebball said:
My understanding is that Croats and Serbs share similar languages and understand each other.........I guess that means that Olivia and Jovana will be able to complain about Geno together in secret..... 😊
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Lived in each country for three years. Pretty much the same language except for a few differences that are mostly political statements - a little more different than British versus American English. They should have no problem complaining about Geno at a very sophisticated level.
 
MilfordHusky said:
I think Jovana is about average-sized for a PG. She's listed at 5'8" and 5'9". She's smaller than Paige, but decidedly bigger and taller than Moriah and Crystal.
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Yes, taller than MoJeff and Crystal. But I don't think she's as tall as you say here. The only listing I've seen shows her as 5'8". But in the videos I've come across, she looks more like 5'7". Of course, that's just based on camera angles and is not very reliable. But I don't think she's as tall as KK or Ash or Kayleigh.
 
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