Olivia Kristjana Vukosa, UCONN class of 2026 offer, and Croatia U 16 National Team

[Zarathustra]

For those Boneyarders interested, the "BIG O" is number 15 on the Croatian U 16
women's BB team at the European Championships in Imir, Turkey between August
11 and August 19. Olivia is the youngest member of the team, 14 years old. Her
15th birthday is September 7, 2023. She is the tallest member of the team at
6'4" 194 cm. She has made two unofficial visits to Storrs, January 2023 and
on June 29, 2023. She is listed on the roster as a power forward. Croatia
is in GROUP/pool "C" with Poland, Italy, and Israel. IMIR, Turkey is 7 hours later than
the NEW YORK / eastern time zone. So the first three game will be on the FIBA
live stream as follows: Friday, Poland 4:30 pm in Turkey 9:30 EST USA,
Saturday Italy should be 7:00 AM EST as will be Israel on Sunday. I'm almost
sure that I have the game against Poland correct. I will recheck the second two game times.
For more information see: FIBA U 16 WOMEN's EUROPEAN CHAMPIONSHIPS
2023, IZMIR, TURKEY. Will the youngest roster player play?? GO " BIG O".

 

[Next 12]

Thank you for the post. Will definitely look into it to see what a 14 year-old BB player looks like.especially at 6'4". If she plays it will be interesting.

 

[veryolddog]

Maybe she will grow 4 more inches by the time she is 18?

 

[Zarathustra]

Olivia Vukoso # 15 6' 4" ,started for Croatia and jumped center.
Olivia missed her first two shots but more importantly picked up
two fouls in less than 6 minutes and went to the bench. Poland
has taken advantage of her not being in the defensive middle and
has scored two quick "Bunnies". Croatia leads on 3 point
shooting. Lena Bilic # 9, 6'2" Strong Forward , is the best player
on the Croatian team. Olivia with good defense and a rebound.

 

[Zarathustra]

At the Half Poland 27 Croatia 25
Olivia with 2 points, four rebounds, one steal in 15 minutes 48 seconds.
Croatia needs her for defense under the basket. She sets good
screens and often Croatia with work the offense through Olivia
at the high post
and she makes reasonable passes from the high post to the wings.
She postions herself on both the high and low post. She
shoots the 3 ball but no luck so far.
Anybodies game so far. Olivia not getting any more fouls and
helping on the defensive end makes a difference. Lena Bilic is
still the best Croatian player and # 6 Hana Arnautovic 5' 9" is
very helpful.

 

[Next 12]

Thank you for the post. Will definitely look into it to see what a 14 year-old BB player looks like.especially at 6'4". If she plays it will be interesting.

I watched the first half and she is raw, but has potential. She has 3 rebounds and scored once., She doesn;t move that well now, but as she grows, she will get much better, I would love to see her at Uconn and the 4" she will grow before she gets here. With Geno;s and Chris's coaching, she will be dynamite in the high post. Will watch the rest of the game.

 

[Zarathustra]

Croatia goes down to defeat with a Polish shot with less than 2 seconds left.! 67 - 65.
Olivia with the go ahead points after a rebound at about 1 minute remaining
Bilic for Croatia ties the game on a driving layup with 8.5 seconds on the clock
The Stats for THE BIG "O" : 16 points, 16 rebounds ( 2 offensive 14 defensive )
one assist, 4 fouls, three steals, two blocked shots. Olivia played 35 minutes
and 48 seconds and had an efficiency rating of 24. NOT BAD FOR THE YOUNGEST
PLAYER ON THE TEAM, !!!!14 years old. Next game= tomorrow , Sat. August 12 at
7:00 AM EST against Italy. Go OLIVIA!!, GO FUTURE ?? HUSKY!!

 

[RockyMTblue2]

Nothing OT about this!

 

[Next 12]

I watched the first half and she is raw, but has potential. She has 3 rebounds and scored once., She doesn;t move that well now, but as she grows, she will get much better, I would love to see her at Uconn and the 4" she will grow before she gets here. With Geno;s and Chris's coaching, she will be dynamite in the high post. Will watch the rest of the game.

Watched the second half, it was a heart breaker. Vukosa really showed her potential. Stats: 38 minutes,16 points, 16 rebounds, 6-7 free throws,3 steals and 3 blocked shots!!! Quite an accomplishment for a 14 year old. I see great things for her and especially if she comes to Uconn. Croatia lost in the last 7 seconds.Plus, only 2 fouls. Can't wait to see her play on 8/12/23.Olivia is a work in progress and her future has no limits. GO OLIVIA!!!!

 

[Zarathustra]

Watched the second half, it was a heart breaker. Vukosa really showed her potential. Stats: 38 minutes,16 points, 16 rebounds, 6-7 free throws,3 steals and 3 blocked shots!!! Quite an accomplishment for a 14 year old. I see great things for her and especially if she comes to Uconn. Croatia lost in the last 7 seconds.Plus, only 2 fouls. Can't wait to see her play on 8/12/23.Olivia is a work in progress and her future has no limits. GO OLIVIA!!!!Ita

NEXT UP : Italy, who was a 82 - 55 winner over Israel. Italy was led by #4 Emma Giacchetti,
now that is an Italien name!, with 23 points EIGHT steals and and efficiency of 25.
Italy has some height but with points spread between them 20 points over 5 players:
6' 4" = 2 points : other players are 6' 0" (three of those) , and a 6' 2" player.
Noteworthy that Oliva Vukoso made 5 for 10 on two point shooting, 50 %; and,
of course, that DOUBLE DOUBLE. It seems that Croatia start to " jell" with Olivia
in the second halt where the BIG "O" had 14 of her 16 points, 12 additional rebounds in the
second half and two more steals. Italy however could be a challenge but I sense that
Croatia might just beginning to find their team chemistry... Tomorrow will tell the tale!

 

[Next 12]

It seems there are not too many posters interested in a 14 year-old on a foreign team.By not watching,they missed a rising star in women's BB and possibly for Uconn/. I will be following her in the future..

 

[Boreifs]

It seems there are not too many posters interested in a 14 year-old on a foreign team.By not watching,they missed a rising star in women's BB and possibly for Uconn/. I will be following her in the future..

It would be helpful if you recognized that women almost always have achieved their full height by 14. To expect her to grow another four inches is totally unrealistic and not very helpful. There is nothing wrong with being 6’ 4”.

 

[Next 12]

It would be helpful if you recognized that women almost always have achieved their full height by 14. To expect her to grow another four inches is totally unrealistic and not very helpful. There is nothing wrong with being 6’ 4”.

I have posted before, there are always exceptions to any rule. Why not grow 4"more? I guess we will have to wait and see if she does or not. I expect to be around for 3 or 4 more years and we will see. MY MANTRA,"anythings possible".

 

[Alydar]

At the Half Poland 27 Croatia 25
Olivia with 2 points, four rebounds, one steal in 15 minutes 48 seconds.
Croatia needs her for defense under the basket. She sets good
screens and often Croatia with work the offense through Olivia
at the high post
and she makes reasonable passes from the high post to the wings.
She postions herself on both the high and low post. She
shoots the 3 ball but no luck so far.
Anybodies game so far. Olivia not getting any more fouls and
helping on the defensive end makes a difference. Lena Bilic is
still the best Croatian player and # 6 Hana Arnautovic 5' 9" is
very helpful.

Her shooting could be due to the different ball.

 

[Jaml]

I love me some Big O!!! I truly believe she knows where she needs to be...even at such a young age.

 

[Boreifs]

I have posted before, there are always exceptions to any rule. Why not grow 4"more? I guess we will have to wait and see if she does or not. I expect to be around for 3 or 4 more years and we will see. MY MANTRA,"anythings possible".

Then it might be helpful to use “if” when engaging in wishful thinking.

 

[Zarathustra]

First Quarter total Croatia 10 Italy 10
Olivia 10 minutes play time 6 points 7 rebounds ( two OFFENSIVE ) 1 assist 1 turnover Efficienty + 1
Olivia made two important Free Throws

 

[Zarathustra]

Half Time Croatia 28 Italy 19 Watch those t.o.s, Croatia!
Oliva total minutes 20 Points 10 Rebounds 14 = a double double at half time!
Oliva clears the boards! one assist one turnover no steals and an efficency rating of +20
Oliva is four for four from the free throw line! She " crashes" the boards and has
a nice outlet pass for the transition offense. She also has nice " kick outs" for
the INSIDE = OUTSIDE game. Olivia is the ANCHOR of the defense, playing
the middle and denying Italy any effective drives down the middle to the rim.
Croata must limit their turnovers, passing issues, but OLIVIA with sound passes.
If in trouble, Croatia needs to play through Olivia more, but for now, a nice
first half. GO CROATIA, GO BIG "O",, go future ?? Husky!

 

[HopJim]

It would be helpful if you recognized that women almost always have achieved their full height by 14. To expect her to grow another four inches is totally unrealistic and not very helpful. There is nothing wrong with being 6’ 4”.

Have to agree - VERY unusual for women to grow in height after the age of 14. That being said, she is already 6'4" and will likely get stronger, faster, and more experienced playing against women several years older. With exceptional guards and wings already locked in, would love to see Geno start signing SEVERAL true bigs.

 

[Blakeon18]

Z: just LOVE these reports...keep 'em coming. Details and impressions of Olivia are must-reads!

 

[Husky fanatic]

While some were wondering how much the youngest player would play Olivia must be tired after playing entire game. While she made some mistakes and at times looked like she borrowed Dorka or Natalie’s hands she is definitely someone UConn should have.

 

[Next 12]

OLIVIA is for real! Stats: played 40 minutes, 22 points,22 rebounds,6-8 free throws,2 assists and one steal. Second double double , 42 rebounds in 2 games and 38 points to lead the team. It was close at the end, but Croatia won. Now I will wait for 2 things to happen; will Olivia come to Uconn aaand will she GROW another 4".

 

[Next 12]

Then it might be helpful to use “if” when engaging in wishful thinking.

Possibilities are not wishful thinking, they are things that was not probable but did happen. I rest my case.

 

[Zarathustra]

Nice Report from Next 12, well done! A slightly different look at Oliva's Stats:
Olivia was 8 for 17 from the field for a FG % of 47+%, 8 for 15 from 2point
range 53.3% and 0 for 2 from three point. Two assists, only 2 personal fouls
down from 4 in game #1 and an efficiency rating of 33 !!!!!!!! WOW.
Next up Tomorrow at 7 AM Israel. Israel lost to Italy in the first game of POOL
competition on Friday...Today's game was
ESSENTIAL for the FIBA points which determine the seeding for the first
round after POOL play. We need a victory over Israel for the best seeding.
Win a game by 2, today, lose a game by 2, yesterday.... It feels better to WIN!!
Go BIG O GO CROATIA!

 

[Zarathustra]

More incidential STATS ( much too early to say much with many games NOT completed
as of this posting, BUT = Big "O" #3 in PPG at 19 ppg: # 10 in FG %,
# 7 in 2 point %, # 8 in free throws at 80 % # 1 in REBOUNDS !!!! at 19 rb pergame
# 4 in minutes played per game (37.9mpg) NOTE: Croatia Guards are #1 and # 2
in Minutes per game # 6 Hana Arnautova (sp) 40 minutes per Game!! and #9
Lena Bilic just under 40 minutes per game. Will we have tired legs against ISRAEL?
and finally OLIVA KRISTJANA VUKOSO is NUMBER ONE in EFFICIENCY per game
at 28 . 5 = not shabby for the youngest player on the Croatian team, at 14 years of age ( and one of
the youngest in the U16 tournament ) Also noteworthy in this game against Italy, of
Olivia's 22 rebounds = SEVEN were offensive and FIFTEEN were on the defensive end.
REST THOSE LEGS!! See you at 7 AM.