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

[Alydar]

No 8 for Belgium was reduced to jumping on Vukosa's back in the 1st half. Croatia making some nice drives off of high post screens.
I watched the 2018 U17's last night. Boston, a high school junior, looked a lot like Vukosa does as a freshman.

 

[Zarathustra]

Final Score : Croatia 90 Belgium 72
Olivia with 38 minutes, 21 seconds of playing time (sitting out at
the end of the game). 22 points , 18 rebounds FOUR FOULS!!
2 assists, 6 turnovers, one block, and an efficiency rating of 24.
If you could ignore most of the first half it was a rather good
game for Olivia. H.C. of Croatia is very supportive of her players:
no shouting, no blaming... education on the sidelines... NICE!
# 6 Hana A, and #9 Bilic had a field day driving to the rim for layups
when Croatia spread the floor and, of course, Olivia made those three pointers
it REALLY helped spread the floor. Nice Game Plan from the Croatian
Head Coach... and of course the ladies also got their rhythm for
their shooting in the second half. = outscoring Belgium 51 to 40.
So, Croatia will be in the winner's bracket in the next round. However, the next game will be
a real challenge, the draw should put them against one of the
top four teams... not an easy task with all those minutes the Primary
Croatia players are racking up!

 

[Zarathustra]

No 8 for Belgium was reduced to jumping on Vukosa's back in the 1st half. Croatia making some nice drives off of high post screens.
I watched the 2018 U17's last night. Boston, a high school junior, looked a lot like Vukosa does as a freshman.

I agree that Olivia has a pretty good " upside". Let's keep the Croatian connection working! (even
if it has to go through LONG ISLAND, NY!!)

 

[Charliebball]

clearly the "Big O" needs plenty of development before she's a finished product, but she has all of the ingredients needed to be a major force by the time she reaches UConn...........yes, a little wishful thinking on my part as I'd love to see Geno and Co. have the opportunity to make her the best player she could be.......Bilic, the lefty slasher seems like quite a good prospect too.......

 

[Charliebball]

Absolutely right..........she's quite advanced for her age but still needs to do the work to reach her full potential...........I expect great things from her and I hope we get to see it as a UConn student-athlete......

 

[Zarathustra]

Croatia next plays undefeated FINLAND at NOON in TURKEY, 7 hours time difference
should make that 5 AM! The stats: Finland 73.8 ppg Croatia 73.5 ppg, rebounds Finland
52.8 rbpg Croatia 52.3 rbpg, assists 17.0 to 17.8, Croatia with an edge on three
point shooting 34 % to 29.5 % and free throws 70.5 % to 54.1% A troublesome
area is STEALS = Finland gets 13. 5 pg and Croatia 9 pg.
Croatia top three scores are #1, #2, and # 4 in the tournament: Hana Arnautovic
at 18.3 ppg, Olivia at 18 ppg, and Lena Bilic at 17.5 ppg. But to do this they are
#1 in minutes # 2 in minutes and Olivia at # 3 in minutes played per game. Those
numbers are 39.6 min, 38.4 minutes and 36.9 minutes for Olivia. On reflection I
believe "some" of Olivia's poor shooting in the first half against Belgium was due
to Belgium # 16 Laura Viloinska. I could not find her height but I will try to attached
a photo of Laura and Oliva so you can be the judge. Perhaps (?) to took Olivia
some time to adjust to the long body and arms of Ms. Laura

 

[Alydar]

Vukosa, unlike most of the players, is using a strange ball.

 

[awhom111]

Croatia next plays undefeated FINLAND at NOON in TURKEY, 7 hours time difference
should make that 5 AM! The stats: Finland 73.8 ppg Croatia 73.5 ppg, rebounds Finland
52.8 rbpg Croatia 52.3 rbpg, assists 17.0 to 17.8, Croatia with an edge on three
point shooting 34 % to 29.5 % and free throws 70.5 % to 54.1% A troublesome
area is STEALS = Finland gets 13. 5 pg and Croatia 9 pg.
Croatia top three scores are #1, #2, and # 4 in the tournament: Hana Arnautovic
at 18.3 ppg, Olivia at 18 ppg, and Lena Bilic at 17.5 ppg. But to do this they are
#1 in minutes # 2 in minutes and Olivia at # 3 in minutes played per game. Those
numbers are 39.6 min, 38.4 minutes and 36.9 minutes for Olivia. On reflection I
believe "some" of Olivia's poor shooting in the first half against Belgium was due
to Belgium # 16 Laura Viloinska. I could not find her height but I will try to attached
a photo of Laura and Oliva so you can be the judge. Perhaps (?) to took Olivia
some time to adjust to the long body and arms of Ms. Laura View attachment 90676

That should be noon ET:


Winners in the quarterfinals qualify for the U17 World Cup while the losing teams would have to win their last two games to take the last spot.

Belgium's federation lists Laura Vilcinskas as 196cm, which would probably get her listed as at least 6'6" in the US.

Finland is undefeated, but they did end up coming through the weakest group.

 

[Zarathustra]

Yes, NOON EST! The tip off time was already adjusted to EST! So, no adjustment
required. Maybe a conflict if the BONEYARD gets a live stream of the exhibition
game of UCONN WBB with The Croatian ALL STARS at Srednje Skole Jelkovec,
Zagreb, Croatia. But I think we will all be watching NIKA!

That should be noon ET:


Winners in the quarterfinals qualify for the U17 World Cup while the losing teams would have to win their last two games to take the last spot.

Belgium's federation lists Laura Vilcinskas as 196cm, which would probably get her listed as at least 6'6" in the US.

Finland is undefeated, but they did end up coming through the weakest group.

Thanks for the info on the height of Laura Vilcinskas as 6'6". She of the height and the
long arms. About Finland, even if their pool was less strong, I still fear any team that has more of a bench than Croatia
has. Finland has Nicole Ogun and Tiia Telonen (sp), #9. Their team height includes two players at 6'2" and
two at 6'0". If Croatia wins they will probably next play SPAIN who is also undefeated so far in the tournament and
then, perhaps, France, from the opposite bracket, also undefeated so far. But.... one game at a time... GO CROATIA!
And ....Go Big "O"( hopefully a future HUSKY!)

 

[HopJim]

Thank you, UTube, for showing the FIBA games. Enjoyed watching Oliva. Mixed thoughts until I remember her age and then wonder how she got this good this early. In parts of games, she does not seem very motivated, then the next thing you know, she hits several 3 pointers and midrange shots, blocks a few layups, and sweeps several rebounds. Not fast but seems to always be in the correct position on both offense and defense. Either good coaching or strong basketball IQ or both. You don't want to run into one of her picks - very solid. While most of her competitors are smaller, no one can get around her when she boxes out for rebounds. Oliva will be very good but difficult to reach a conclusion regarding how good since the competition is not the best.

 

[Husky fanatic]

Back here in the States I believe she would pick up a few fouls as she tends to throw out her hip and move on some of her picks.

 

[Zarathustra]

End of first quarter Finland 22 Croatia 21
Olivia 6 points, 6 rebounds ( 3 off, 3 def) four TO one steal and one block
Finland is hitting their threes, Croatia with TOO MANY turnovers.

 

[Zarathustra]

End of first quarter Finland 22 Croatia 21
Olivia 6 points, 6 rebounds ( 3 off, 3 def) four TO one steal and one block
Finland is hitting their threes, Croatia with TOO MANY turnovers.

End of the second quarter ( Half time ) : Finland 43 Croatia 35
Olivia: 11 points 11 rebounds (DD) 20 minutes playing time
only ONE FOUL! seven offensive rebounds 4 defensive ( I'll have
to check that!) five turn overs, one block, two steals. That being
said, Croatia looks tied, many turn overs, and too many bad passes.
Finland now starting to score on transitions and getting layups and
easy baskets. Croatia cannot convert in the paint. The hope is
that, like in the previous game, Croatia can put together a good
second half after a truly non inspiring first half. It will not be
easy. Hopefully Finland will regress to the mean on their 3 pointers,
but that was not the issue in the second quarter.

 

[Zarathustra]

End of third quarter Croatia 65 Finland 64
MAJOR COMEBACK, Cheerleader is # 17 Lea Vukic for Croatia
Lea with 17 points Olivia now at 19 points, 17 rebounds ( 8 offensive,
9 defensive only one foul , a MAJOR BLOCK. Who WILL WIN???

 

[Zarathustra]

Players, this is what not to do at with 17.7 seconds on the clock and a one point
lead = do not give an obvious, intentional foul in the back court!
Croatia fouled. Finland made two foul shots and GOT THE BALL BACK.
Finland was over the limit on fouls , but Croatia now had to foul, multiple
times ( OLIVIA fouling for the right reasons!!) and Finland making just
enough to win the game 79 - 78. Coulda , Woulda, and probably Shoulda!
Olivia with 40 minutes playing time, 24 points, 23 rebounds, 4 fouls ( see above)
6 turn overs, two steals, three blocks, and and efficiency of something well over
20. Despite the stats, not Olivia's best game... however she did a little bit of
everything to help her team. I'll leave it at that. A missed opportunity. Finland
again made some essential three pointers, but it was the Croatia's turnovers, poor
passing and failure to inbound the ball ( 5 second violation ) etc, that
made Croatia their worse enemy. In the fourth quarter there were numerous
ties: 68 - 68, 74 - 74, 77- 77, 78 - 78. I keep reminding myself that Olivia is
only 14 years old and many aspects of her game will be adequatel polished at
UCONN ( if she comes ). THREE MORE games to find Croatia's final
tournament place.

 

[Zarathustra]

With two games still in progress here are OLIVIA'S tournament rankings:
Points per game #1 at 19.2 ppg Rebounds #1 at 17.6 rbpg
Efficiency # 1 a rating of 24.8 per game and
Double Doubles # 1 with four in five games
Croatia has lost two games by a TOTAL of THREE points!
Next game is vs Hungry ( who lost to SPAIN) on Friday
at 7AM, that is 14:00 in Turkey minus 7 time zones = 7 AM
Hungry 63.8 ppg Croatia 74.4 ppg an edge for Croatia, but
that is why they play the games. !!!!

 

[Charliebball]

Players, this is what not to do at with 17.7 seconds on the clock and a one point
lead = do not give an obvious, intentional foul in the back court!
Croatia fouled. Finland made two foul shots and GOT THE BALL BACK.
Finland was over the limit on fouls , but Croatia now had to foul, multiple
times ( OLIVIA fouling for the right reasons!!) and Finland making just
enough to win the game 79 - 78. Coulda , Woulda, and probably Shoulda!
Olivia with 40 minutes playing time, 24 points, 23 rebounds, 4 fouls ( see above)
6 turn overs, two steals, three blocks, and and efficiency of something well over
20. Despite the stats, not Olivia's best game... however she did a little bit of
everything to help her team. I'll leave it at that. A missed opportunity. Finland
again made some essential three pointers, but it was the Croatia's turnovers, poor
passing and failure to inbound the ball ( 5 second violation ) etc, that
made Croatia their worse enemy. In the fourth quarter there were numerous
ties: 68 - 68, 74 - 74, 77- 77, 78 - 78. I keep reminding myself that Olivia is
only 14 years old and many aspects of her game will be adequatel polished at
UCONN ( if she comes ). THREE MORE games to find Croatia's final
tournament place.

I actually found the quality of play to be pretty decent in this game.....the Finish team really knew how to move the ball to find the open shooter and their three point shooting was really the difference...........as she gets older Olivia needs to improve her interior footwork, her vertical jumping, her strength and most importantly she's got to learn not to rush/force her shots around the basket.........that said, for a 14-year-old kid to be so dominant in 16U is pretty damn remarkable........

 

[Zarathustra]

I actually found the quality of play to be pretty decent in this game.....the Finish team really knew how to move the ball to find the open shooter and their three point shooting was really the difference...........as she gets older Olivia needs to improve her interior footwork, her vertical jumping, her strength and most importantly she's got to learn not to rush/force her shots around the basket.........that said, for a 14-year-old kid to be so dominant in 16U is pretty damn remarkable........

Another Photo. This one of Olivia #15 6'4" and Lena Bilic # 9 6' 2"
Boneyarders can vote of Olivia for MVP ( actually we want her on one of
the ALL TOURNAMENT teams) by going to the FIBA U16 webpage and
hitting the link to "NEWS" and scroll down to the voting section. You
should see Olivia, her two teammates ( Lena and #6 Hana Arnautovic,
5'9" ). For some reason the highest % of voting is not with a Croatian
player.... this should be remendied!! I vote daily!

 

[HopJim]

Players, this is what not to do at with 17.7 seconds on the clock and a one point
lead = do not give an obvious, intentional foul in the back court!
Croatia fouled. Finland made two foul shots and GOT THE BALL BACK.
Finland was over the limit on fouls , but Croatia now had to foul, multiple
times ( OLIVIA fouling for the right reasons!!) and Finland making just
enough to win the game 79 - 78. Coulda , Woulda, and probably Shoulda!
Olivia with 40 minutes playing time, 24 points, 23 rebounds, 4 fouls ( see above)
6 turn overs, two steals, three blocks, and and efficiency of something well over
20. Despite the stats, not Olivia's best game... however she did a little bit of
everything to help her team. I'll leave it at that. A missed opportunity. Finland
again made some essential three pointers, but it was the Croatia's turnovers, poor
passing and failure to inbound the ball ( 5 second violation ) etc, that
made Croatia their worse enemy. In the fourth quarter there were numerous
ties: 68 - 68, 74 - 74, 77- 77, 78 - 78. I keep reminding myself that Olivia is
only 14 years old and many aspects of her game will be adequatel polished at
UCONN ( if she comes ). THREE MORE games to find Croatia's final
tournament place.

One of the more incredible endings. Still trying to understand what made the Croatia player intentionally foul in front of a referee while leading the game by one point.

 

[Zarathustra]

At the end of the third quarter Croatia 63 Hungry 46
Olivia with 23 points 10 rebounds 5 offensive 5 defensive
one block two turnovers and THREE fouls The whole
Croatian team seems MOTIVATED!

 

[Zarathustra]

At the end of the third quarter Croatia 63 Hungry 46
Olivia with 23 points 10 rebounds 5 offensive 5 defensive
one block two turnovers and THREE fouls The whole
Croatian team seems MOTIVATED!

Final Score Croatia 86 - Hungry 76 Hungry never gave up.
Croatia's free throws down the line sealed the deal. Best game for OLIVIA!
Her stats: 34 points, 55 % field goal %, 4 for 7 from three-point range,
57.14 % on three pointers, 8 for 11 on free throws 77.7 %
an impressive 4 blocks, three in the second half two turnovers,
three steals and only three fouls. Her Efficiency was an awesome 43 percent!!!!
Hungry was down by 20 in the second half, but twice got it down to
five points! Grit and free throws brought home the win. ON TO SATURDAY!
Croatia is still alive for, perhaps, fifth place and an invite to the U 16
Fiba World Championship as one of the five European teams to be invited.
Go OLIVIA, a future HUSKY... maybe.

 

[Rowdy831]

Olivia is having a really solid tournament. Too bad she can't put on a jersey and play against UCONN while they are in Europe.

 

[From Canada]

2024 FIBA Under-17 Women's Basketball World Cup - Wikipedia

en.wikipedia.org

There's just one team left to be announced for next year's U17 World Championship in Mexico. The match in question will pit Croatia against Poland. Poland defeated Croatia in the championship curtain-raiser 67-65, so this will be a rematch.

On the inside, watch out for the battle between Olivia Vukosa (14) and #13 Wiktoria Haegenbarth (16), who is 19 months Olivia's senior, which is no mean feat at this age. Being 3 inches shorter than Olivia, she can compensate with a solid physique that's already matured. Hopefully, she'll still have a bit of fuel left, as she's been overused since the start of the tournament.

It's a real shame that one of these two teams won't be able to take part in the next U17 World Cup, as Europe will be entitled to 5 teams and as the Americas are hosting, there will be 5 teams from the Americas. In a way, I think it's a bit unfair for Europe. Europe's A championship is held with 16 teams, the Americas' with just 8, there's also a 20-team B championship in Europe and even an 8-team C championship, for some years now, after the USA and Canada, the other teams in the Americas league are at European B level, and even the last ones at C level, as shown by the latest results from the U19 World Cup, where Brazil and Argentina finished 14th and 16th. It is to be hoped that these two countries in particular will raise their game, otherwise FIBA may well review its requirements over the next few years.

Translated with DeepL