Jovana Popovic is a Husky!

[Zarathustra]

Jovana is having a very good season. I have attached her stats since the beginning. We can see that 45% of her shots from the floor are from the 3-point line. In comparison, Azzi's is 49.4% and Allie's is 75.2%. What's interesting about Jovana is her number of appearances at the free throw line. She's becoming a difficult player to guard because she really likes to drive to the basket. She varies her angles and speed and, above all, keeps the ball away from her defender.

I think she'll be able to avoid offensive fouls with her style of play. When you come from the international game, it's often more difficult to adjust to NCAA rules, which don't take into account the half circle under the basket for women. Defenders don't have that extra step to take position in order to draw an offensive foul. Blanca had trouble with that, but I think Jovana will adjust. The short highlights video attached illustrates what I mean.

Translated with DeepL.com (free version)

Jovana Popovic, Basketball Player, News, Stats - Eurobasket

Get the latest news, stats and more about Jovana Popovic on Eurobasket

basketball.eurobasket.com

I loved the parts of the video with both Jovana and Okeke. You have
to keep your heads up... their interactions occur at multiple parts
of the video. Also of interest are the GAME SCORES at the bottom
of the screen. The scores for Serbia (Jovana) against multiple
teams, not just Spain. Could Okeke and Jovana be on the SAME
FRESHMAN team next year? Is Jovana's presence on Geno's Roster
an attraction for OKEKE? I think (probably) "YES"... but stay tuned!

 

[From Canada]

Mega Mis, Jovana's team, is now on an international break. This is to allow for the four qualifying tournaments for the World Cup, which will take place from September 4 to 13, 2026, in Berlin, Germany.The four qualifying tournaments will take place from March 11 to 17. Mega Mis will resume action on March 25.

I have attached the Puerto Rico qualifying tournament, which is the one in which the American team is competing. You can access the other three tournaments on the same page by clicking on “More” at the top of the screen and then on “Other qualifying tournaments.”

Translated with DeepL.com (free version)

Everything you need to know about the FIBA Women's Basketball World Cup 2026 Qualifying Tournaments

It's time for the lowdown ahead of the curtain being raised on no fewer than 60 mouth-watering matchups.

www.fiba.basketball

 

[Sluconn Husky]

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.

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

 

[Sluconn Husky]

Popovic leads the Serbian league in scoring, is 4th in assists, 2nd in steals, and 1st in 3-pt%.

 

[BobbyJ]

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.

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

The only resemblance I see is that they both have dark hair.

 

[RoadWarrior]

The only resemblance I see is that they both have dark hair.

I agree. I am looking forward to seeing Jovana play in a UCONN uniform and seeing what contribution she makes over time. My preference is a Point Guard who is genuinely a threat to score at multiple levels (e.g., Paige when she played PG), puts more pressure on opponents, and creates more room in the post to operate. KK is a great facilitator and defender, but her career average is 7.1 ppg. We will see where the additional points come from when Azzi departs, but more points from the PG would be a welcome addition, whether from KK or the PG collective.

 

[OldVet]

I agree. I am looking forward to seeing Jovana play in a UCONN uniform and seeing what contribution she makes over time. My preference is a Point Guard who is genuinely a threat to score at multiple levels (e.g., Paige when she played PG), puts more pressure on opponents, and creates more room in the post to operate. KK is a great facilitator and defender, but her career average is 7.1 ppg. We will see where the additional points come from when Azzi departs, but more points from the PG would be a welcome addition, whether from KK or the PG collective.

Based on highlight videos and the fact that Geno reeled her in, I feel that Jovana will do very well at UConn. She may be perfect at point guard or even better as a combo guard. I did a “why not analysis” to see if UConn may already be “set” at point guard in the immediate future.
There are more than 200 designated point guards in the Power 4 conferences. I collected data on the top 25 point guards in the NCAAW (primarily from the Power 4 conferences) plus UConn. The analysis compares Points, Assists, Steals, and Rebounds per minute. As you can see, KK Arnold and Kayleigh Heckel both would have fit “nicely” in the top 25 even if I hadn’t added them to the pool before collecting data.

​	Player​	Points/Min​	Player​	Assists/Min​	Player​	Steals/Min​	Player​	Rebounds/Min​
1​	Jaloni Cambridge	0.728​	Rori Harmon	0.232​	Hannah Hidalgo	0.130​	Olivia Miles	0.207​
2​	Hannah Hidalgo	0.698​	Olivia Miles	0.221​	Indya Nivar	0.090​	Courtney Ogden	0.173​
3​	Taliah Scott	0.643​	Raven Johnson	0.188​	Rori Harmon	0.091​	Zoe Brooks	0.165​
4​	MiLaysia Fulwiley	0.632​	Hannah Hidalgo	0.185​	KK Arnold	0.088​	Indya Nivar	0.164​
5​	S'Mya Nichols	0.624​	Jaloni Cambridge	0.179​	Raven Johnson	0.081​	Destinee Agubata	0.153​
6​	Sayvia Sellers	0.607​	Aaliyah Guyton	0.162​	Jaloni Cambridge	0.079​	Hannah Hidalgo	0.150​
7​	Olivia Miles	0.571​	Taina Mair	0.167​	MiLaysia Fulwiley	0.076​	Rori Harmon	0.135​
8​	Britt Prince	0.535​	Zoe Brooks	0.154​	Olivia Miles	0.069​	Britt Prince	0.134​
9​	Kiki Rice	0.503​	Jada Richard	0.153​	Taina Mair	0.067​	Kiki Rice	0.133​
10​	Zoe Brooks	0.495​	Kayleigh Heckel	0.152​	Kayleigh Heckel	0.066​	MiLaysia Fulwiley	0.123​
11​	Imari Berry	0.463​	Kiki Rice	0.151​	Sayvia Sellers	0.064​	Jaloni Cambridge	0.122​
12​	Zamareya Jones	0.45​	S'Mya Nichols	0.146​	Jada Richard	0.061​	Imari Berry	0.124​
13​	Destinee Agubata	0.425​	Sayvia Sellers	0.146​	Imari Berry	0.060​	Sayvia Sellers	0.119​
14​	Tajianna Roberts	0.41​	Zamareya Jones	0.145​	Kiki Rice	0.059​	Taliah Scott	0.115​
15​	Courtney Ogden	0.407​	Britt Prince	0.142​	Madisen McDaniel	0.057​	Raven Johnson	0.112​
16​	Indya Nivar	0.364​	Alivia McGill	0.142​	Britt Prince	0.056​	Alivia McGill	0.111​
17​	Kayleigh Heckel	0.363​	MiLaysia Fulwiley	0.137​	Zamareya Jones	0.056​	Tajianna Roberts	0.106​
18​	Lanie Grant	0.357​	Madisen McDaniel	0.134​	Aaliyah Guyton	0.054​	Kayleigh Heckel	0.105​
19​	Jada Richard	0.35​	KK Arnold	0.133​	S'Mya Nichols	0.051​	Zamareya Jones	0.105​
20​	Raven Johnson	0.346​	Indya Nivar	0.133​	Destinee Agubata	0.051​	Aaliyah Guyton	0.105​
21​	Aaliyah Guyton	0.338​	Courtney Ogden	0.124​	Alivia McGill	0.048​	KK Arnold	0.103​
22​	Taina Mair	0.329​	Tajianna Roberts	0.121​	Zoe Brooks	0.045​	S'Mya Nichols	0.102​
23​	Alivia McGill	0.297​	Destinee Agubata	0.120​	Taliah Scott	0.042​	Taina Mair	0.097​
24​	Rori Harmon	0.287​	Lanie Grant	0.116​	Tajianna Roberts	0.040​	Madisen McDaniel	0.095​
25​	KK Arnold	0.279​	Imari Berry	0.115​	Courtney Ogden	0.038​	Jada Richard	0.094​
26​	Madisen McDaniel	0.221​	Taliah Scott	0.101​	Lanie Grant	0.038​	Lanie Grant	0.089​

If nothing else, the analysis shows that Kayleigh Heckel can probably hold down the point guard position nicely if need be. K9 was a top-level scorer in High School; she averaged over 34 points per game in one season for a top-tier school. She hasn’t been called upon to produce at that level in college, but I don’t think Geno would have squeezed too hard to get more points out of her.
Popovic can play wherever she fits best, which may be at point guard. And I believe that many would agree that Kelis Fisher might be the best of the lot. We should not worry too much about who our next point guard will be; it looks like we're in good shape for now.
I readily accept the phrase “Lies, damned lies, and statistics,” so feel free to dismiss.

 

[Charliebball]

I think next season's point guard group is going to be just fine........I'm hoping to see both KK and K9 push their scoring averages into double digits with Kelis and Jovana competing for playing time......

 

[Bone Dog]

I’m really curious to see how Jovana plays in the context of D1 basketball with its greater speed and physicality than what she’s seen up to now. She appears to be very offense-minded and quite confident.

When I think about next year’s roster, I don’t focus on traditional position designations like PG or SG. Instead, I look to skills, and for the guards those are ball handling, shooting (perimeter and midrange), finishing at the rim, passing, rebounding, on-ball defense and scrapping for loose balls. We will have lost one of the greatest all around guard talents in D1 (for the second year in a row), so the full range of skills will matter a lot.

Geno seems more focused in recent years on having a lot of ballhandling talent, and if Morgan returns he’ll have a lot next season, maybe as many as 9. This suggests that next season the team will once again be very difficult to press effectively. Jovana will probably play an important role in this, not just in breaking the press but in punishing opponents whose defense doesn’t recover quickly enough. It looks like slashing through a ragged defense at midcourt is exactly her element. She is also a perimeter threat and may add to the transition that way as well. Nothing stings a pressing team more than giving up transition 3s, and Allie and Ash are already available for that role.

At 5’8”, Jovana will be the smallest guard we’ve had in quite a while. This may also be an asset, since speedy littles can be as disruptive as bigs in the post, especially if they are 3-level scoring threats, which she seems to be. This may nudge her past Kelis on the depth chart. At the very least, the competition may push Kelis to expand her own skillset.

All in all, I think the future of UConn’s guard corps looks bright with Jovana.

 

[oldhusky]

I’m really curious to see how Jovana plays in the context of D1 basketball with its greater speed and physicality than what she’s seen up to now. She appears to be very offense-minded and quite confident.

When I think about next year’s roster, I don’t focus on traditional position designations like PG or SG. Instead, I look to skills, and for the guards those are ball handling, shooting (perimeter and midrange), finishing at the rim, passing, rebounding, on-ball defense and scrapping for loose balls. We will have lost one of the greatest all around guard talents in D1 (for the second year in a row), so the full range of skills will matter a lot.

Geno seems more focused in recent years on having a lot of ballhandling talent, and if Morgan returns he’ll have a lot next season, maybe as many as 9. This suggests that next season the team will once again be very difficult to press effectively. Jovana will probably play an important role in this, not just in breaking the press but in punishing opponents whose defense doesn’t recover quickly enough. It looks like slashing through a ragged defense at midcourt is exactly her element. She is also a perimeter threat and may add to the transition that way as well. Nothing stings a pressing team more than giving up transition 3s, and Allie and Ash are already available for that role.

At 5’8”, Jovana will be the smallest guard we’ve had in quite a while. This may also be an asset, since speedy littles can be as disruptive as bigs in the post, especially if they are 3-level scoring threats, which she seems to be. This may nudge her past Kelis on the depth chart. At the very least, the competition may push Kelis to expand her own skillset.

All in all, I think the future of UConn’s guard corps looks bright with Jovana.

Certainly the depth looks outstanding. We may not have a major star like Azzi or Paige returning, but all of the guards on next year's roster could be very good. The competition for playing time could be ramped up in a major way depending on what happens with our bigger players.

The quality of our bigs affects the playing time of the guards. Our guards got way more playing time due to small ball. The 3 was mostly manned by guards and sometimes even a guard at the 4. We may go small again but it is not hard to imagine a scenario where the guards are splitting 80 minutes instead of 120.

Blanca will need to start soon, probably at the 3. Morgan if she comes back healthy could be the backup there. If we added Okeke or a very good big Serah might even play some at the 3, and Blanca a little at the 2. If we don't make a new major addition of a quality big, I suspect we will play small ball again, but not as much as this year, partly because of Morgan.

If we got Okeke, we could go more traditional on a regular basis, and even go bigger than that on occasion with Serah at the 3. The competition for guard playing time is tight even when assuming three positions are available. If it turns out to be two instead even more so.

 

[vaeman]

Certainly the depth looks outstanding. We may not have a major star like Azzi or Paige returning, but all of the guards on next year's roster could be very good. The competition for playing time could be ramped up in a major way depending on what happens with our bigger players.

The quality of our bigs affects the playing time of the guards. Our guards got way more playing time due to small ball. The 3 was mostly manned by guards and sometimes even a guard at the 4. We may go small again but it is not hard to imagine a scenario where the guards are splitting 80 minutes instead of 120.

Blanca will need to start soon, probably at the 3. Morgan if she comes back healthy could be the backup there. If we added Okeke or a very good big Serah might even play some at the 3, and Blanca a little at the 2. If we don't make a new major addition of a quality big, I suspect we will play small ball again, but not as much as this year, partly because of Morgan.

If we got Okeke, we could go more traditional on a regular basis, and even go bigger than that on occasion with Serah at the 3. The competition for guard playing time is tight even when assuming three positions are available. If it turns out to be two instead even more so.

Isn't Serah Williams graduating this year?

 

[oldhusky]

Isn't Serah Williams graduating this year?

Yes, sorry I meant Sarah not Serah might be playing more minutes at the 3. The Big O replaces Serah, but another major big Okeke or portal could result in more use of bigger lineups, and Blanca could start at the 3.