Jovana Popovic is a Husky! | Page 2 | The Boneyard

Jovana Popovic is a Husky!

Bone Dog said:
Just one caveat: judging from this latest video, the level of competition isn't very good. I mean, Jovana seems to be head and shoulders above everyone else on that court. ... and I don't mean in height.

Also, she can finish with either hand, as we see here. But she seems to have a strong preference for the right hand.
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Here are some highlights from the bronze medal match at the 2024 European Championships. I think this might reassure you about her left hand. Jovana was only 16 at the time. I counted at least five times that she finished with her left hand at the basket, including once on an offensive rebound. She finished the game with an efficiency rating of 40. In ten minutes, we can see the full extent of her talent. She can create for her teammates and for herself and can score points at all three levels.

Translated with DeepL.com (free version)
 
From Canada said:
If the first link didn't work, this one should.
Expand ...

A VERY worthwhile highlight video of Jovana
Popovic leading her team in the bronze medal
game. She is the PG, she passes to the open
teammate for the multiple 3s, she steals the
ball and drives the court for the coast to coast
play. Note: A three-level scorer Jovana makes
lovely assists and can beat her defender off
the dribble or step back for the three pointers.
AND... in this film she was a youngster on
the Serbian team. This is not club play, but
good international competition. Take
10 minutes + to get behind the numbers that
most of Jovana's posts describe == SEE THE
ACTION! She'll be in Storrs soon!! Z
 
Question for all the Jovana "experts" on the Boneyard:

Next season do you see it likely that:

She will be in the regular rotation off the bench from game one
She will be in the regular rotation....first off the bench from game one
She will start at shooting guard by conference play.
She will be in the rotation by conference play.
She will only play in routs with minimal minutes.

Or...?

We need a shooter/scorer...she may take some of the minutes now that belong to Azzie.
I choose the first one listed above.

Starters:
KK/K9/Sarah/Ashlynn/Blanca

Regular rotation...quite a few minutes:

Olivia/Jana/Jovana...if others beat them out...so be it.

Would love an international big to arrive as well...the French big.
 
.-.
If she can learn to keep her opponent in front of her, she’ll play a lot. Good passer, drives into the paint willingly and hits the three.
 
Blakeon18 said:
Question for all the Jovana "experts" on the Boneyard:

Next season do you see it likely that:

She will be in the regular rotation off the bench from game one
She will be in the regular rotation....first off the bench from game one
She will start at shooting guard by conference play.
She will be in the rotation by conference play.
She will only play in routs with minimal minutes.

Or...?

We need a shooter/scorer...she may take some of the minutes now that belong to Azzie.
I choose the first one listed above.

Starters:
KK/K9/Sarah/Ashlynn/Blanca

Regular rotation...quite a few minutes:

Olivia/Jana/Jovana...if others beat them out...so be it.

Would love an international big to arrive as well...the French big.
Expand ...
One basic answer to this: "In Geno, I Trust". But, Jovana has
been playing in FIBA events since 2021! She has played in
the NIKE HOOP SUMMIT in Portland, Oregon on the WORLD TEAM
vs TEAM USA (good competition there!) April 12, 2025. Jovana is 1.75 m or
approximately 5 foot 8.8976378 inches (sorry, maybe she has
grown!) Her birthday is October 5, 2006, = 19 years old. Jovana is right-handed with use of the left when scoring. She started BB at 9 years old after
starting out with swimming. She currently plays with ZKK ART
Basket in Belgrade, the First League in Serbia. She may or may
not fall into any of your categories. But SHE IS GOOD (IMHO).
About that "FRENCH BIG", do you mean Alicia Tournebez, 6'7"?
She has already signed by Dawn Staley and is PLAYING at USC for
the last few games. Alicia is rather good and another "BIG" in the
tradition of Gamecock WBB.
I look to two possible Foreign POIs as possible final
additions: Sara Okeke, the Spanish star, 6'3" now playing in
TEXAS. Then there is EMMA CECHOVA, 6'5", a 21-year-old year old, date of
Birth 7/12/2004. If interested in more on EMMA see/ google:
"The Rising Stars Who Shone at FIBA's WOMEN's EUROBASKET,
2025" (from July 3 ,2025). There is a chance that EMMA may go
directly into the WNBA. I think she could be a one (or more)
year player with Geno as a transition to the development of Olivia Vukosa.
So, the real question in my mind is 1. Does Geno "need" another
player for the freshman class, or 2. Does Geno go for a 6'3" player like
Okeke (who might need some grooming at UCONN before playing), or
3. Does Geno go for the seasoned 6'5" EMMA as the one or multiple
year player to continue his string on NCAA National Championship?
I am hopefully expecting #13 this Spring.
Aren't you glad you asked about Jovana, BLAKEON18??? Z
 
I have more info...and of course that has led to more confusion on my part...that was expected.
So Z,,,I am glad I asked. Can't wait to hear reports from The Horde when they see her in practice...shooting/passing/
ball handling/ defending/getting hugged/getting yelled at...the whole 9 yards.
 
Blakeon18 said:
Question for all the Jovana "experts" on the Boneyard:

Next season do you see it likely that:

She will be in the regular rotation off the bench from game one
She will be in the regular rotation....first off the bench from game one
She will start at shooting guard by conference play.
She will be in the rotation by conference play.
She will only play in routs with minimal minutes.

Or...?

We need a shooter/scorer...she may take some of the minutes now that belong to Azzie.
I choose the first one listed above.

Starters:
KK/K9/Sarah/Ashlynn/Blanca

Regular rotation...quite a few minutes:

Olivia/Jana/Jovana...if others beat them out...so be it.

Would love an international big to arrive as well...the French big.
Expand ...
If Allie is not starting or getting a lot of minutes something will be wrong.
 
in a way, next year's rotation will be trickier to break into than this year...
With Azzi, Serah and CD graduation and Olivia and Jovana added and with the getting back to health of Morgan and Ice, the team will be stacked.
Who starts? who is in the rotation? i see 10 players who can claim they should start/be in the rotation: Sarah, KK, Ash, Blanca, K9, Allie, Jana, Olivia, Morgan and Ice.
That leaves Yanna, Kellis, Jovana and Gandy as the end of the bench players.
So basically, I see Jovana having a limited role the coming season but the season after with KK and Ash graduating, she'll have a prominent role in the rotation.
 
.-.
From Canada said:
If the first link didn't work, this one should.
Expand ...

I think I've already seen this game before. And just for the record, I'm not particularly worried about Popovic's left hand. I'm just trying to get a sense of her. But really, I think she's pretty awesome.

What I'm thinking about is how her adjustment to D1 US basketball, and especially UConn basketball, might go. I find myself imagining comparisons to Ash and Nika. She's not as quick-footed as KK, but she doesn't need to be. KK and Kelis will provide that quickness. Nika wasn't super quick either, but she didn't have Jovana's offensive skill set. But she made up for it by excellent passing skills. Jovana doesn't seem to have Nika's defensive ferocity, but she looks to be a good passer, and may become a great one. Is she as feisty as Kayleigh?

The more fitting comparison may be Ash at least on the offensive side. Jovana has similar skills to Ash all three levels, and especially that midrange game. Is she ready to run as hard as Ash? That's a good question. In this game, she doesn't appear to be quite as energetic as Ash was in high school. She takes the occasional play off. On the other hand, she will push the ball hard when there's an opening, and she will scrap for a rebound.

I'm not sure how much this game against Israel really shows. They started hot and took an early lead. But they soon ran out of gas and Serbia ran away with the game. To be sure, Jovana engineered the win, which is pretty awesome for a 16 year old playing with older players. I don't doubt for a second that she will relish the challenge Geno and CD and all her teammates will pose for her. And I really look forward to watching how she expands her game in response.

Above all, what strikes me is that she is used to being special -- she plays above her age, she directs older players, and she knows coaches trust her. When she arrives in Storrs, the first thing she'll discover is that she's not special on her new team. KK, Ash, Kayleigh Allie and Kelis will challenge her to be better. And she'll play with better bigs than she's ever had a chance to do -- Sarah Blanca Jana Olivia Morgan Ayanna and (hopefully) Ice will demand the ball from her, and when she figures out how to get it to hem, they'll do more with it than she's probably used to. I hope she rises to the occasion.
 
From the video I have watched and reading your assessment, Jovana and skilled enough to earn significant minutes at all but maybe 10 schools next year.

Obviously, she chose one of those ten. Along with learning to never take a play off, she has to be patient. Allie’s patience paid off. Her nonverbals are good but no one knows for sure how Kelis is handling her limited time.

Blanca played multiple years of pro ball but can’t break the lineup. That is where UConn is presently.

Olivia and Jordana have a challenging freshmen year ahead and of them. As you noted, the challenge will be going from being the goto person to just being one of many.
 
Blanca hasn't been in starting line up by design not by talent. Geno uses her to change tempo and intensity. Similar to Gabby her freshman year. Blanca could and would start probably anywhere if the decision was made on talent. If Jovanna has similar skills, which we shall see, she may or may not be in the starting lineup next year depending upon what team dynamics are. JMHO.
victor64 said:
From the video I have watched and reading your assessment, Jovana and skilled enough to earn significant minutes at all but maybe 10 schools next year.

Obviously, she chose one of those ten. Along with learning to never take a play off, she has to be patient. Allie’s patience paid off. Her nonverbals are good but no one knows for sure how Kelis is handling her limited time.

Blanca played multiple years of pro ball but can’t break the lineup. That is where UConn is presently.

Olivia and Jordana have a challenging freshmen year ahead and of them. As you noted, the challenge will be going from being the goto person to just being one of many.
Expand ...
 
The reason Blanca hasn’t cracked the starting lineup isn’t because of talent. It’s because the current starting lineup is a perfectly functioning machine. Talent alone has never been enough for Geno. Everyone on the roster is loaded with talent. To crack this lineup you need to play as a unit and that means knowing where to be and what to do at every moment in a read and react scheme. In Geno’s lingo, you have to be a ‘basketball player’ not just an athlete who plays basketball.

Blanca isn’t quite there yet. Neither is Kayleigh. But they’re well on their way. Allie is perhaps closest of these three, though her skill set doesn’t have an opening in the starting lineup yet. Kelis is still very far from being ready to start. But if she’s patient this too may come for her.

Where might Jovana fit in next season? She’s clearly a talented athlete with a lot of basketball smarts. She looks to be a three-level scorer and a decent defender. She’s used to running an offense and finding her teammates. She can score 25-30 if needed but she’s even better at helping teammates score. This is a skillset Geno knows how to work with. Above all, she looks like she prefers winning. That’s why she chose UConn.

But as good as Jovana is now, next season’s lineup is going to be loaded with talent competing for the same 5 (or 8) spots. KK Ash Kayleigh Allie will have a huge leg up on Jovana. Probably Kelis too. It could be very different in her sophomore year when the path to a spot in the rotation will look much clearer. She and Kelis could well be the backups for Kayleigh and Allie. Of course, Kaleena could change things a bit if she decides to come.
 
The above two posters reinforced my point about Blanca. Blanca's talent would get her in the starting lineup almost everywhere else. Geno has two all Americans that allows him to put "do the dirty work Ash" who doesn't need to score. Obviously, the lineup works very well together.

Blanca will start next year not because she drastically improves. There will be a spot for her.
 
I don't know if Jovana will be part of the rotation next season. However, she has a chance if Kayleigh is part of the starting five with KK. The various college basketball programs are still adjusting to the transfer portal. Last season, some of the players who were among ESPN's top 20 prospects decided to use the portal. For example, teams like USC saw Kayleigh Heckel (#13) and Avery Howell (#16) leave for UCLA, Kendall Dudley (#18) leave for Notre Dame, and Kate Koval (#5) leave for Notre Dame. Seeing a player leave via the portal, especially when you've invested in recruiting her and see her as a future leader, must be very painful. UCLA is doing well this year, with Charlisse Leger-Walker returning after a year away and Gianna Kneepkens, who is having a good season, arriving via the portal. The same cannot be said for USC and Notre Dame, who are having a difficult season so far.

Jovana may give us an idea of what to expect if she participates in this year's Nike Hoop Summit again. She is 18 years old (sorry Z) and was born on October 5, 2007 (see attachment) for this game. Basketball USA always uses high school seniors, but it's not uncommon for the world team to include a few younger players. Last year, Jovana was the second youngest player (the first being Olivia, born Sept. 5, 2008), the US team has already announced its selection. If she is present, the US team would have only three players older than her: Brihanna Crittendon, Addison Bjorn, and Maddyn Greenway. Completing the US team, who were born in 2007, are Jacy Abii, Trinity Jones, and Lola Lampley. The six other younger players who complete the team were born in 2008. The year of birth is important, however, as players born in 2007 will be eligible to enter the WNBA draft after three years of college if they wish, as they will be 22 years old in 2029, the year of the draft. It should be noted that it is rare for a player not to complete her college career. To my knowledge, the last player to declare for the WNBA draft after only three college seasons at UConn was Megan Walker.

I like to add a video to my posts. Since Jovana comes from Serbia and I have already mentioned that their league is not one of the top leagues in Europe, it is not at all the same for the men's side. Serbia was ranked second in the world by FIBA (Nov. 2025), which is quite an achievement for a country with a population of less than 7 million (smaller than Massachusetts) that has been declining since 1987. Attached, you can see a day at the games through the eyes of a foreign journalist attending a basketball game for the very first time. The atmosphere is incredible during a EuroLeague game between two local teams in Belgrade. If you have five minutes to see the difference between North Americans and this part of the world, it's worth it.


Translated with DeepL.com (free version)

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
 
.-.
It will be interesting to see how much Jovana plays next season. Coming from a European background where offensive systems and passing play a larger role during player develop than they do in the US should give her an advantage in coming into UConn over someone like Kelis.

But as currently constructed the UConn roster is rather deep. It was easy to have 15 this season as Geno was not counting on large contributions from Carol, Ayanna, Ice, Morgan, or the freshman. Plus, he was trying to factor in injuries a bit. So the players have gotten their time on the court -- but with Jana and Ayanna returning to health and form that is starting to become less true.

Next year, there aren't going to be a lot of placeholder spots on the roster and a lot of people deserving minutes.
 
From Canada said:
I don't know if Jovana will be part of the rotation next season. However, she has a chance if Kayleigh is part of the starting five with KK. The various college basketball programs are still adjusting to the transfer portal. Last season, some of the players who were among ESPN's top 20 prospects decided to use the portal. For example, teams like USC saw Kayleigh Heckel (#13) and Avery Howell (#16) leave for UCLA, Kendall Dudley (#18) leave for Notre Dame, and Kate Koval (#5) leave for Notre Dame. Seeing a player leave via the portal, especially when you've invested in recruiting her and see her as a future leader, must be very painful. UCLA is doing well this year, with Charlisse Leger-Walker returning after a year away and Gianna Kneepkens, who is having a good season, arriving via the portal. The same cannot be said for USC and Notre Dame, who are having a difficult season so far.

Jovana may give us an idea of what to expect if she participates in this year's Nike Hoop Summit again. She is 18 years old (sorry Z) and was born on October 5, 2007 (see attachment) for this game. Basketball USA always uses high school seniors, but it's not uncommon for the world team to include a few younger players. Last year, Jovana was the second youngest player (the first being Olivia, born Sept. 5, 2008), the US team has already announced its selection. If she is present, the US team would have only three players older than her: Brihanna Crittendon, Addison Bjorn, and Maddyn Greenway. Completing the US team, who were born in 2007, are Jacy Abii, Trinity Jones, and Lola Lampley. The six other younger players who complete the team were born in 2008. The year of birth is important, however, as players born in 2007 will be eligible to enter the WNBA draft after three years of college if they wish, as they will be 22 years old in 2029, the year of the draft. It should be noted that it is rare for a player not to complete her college career. To my knowledge, the last player to declare for the WNBA draft after only three college seasons at UConn was Megan Walker.

I like to add a video to my posts. Since Jovana comes from Serbia and I have already mentioned that their league is not one of the top leagues in Europe, it is not at all the same for the men's side. Serbia was ranked second in the world by FIBA (Nov. 2025), which is quite an achievement for a country with a population of less than 7 million (smaller than Massachusetts) that has been declining since 1987. Attached, you can see a day at the games through the eyes of a foreign journalist attending a basketball game for the very first time. The atmosphere is incredible during a EuroLeague game between two local teams in Belgrade. If you have five minutes to see the difference between North Americans and this part of the world, it's worth it.


Translated with DeepL.com (free version)

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
Expand ...

Dear "From Canada", Very helpful, thanks for the correction. I think
I made a transcription error the FIBA WEB PAGE. GO Jovana!, GO Aaliyah!,
and "Oh (GO), CANADA! (I have family in Toronto!) Z
 
ERWUC65 said:
Allie will continue off the bench due to her difficulty with speed of the game. Morgan will play off the bench as she needs a year to regain her fitness. My concern is where will Azzi's points come from?
Expand ...
I think there's room to disagree about Allie. To me, she looks like she has adjusted to the speed of the game just fine. I worried about this before the season started. But she's shown she can handle everything an opposing team throws at her just fine, whether on offense or defense. Geno even uses her in the press and she's gotten a couple of steals. And she can break a press, too. I remember one moment in the ND game when Hannah tried to trap her at half court and she made a nifty pass out of it.

Still, you may be right that Allie doesn't start, at least right away. But I think she'll be a major rotation player at a minimum. On the other hand, if you're wondering where Azzi's points will come from, she's a candidate to step into that role.
 
Bone Dog said:
I think there's room to disagree about Allie. To me, she looks like she has adjusted to the speed of the game just fine. I worried about this before the season started. But she's shown she can handle everything an opposing team throws at her just fine, whether on offense or defense. Geno even uses her in the press and she's gotten a couple of steals. And she can break a press, too. I remember one moment in the ND game when Hannah tried to trap her at half court and she made a nifty pass out of it.

Still, you may be right that Allie doesn't start, at least right away. But I think she'll be a major rotation player at a minimum. On the other hand, if you're wondering where Azzi's points will come from, she's a candidate to step into that role.
Expand ...
Way too early to speculate about next year with certainty, but I fully believe Jovana is a top 5 US recruit (or would be were she American). I think she's that good. Just like we have seen that Blanca is one of the very top freshmen in the country. So IMHO we are getting 2 top 5 recruits.

I think starters will be KK, Ash, Blanca, Sarah, and Jana. BUT we've seen Geno put KK and Kayleigh or Kayleigh and Kelis on the floor together. Just like Paige and Nika started - both are tremendous PG's. Jovana will be a freshman, but I expect her to be part of the "core" group - however many that is.

As for Allie, I've watched her closely at times. She's not the defender KK or Azzi is, but she has quick feet and moves well laterally. I see her as a Marina Mabry type player and I think Marina is tough and quick enough as we've seen in the WNBA.

Aside from the starters I mentioned, I believe Kayleigh, Olivia, Jovana, Allie, and Morgan will all be part of the core group. If we add Okeke, add her in and that makes 11. Really too many from Geno's perspective. I think Ice and Ayanna will be on the outside looking in, so they will have some decisions to make.
 
.-.
ERWUC65 said:
Allie will continue off the bench due to her difficulty with speed of the game. Morgan will play off the bench as she needs a year to regain her fitness. My concern is where will Azzi's points come from?
Expand ...
That is simple to answer as Blanca will start and get those points.
 
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