Jovana Popovic Commits to UConn | Page 4 | The Boneyard

Jovana Popovic Commits to UConn

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Here is a game played just six months ago during the Women's Eurobasket competition. We can see her with the senior national team. She wears the #28 in blue. In this game, she had a playing time of: 29:28, 9 pts. (4/10) 3 reb, 5 ast and 2 stl. The team's starting PG, Yvonne Anderson, found herself in foul trouble and she had the opportunity to prove herself further. With such high-level competition, we can get a good idea of where she stands right now. I've also added the box score. You can click on each player's name to see their complete stats. I've included a video of her entering the game.

www.fiba.basketball

Lithuania vs Serbia - Group Phase - FIBA Women's EuroBasket 2025 | FIBA Basketball

Lithuania vs Serbia - Browse boxscore, game information & live stats, team rosters, photos and video highlights
www.fiba.basketball www.fiba.basketball
 
I like that she is always on the balls of her feet and as quick as she plays, she doesn't seem 'in a hurry'. Players like her look like they are taking their time, but really are going by people. It creates good balance and a strong base.
Paige was one of the best I've seen on the women's side doing this. At times, it looks like long, almost lumbering strides, but in fact the player is moving faster than it appears, are balanced and ready to absorb some contact and finish. Strong, does this well as well and prior to the injuries Ducharme had the same kind of footwork driving through the paint.
Blanca shows signs of this, but just needs to slow down a bit at times. I think getting a little sped up, which is very common for a freshman, and part of her game coming in from the footage I've seen of her playing before coming to Storrs, is something they are working on and already seeing signs of her being more mindful of when to throttle down and up.

Still, looking forward to the young Serb playing for the Huskies.
 
From Canada said:
Here is a game played just six months ago during the Women's Eurobasket competition. We can see her with the senior national team. She wears the #28 in blue. In this game, she had a playing time of: 29:28, 9 pts. (4/10) 3 reb, 5 ast and 2 stl. The team's starting PG, Yvonne Anderson, found herself in foul trouble and she had the opportunity to prove herself further. With such high-level competition, we can get a good idea of where she stands right now. I've also added the box score. You can click on each player's name to see their complete stats. I've included a video of her entering the game.

www.fiba.basketball

Lithuania vs Serbia - Group Phase - FIBA Women's EuroBasket 2025 | FIBA Basketball

Lithuania vs Serbia - Browse boxscore, game information & live stats, team rosters, photos and video highlights
www.fiba.basketball www.fiba.basketball
Expand ...

This is top level amateur competition in Europe, much superior to anything she would have faced in US HS competition. Dugalic of UCLA is #32 in blue and Juste Jocyte of Lithuania is #4 in white. Popovic can obviously play at a high level. She was still only 17 yo at this tournament. And check out the spin move and finish at 48:50 of the video. And listen to the comments by the analyst starting at 49:42.
www.fiba.basketball

Jovana Popovic (Serbia) - Basketball Stats, Height, Age | FIBA Basketball

Explore the career and performances of Jovana Popovic. Access all stats, latest news, photos, videos and achievements.
www.fiba.basketball www.fiba.basketball
 
Last edited:
pvdoggy said:
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.
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It seems to have started the season after Charlie Collier de-committed. Since then, there seems to have been a focus on recruiting foreign players. Someone with good research skills can check to see if that was when the recruiting of foreign players became prominent.
 
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Next 12 said:
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!!!!!!!!!!
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You give me hope.
 
Well, well well What a big surprise We got a good one. The skills are there, and the video shows us a lot from a 17-yr old playing up against much older women. For Geno to get her tells me something about his recruiting, which Im not sure I know. He's going in a new direction. More non-Americans. To take her on a team that has as much talent as UConn has on their roster tells me shes that good. Shes not gonna be at the end of the bench. She is very athletic and create her own shot and isnt afraid to shoot. To be playing up on her team and play with that kind of leadership and confidence is just wow. She takes charge like many of the great players we've seen at UConn. Shes not afraid not intimidated and does not defer to her older teammates. I think we got a special player to join our already great team
 
Bone Dog said:
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.

View attachment 113437

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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Isn't Kelis considered a " little"? If not she should be.
 
From Canada said:
Here is a game played just six months ago during the Women's Eurobasket competition. We can see her with the senior national team. She wears the #28 in blue. In this game, she had a playing time of: 29:28, 9 pts. (4/10) 3 reb, 5 ast and 2 stl. The team's starting PG, Yvonne Anderson, found herself in foul trouble and she had the opportunity to prove herself further. With such high-level competition, we can get a good idea of where she stands right now. I've also added the box score. You can click on each player's name to see their complete stats. I've included a video of her entering the game.

www.fiba.basketball

Lithuania vs Serbia - Group Phase - FIBA Women's EuroBasket 2025 | FIBA Basketball

Lithuania vs Serbia - Browse boxscore, game information & live stats, team rosters, photos and video highlights
www.fiba.basketball www.fiba.basketball
Expand ...

This is at the Senior Eurobasket with top level professionals including many WNBA players, draft picks etc. Considering she was only 17 in this game it was a strong performance from her.

She played at the Nike Hoop Summit against Team USA earlier this year featuring the likes of Davidson, Chavez, Betts etc. where she had a strong game with a statline of 11 points in 18 minutes on 4-6 FG (1-1 3P). I think this game is better suited to get a glimpse where she stands relative to US HS players.
 
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NYFan said:
Does she pronounce her name with the J sounding like a Y?
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Yes, according to this article:

www.uconnwbbweekly.com

UConn signs 2026 Serbian guard Jovana Popovic

The Huskies made a surprise addition to next season's freshman class.
www.uconnwbbweekly.com www.uconnwbbweekly.com

"UConn women’s basketball made a surprise addition to its 2026 recruiting class on Thursday, announcing the signing of Jovana Popovic (pronounced yo-vah-na PAH-poh-vich), a 5-8 guard out of Vrbas, Serbia."
 
From Canada said:
Here is a game played just six months ago during the Women's Eurobasket competition. We can see her with the senior national team. She wears the #28 in blue. In this game, she had a playing time of: 29:28, 9 pts. (4/10) 3 reb, 5 ast and 2 stl. The team's starting PG, Yvonne Anderson, found herself in foul trouble and she had the opportunity to prove herself further. With such high-level competition, we can get a good idea of where she stands right now. I've also added the box score. You can click on each player's name to see their complete stats. I've included a video of her entering the game.

www.fiba.basketball

Lithuania vs Serbia - Group Phase - FIBA Women's EuroBasket 2025 | FIBA Basketball

Lithuania vs Serbia - Browse boxscore, game information & live stats, team rosters, photos and video highlights
www.fiba.basketball www.fiba.basketball
Expand ...

Interesting! Jovana Popovic # 28 defending Juste Joycte #4 (for Lithuania) and
Jovana playing with Serbian teammate #32 Dugalic (now with UCLA). The
17yo Popovic playing with the senior Serbian team. NICE.
 
Here are Jovana Popovic's official measurements, taken in 2024 during the NBA Without Borders Europe camp in Malaga, Spain. You have everything, even the size of her hands. She is listed as #22, sixth on the list. It definitely seems that Geno likes to turn to the NBA Without Borders camps. If I'm not mistaken, she is the fourth player to be recruited, after Aaliyah Edwards and Nika Muhl, followed by Blanca Quinonez. Now it's Jovana Popovic's turn.
 
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I just used Google to covert Jovana's 1.75-meter height (FIBA roster reference).
That 1.75 meter = 175 cm which converts to 5 feet 8.8976378 inches. I think in the future that I will consider Jovana as being 5'9". Not exactly 5' 9" but I
do not have the exact conversion ratio for Hartley units.
 
If you want to laugh, just put her name and Google and see what comes up first. It says she is 35 years old! That was pretty shocking until I checked further and discovered that she is actually 18.
 
And she has a name that is relatively easy to pronounce. Is she already carrying a nickname?
 
From Canada said:
Here are Jovana Popovic's official measurements, taken in 2024 during the NBA Without Borders Europe camp in Malaga, Spain. You have everything, even the size of her hands. She is listed as #22, sixth on the list. It definitely seems that Geno likes to turn to the NBA Without Borders camps. If I'm not mistaken, she is the fourth player to be recruited, after Aaliyah Edwards and Nika Muhl, followed by Blanca Quinonez. Now it's Jovana Popovic's turn.
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Okeke is also on this roster. Could she be the fifth?
 
Boreifs said:
Okeke is also on this roster. Could she be the fifth?
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Yes, that's her. We can find her at the bottom with #45. Thank you for pointing that out to me; I hadn't seen it. As you can see in the attachment, below club competition, there is Euro Cup Women, which is with a senior team, and BWB (Basketball Without Borders) Europe 2024, which is for the same camp as Jovana. It should be noted that BWB camp games are only 16 minutes long, which is equivalent to half a high school game in most US states. I think the measurements are taken with basketball shoes, and that for an inside player in this type of camp, you often have to settle for offensive rebounds to score points.
www.fiba.basketball

Sara Okeke (Spain) - Basketball Stats, Height, Age | FIBA Basketball

Explore the career and performances of Sara Okeke. Access all stats, latest news, photos, videos and achievements.
www.fiba.basketball www.fiba.basketball
 
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Zarathustra said:
I've noticed, in this and other highlight films, that
Jovana (a right-handed shooter) has the capacity to
switch to her left for a bucket (watch for a drive to
the basket in this highlight reel). And... the foot
speed! I also had the idea that Jovana could
be a shooting guard (in Azzi's role), though she
will probably be one of the handful of combo
guards on the team. Does anyone have thoughts about
her role: PG, Combo Guard, Shooting guard?
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Given her height I’d say she’ll be more in the PG role, she’s shorter than Ash and Ash is already quite undersized against top teams at the W position.
 
Blakeon18 said:
I like it! We have one scholarship left. If there is a big....from anywhere... who Geno thinks is
good enough...I say go for her!

Haven't checked any video on Jovana yet but the stories sound borderline great. Point guard who can score....her field
goal percentages from two/trey and foul line are excellent...don't know how long a period that was referring to.

Two years with Sara... three with Olivia and Blanca!
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My actuary is busy calculating how many more UConn recruits I'm likely to see play out their 4 years. I'm off the Hamburger Diet and mostly just grazing in the yard as octogenarians do. Once Geno retires, it's back to meat. 85 and barely alive: go Popovic!
 
From Canada said:
Here are Jovana Popovic's official measurements, taken in 2024 during the NBA Without Borders Europe camp in Malaga, Spain. You have everything, even the size of her hands. She is listed as #22, sixth on the list. It definitely seems that Geno likes to turn to the NBA Without Borders camps. If I'm not mistaken, she is the fourth player to be recruited, after Aaliyah Edwards and Nika Muhl, followed by Blanca Quinonez. Now it's Jovana Popovic's turn.
Expand ...

Forgot one, haha.

IMG_3845.png
 
Laflin:

The 5-8 Popovic will remind Husky fans a little of Nika Muhl, although Popovic's game is a bit more focused on the offensive end compared to Muhl's defensive prowess. Popovic is a shifty floor general type, a poised ball handler and solid decision-maker. She is a crafty finisher around the rim and a knockdown catch-and-shooter from 3-point range.



www.espn.com

Women's NCAA basketball recruiting: Top 25 2026 class rankings

Texas and South Carolina reshuffled the top-10 with every top-100 recruit now committed in the 2026 class.
www.espn.com www.espn.com
 
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