Jovana Popovic Commits to UConn

[CL82]

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.

1.75 meters equals one Hartley Unit. So Jovana measures exactly 1 HU.

 

[oldhusky]

Maybe Jerzy asked for NIL in 7 figures?

In today's age money could definitely be a factor in a "bad visit" so to speak. There are plenty of other possibilities too. An honest discussion about role or playing time, what they see on practice, how the other players on the team react to her etc.

Regardless because of the down to two schools tip from a reliable source I have not considered Jerzy in the mix for probably a couple of weeks now. After the Popovic signing I think it is even more clear she is not on Uconn's radar, whatever the reason may be.

We probably will never know if Jovana was the first priority after the Big O, or if she was plan B or plan C after knowing we were not getting Jerzy or Addison. Personally I preferred Addison to Jerzy and of course knew nothing about Jovana.

Now it appears the only remaining question is Okeke, and if we don't get her I presume we just keep the roster spot open for a portal transfer or another recruit next year. There is obviously some question about need for her after the Big O signing, but they could play together (with Sarah at the 3) and so far Geno has not shown confidence in the backup bigs.

 

[HopJim]

In the future, UConn will need a consistent outside shooter. Jovana appears to be a solid guard but not someone that would fill this role.

 

[BobbyJ]

In today's age money could definitely be a factor in a "bad visit" so to speak. There are plenty of other possibilities too. An honest discussion about role or playing time, what they see on practice, how the other players on the team react to her etc.

Regardless because of the down to two schools tip from a reliable source I have not considered Jerzy in the mix for probably a couple of weeks now. After the Popovic signing I think it is even more clear she is not on Uconn's radar, whatever the reason may be.

We probably will never know if Jovana was the first priority after the Big O, or if she was plan B or plan C after knowing we were not getting Jerzy or Addison. Personally I preferred Addison to Jerzy and of course knew nothing about Jovana.

Now it appears the only remaining question is Okeke, and if we don't get her I presume we just keep the roster spot open for a portal transfer or another recruit next year. There is obviously some question about need for her after the Big O signing, but they could play together (with Sarah at the 3) and so far Geno has not shown confidence in the backup bigs.

It's not that she was necessarily a plan B or C. Auriemma may well have preferred Popovic over the other two however, he only had 3 slots available for the class. Since he had given offers to Robinson and Bjorn earlier, he had to wait for their decisions before having a scholarship to give to Popovic. The fact that she was willing to wait for that situation to clear up probably shows how much she values playing for GA considering that she most likely had numerous other offers. IMO, this may be the best case scenario. He not only has Popovic, but he now has either a shot at Okeke (at a hard to fill premium position) or he can use the slot for an experienced player in the portal.

 

[DEpup]

According to FIBA she holds dual citizenship. She'd have to have that in order to play for Croatia, Shirley?

Sure. Many US citizens carry two passports as she does. It doesnt change the fact that she was born in the US, raised in the US, and is an American. She is not an "international" player just because a few times a year she heads over to Europe to play a little basketball. I'm just saying.

 

[Zonepress]

It's not that she was necessarily a plan B or C. Auriemma may well have preferred Popovic over the other two however, he only had 3 slots available for the class. Since he had given offers to Robinson and Bjorn earlier, he had to wait for their decisions before having a scholarship to give to Popovic. The fact that she was willing to wait for that situation to clear up probably shows how much she values playing for GA considering that she most likely had numerous other offers. IMO, this may be the best case scenario. He not only has Popovic, but he now has either a shot at Okeke (at a hard to fill premium position) or he can use the slot for an experienced player in

Like most teams there will be a lot of turnover in players each year especially given the abnormally large roster this year GA in an interview at his Charity
golf tournament this summer said that he expects rosters going forward to be in the 12 range
He also said that some players would not ne happy with their playing time


Not a chance that lack of scholarships has anything to do with recruiting

 

[oldude]

Like most teams there will be a lot of turnover in players each year especially given the abnormally large roster this year GA in an interview at his Charity
golf tournament this summer said that he expects rosters going forward to be in the 12 range
He also said that some players would not ne happy with their playing time


Not a chance that lack of scholarships has anything to do with recruiting

With that said, Geno is not going to offer more scholarships than he has available spots on the roster next season. At present, he had 3 available and he’s filled 2.

If I were Geno, the only HS player I would wait on right now would be Okeke. With Popovic signed, Robinson should no longer be in the mix. Absent a commitment from Okeke, I would hold onto that last scholarship to see what the transfer portal looks like in April.

 

[oldhusky]

Like most teams there will be a lot of turnover in players each year especially given the abnormally large roster this year GA in an interview at his Charity
golf tournament this summer said that he expects rosters going forward to be in the 12 range
He also said that some players would not ne happy with their playing time


Not a chance that lack of scholarships has anything to do with recruiting

Your point about Geno thinking rosters around 12 might be more the norm going forward caught my eye. Based on our injury history and hoping almost all the time to have at least 10 players available each practice, I would think it would be at least 13 from that perspective, but NIL could change all of that.

If a school has a relatively fixed amount to work with, it might turn out to be similar to the last few years of the WNBA with their salary cap. In that scenario it didn't make sense to pay anybody more than the minimum if they were not in the rotation. The strategy was simple but sometimes hard to pull off. Use as much of the salary cap as you can on your top 8 or 9 players and the minimum on everyone else.

The team and coach might want a good third string unit, but can't justify any expenditures there that could be used to upgrade a rotation player. So for financial reasons rosters might shrink, and quite a few players might be able to get modestly more compensation from a lessor program where they would be in the rotation than being third string at a championship contender.

 

[Centerstream]

Your point about Geno thinking rosters around 12 might be more the norm going forward caught my eye. Based on our injury history and hoping almost all the time to have at least 10 players available each practice, I would think it would be at least 13 from that perspective, but NIL could change all of that.

If a school has a relatively fixed amount to work with, it might turn out to be similar to the last few years of the WNBA with their salary cap. In that scenario it didn't make sense to pay anybody more than the minimum if they were not in the rotation. The strategy was simple but sometimes hard to pull off. Use as much of the salary cap as you can on your top 8 or 9 players and the minimum on everyone else.

The team and coach might want a good third string unit, but can't justify any expenditures there that could be used to upgrade a rotation player. So for financial reasons rosters might shrink, and quite a few players might be able to get modestly more compensation from a lessor program where they would be in the rotation than being third string at a championship contender.

Exactly. I'm guessing that during the summer coaching meetings, they were expecting that Ice and possibly Morgan wouldn't be unavailable in any of the first five games. Both would have helped in the Michigan game (their 2024-2025 versions).

 

[ec33]

Like most teams there will be a lot of turnover in players each year especially given the abnormally large roster this year GA in an interview at his Charity
golf tournament this summer said that he expects rosters going forward to be in the 12 range
He also said that some players would not ne happy with their playing time


Not a chance that lack of scholarships has anything to do with recruiting

I suspect that number is 12 healthy an capable bodies. Not injured players or developmental players unlikely to play. Which explains the 15 this year.

 

[ec33]

In the future, UConn will need a consistent outside shooter. Jovana appears to be a solid guard but not someone that would fill this role.

Have you seen her 3 pt% in league play this year? She can shoot 3's just fine. Although yes, at 5'9" she will need the offense to get her open for those shots.

 

[oldude]

I keep reading that Geno wants a 12-player roster? As of right now, he’s got 14 players lined up, with his last available scholarship apparently offered to Okeke. I am not going to speculate about what might happen with transfers after the season. But there is a very good chance that next season’s roster could also end up with 15 players.

 

[Zonepress]

I keep reading that Geno wants a 12-player roster? As of right now, he’s got 14 players lined up, with his last available scholarship apparently offered to Okeke. I am not going to speculate about what might happen with transfers after the season. But there is a very good chance that next season’s roster could also end up with 15 players.

go find his interview from the charity golf tournament
and take a listen

 

[Dove]

“POP” has to be Jovana’s nickname here at UConn.

Because of its originality?

 

[From Canada]

To follow Jovana Popovic's season. The attachment contains statistics. You can also click on the Games tab at the top to see the team's game schedule. According to the schedule, the team has seven games left to play, but the game in Duga is not included. She is off to a very good start to the season with 17/32 3-pointers (53.1%), 6.5 assists PG, 32/35 free throws (91.4%), and 25.2 PPG.

ZKK Mega MIS Beograd Basketball Stats

ZKK Mega MIS Beograd basketball, scores, news, schedule, roster, players, stats, rumors, details and more on eurobasket.com

basketball.eurobasket.com

 

[oldude]

go find his interview from the charity golf tournament
and take a listen

Whatever he said is fine. But he's not going to have a 12 player roster next season.