Olivia Vukosa to UConn (merged)

[oldude]

There have been a few posters who predict that she will get fouled quite a big because of her aggressive moves in the post.

Do we know anything about her FT %s?

In the 2025 FIBA tournament where Olivia was the MOP, she shot 59-42-96 in 6 games, going 8/19 from the arc and 25/26 from the FT line. Now that’s some serious shooting Tex….. 🤠

 

[DRBackup]

Moves really, really well for someone her size!

 

[Charliebball]

Moves really, really well for someone her size!

She's trimmed down and improved her athleticism markedly since she was a high school freshman.....I expect she's going to see more gains when she starts training at UConn....

 

[Bills Fan]

In the 2025 FIBA tournament where Olivia was the MOP, she shot 59-42-96 in 6 games, going 8/19 from the arc and 25/26 from the FT line. Now that’s some serious shooting Tex….. 🤠

Wow, you ain't wrong! That totals 197 when 180 is the magic number few can ever attain, including Paige. Has any UCONN player ever made the 50/40/90 = 180 club for any season. let alone a career?

I know the stats you showed were a small sample size but doing it in 6 games isn't an accident and when she is at 197 for those six games, all I can say is bring it on to Storrs. As oldude wrote, "that's some serious shooting...."

Moves really, really well for someone her size!

In addition to moving really well, I hope anyone watching this video noted that she, unlike many bigs including some recent Huskies, does not bring the ball down to her waist (with one exception) from passes or rebounds before shooting or passing.

 

[oldude]

Wow, you ain't wrong! That totals 197 when 180 is the magic number few can ever attain, including Paige. Has any UCONN player ever made the 50/40/90 = 180 club for any season. let alone a career?

I know the stats you showed were a small sample size but doing it in 6 games isn't an accident and when she is at 197 for those six games, all I can say is bring it on to Storrs. As oldude wrote, "that's some serious shooting...."

In addition to moving really well, I hope anyone watching this video noted that she, unlike many bigs including some recent Huskies, does not bring the ball down to her waist (with one exception) from passes or rebounds before shooting or passing.

Paige & Azzi both made a run at 50/40/90 this past season before falling short, against considerably better competition than the Eurobasket tournament that Olivia played in this summer. But the Big O just turned 17 last month and she’s a 6’4” center with incredible shooting skills at all 3 levels.

Think about that for a minute. Then imagine just what she might achieve as a 21 year old college senior……

 

[RoadMaster]

 

[PJCLaw]

She is a 6-foot-4 post, but moves gracefully on the court for her size and has skills that stretch the floor beyond the three-point line as well, but still maintains the ability to post hard and punish opponents on the block. Her rebounding efforts in the last calendar year have improved tremendously as she found the value of attacking the offensive glass. Defensively, her mobility will allow her to play in multiple schemes and strategies while maintaining the physical presence demanded of post players.

I noticed that she always kept the ball high when she either got an entry pass or an offensive rebound, to allow her to shoot the ball without worry about those pesky guards slapping the ball out of her hands. I did not see any midrange shots, but, man, can she dominate in the paint. A true back to the basket post player of the Stefanie Dolson or Big Girl mold. The high/low post game with SS is going to be fun to watch.

 

[Bone Dog]

I noticed that she always kept the ball high when she either got an entry pass or an offensive rebound, to allow her to shoot the ball without worry about those pesky guards slapping the ball out of her hands. I did not see any midrange shots, but, man, can she dominate in the paint. A true back to the basket post player of the Stefanie Dolson or Big Girl mold. The high/low post game with SS is going to be fun to watch.

I love that she keeps the ball high. She's been very well-coached. She also seems to favor playing like a 4 rather as much as the 5. She can post up back to the basket just fine. But she also likes flashing to the basket, and she's really good at diving to the rim for O-boards.

 

[jabstep]

Wow, Who said UConn can't recruit bigs?

 

[BobbyJ]

Wow, Who said UConn can't recruit bigs?

Just the unrealistic fans. UConn does a fine job at recruiting just about all of the top bigs. It's those fans that can't seem to understand that not all of them want to go to UConn that complain. How many SC fans do you think will be whining that not getting an OV from Vukosa is somehow a failure by Staley to recruit bigs?

 

[HuskyNan]

Wow, Who said UConn can't recruit bigs?

Wait until the complaints about point guards start

 

[oldude]

Wow, Who said UConn can't recruit bigs?

Bigs who can really play are as rare as unicorns. UConn has certainly gotten their share through the years, and right now they have no less than 3 on the roster (2 recruited and 1 transfer) with a 4th in development (Gandy).

If you look across the entire WBB landscape there are maybe 3 Bigs that could play in UConn’s system: Betts, Beers & Crooks. That is why a talented Big like Olivia has every major program pursuing her like their lives depend on it.

 

[HuskyNan]

Bigs who can really play are as rare as unicorns. UConn has certainly gotten their share through the years, and right now they have no less than 3 on the roster (2 recruited and 1 transfer) with a 4th in development (Gandy).

If you look across the entire WBB landscape there are maybe 3 Bigs that could play in UConn’s system: Betts, Beers & Crooks. That is why a talented Big like Olivia has every major program pursuing her like their lives depend on it.

Audi Crooks is 6-3. Some UConn fans would still be screaming about the lack of a true big. Those folks were demanding a 6-6 giantess

 

[DEpup]

Bigs who can really play are as rare as unicorns. UConn has certainly gotten their share through the years, and right now they have no less than 3 on the roster (2 recruited and 1 transfer) with a 4th in development (Gandy).

If you look across the entire WBB landscape there are maybe 3 Bigs that could play in UConn’s system: Betts, Beers & Crooks. That is why a talented Big like Olivia has every major program pursuing her like their lives depend on it.

Honestly, I'm not sure Betts could survive at UConn. She is movement challenged IMO. Her sister is more built for being a UConn big IMO.

 

[oldude]

Audi Crooks is 6-3. Some UConn fans would still be screaming about the lack of a true big. Those folks were demanding a 6-6 giantess

Yea I get that. But Crooks size and strength make her a formidable, if not conventional, post player.

 

[HuskyNan]

Yea I get that. But Crooks size and strength make her a formidable, if not conventional, post player.

Agreed. Still, people would say she’s not good enough

 

[oldude]

Agreed. Still, people would say she’s not good enough

What constitutes a “post player” is certainly subjective. IMO, one of the very best post players in WBB last year was 6’1” Aneesah Morrow. To me, a post player is someone who does most of their work in the paint.

 

[Crossover]

What constitutes a “post player” is certainly subjective. IMO, one of the very best post players in WBB last year was 6’1” Aneesah Morrow. To me, a post player is someone who does most of their work in the paint.

You are missing Nan's point. Over the years we have had several posters who only focus on height. Not even length, let alone skill set. For them, being a post player is objective, not subjective, and is determined by a single number. Nan is not promoting this conception. Far from it. She is simply noting, drily, that it exists out there.

 

[donalddoowop]

Wow, Who said UConn can't recruit bigs?

The problem, some thought, was that UConn could not get good post players to commit. Geno surely recruited them.

 

[FanSince17]

You are missing Nan's point. Over the years we have had several posters who only focus on height. Not even length, let alone skill set. For them, being a post player is objective, not subjective, and is determined by a single number. Nan is not promoting this conception. Far from it. She is simply noting, drily, that it exists out there.

How about this quantitative classification of what a post is: length X girth X strength X height
Analogy: calculating the Biomass of a tree. More than height.
In HS, we played DeMatha with Adrian Dantley. We had a 6'8" center. AD tossed him around like a Rotweiler with a Raggedy Ann doll in its mouth.

 

[oldude]

You are missing Nan's point. Over the years we have had several posters who only focus on height. Not even length, let alone skill set. For them, being a post player is objective, not subjective, and is determined by a single number. Nan is not promoting this conception. Far from it. She is simply noting, drily, that it exists out there.

Respectfully, it’s more than that. For a number of years UConn went down to the wire on various AA HS centers, only to lose out to other top programs. Aja Wilson, Aaliyah Boston, Charli Collier and Lauren Cox were all top recruited centers that went elsewhere. Olivia is the first #1 center in a HS class that has chosen UConn since Stewie, some 14 years ago.

 

[meyers7]

How about this quantitative classification of what a post is: length X girth X strength X height
Analogy: calculating the Biomass of a tree. More than height.
In HS, we played DeMatha with Adrian Dantley. We had a 6'8" center. AD tossed him around like a Rotweiler with a Raggedy Ann doll in its mouth.

Sounds like a foul to me.

 

[FanSince17]

Sounds like a foul to me.

Yea, he committed 30 fouls in that game and they beat us by 25. Men among boys.

 

[FanSince17]

Respectfully, it’s more than that. For a number of years UConn went down to the wire on various AA HS centers, only to lose out to other top programs. Aja Wilson, Aaliyah Boston, Charli Collier and Lauren Cox were all top recruited centers that went elsewhere. Olivia is the first #1 center in a HS class that has chosen UConn since Stewie, some 14 years ago.

I wonder if there are any common themes as to why UConn missed out on these players over the years. Were they afraid of something at UConn? Style of play, amount of work asked of them, guard dominated, etc.
He should have showed them old Celtics clips. Center as the key to fast-break basketball.
1957- after the Celtics "swindled" St. Louis for the Russell draft pick, they waited for him to get to camp after winning the Gold in the Olympics, Boston now had the missing ingredient, the Celts reel off 11 out of 12 championships before Russell retired in 1968-1969.
(Aja- could she be even better than she is, lanky lefty, hmmmm)

 

[oldude]

I wonder if there are any common themes as to why UConn missed out on these players over the years. Were they afraid of something at UConn? Style of play, amount of work asked of them, guard dominated, etc.
He should have showed them old Celtics clips. Center as the key to fast-break basketball.
1957- after the Celtics "swindled" St. Louis for the Russell draft pick, they waited for him to get to camp after winning the Gold in the Olympics, Boston now had the missing ingredient, the Celts reel off 11 out of 12 championships before Russell retired in 1968-1969.
(Aja- could she be even better than she is, lanky lefty, hmmmm)

Geography was the biggest factor. Wilson, Collier & Cox all stayed closer to home, the same as Vukosa as it appears. The most baffling decision was Boston who played at nearby Worcester Academy, and came to so many UConn home games it appeared she had season tickets.

While Boston played at nearby Worcester Academy, her family was from the Virgin Islands. It was reported that she was in tears when she told Geno she was going to South Carolina.