2026 Recruiting: - Olivia Vukosa | Page 17 | The Boneyard

2026 Recruiting: Olivia Vukosa

Milford: be sure to let us know the finality about her signing...I'm delighted that she is not
dilly-dallying around.

Wonder if she and her family might be courtside at noon on Sunday for our
game against Ohio State?
 
Blakeon18 said:
Milford: be sure to let us know the finality about her signing...I'm delighted that she is not
dilly-dallying around.

Wonder if she and her family might be courtside at noon on Sunday for our
game against Ohio State?
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Any insights from the BONEYARD on whether Olivia's possible
early signing would have a domino effect on other signings?
 
Zarathustra said:
Any insights from the BONEYARD on whether Olivia's possible
early signing would have a domino effect on other signings?
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No effect. 98% of the top 50 or so kids sign during the early signing period which is today through the 19th. Almost all of them are independent contractors that already have their reasons for where they’re going. Strong was one of the 2%.
 
Charliebball said:
She's not the most athletic player around but she is so fundamentally sound and really uses her size to her advantage at every opportunity.........can't wait to see what Geno will cook up for her at UConn.....
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When you're that mobile and big you don't necessarily need elite athleticism. But I'd say she's at least above average in that category.
 
Charliebball said:
She's not the most athletic player around but she is so fundamentally sound and really uses her size to her advantage at every opportunity.........can't wait to see what Geno will cook up for her at UConn.....
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I would say she’s very athletic. In the last four classes counting hers, 2023 thru 2026, there hasn’t been a 6-4+ player that can run the floor and handle and pass the ball better than Vukosa. This plus her non stop motor and physicality will make her an impact player in a year or two.
 
BobbyJ said:
I would say she’s very athletic. In the last four classes counting hers, 2023 thru 2026, there hasn’t been a 6-4+ player that can run the floor and handle and pass the ball better than Vukosa. This plus her non stop motor and physicality will make her an impact player in a year or two.
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I completely agree. She’s very athletic. The athleticism of a post isn’t the same as that of a small forward or a guard. For the latter types people focus on first-step quickness and leaping ability. For a post, it’s mobility, box-out strength and a subtle touch on blocking shots. That’s what people focus on. But there’s much more to athleticism. Paige is an incredible athlete, and yet she could easily be overlooked by folks who focus only on strength and speed. Same could be said of Sarah or Azzi. By all these measures, Olivia will seem to us to be an incredible athlete once we’ve seen her settle into D1 play.
 
BobbyJ said:
I would say she’s very athletic. In the last four classes counting hers, 2023 thru 2026, there hasn’t been a 6-4+ player that can run the floor and handle and pass the ball better than Vukosa. This plus her non stop motor and physicality will make her an impact player in a year or two.
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I didn't say she wasn't athletic but she's certainly nowhere near A'ja Wilson, Stewie or Napheesa as an athlete......she has a combination of skills, smarts and strength combined with that motor you mentioned.......BTW I don't think you have to be particularly athletic to have that motor......plenty of average athletes have been successful because they have that desire/motor while plenty of exceptional athletes have failed because they didn't have it...
 
Charliebball said:
I didn't say she wasn't athletic but she's certainly nowhere near A'ja Wilson, Stewie or Napheesa as an athlete......she has a combination of skills, smarts and strength combined with that motor you mentioned.......BTW I don't think you have to be particularly athletic to have that motor......plenty of average athletes have been successful because they have that desire/motor while plenty of exceptional athletes have failed because they didn't have it...
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1) That's why I specified those 4 classes. Of the most recent to current classes, Vukosa is the most athletic/skilled 6-4+ big of them all. Stewart and Wilson are arguably the two most versatile 6-4 bigs to play WCBB and are much different body types so comparisons to them will obviously have to wait as far as impact is concerned. And of course Collier is only 6-1 and a wing who got stuck inside as a post at UConn and a completely different body type.
2) I agree. Fortunately Vukosa has both.
 
Charliebball said:
I didn't say she wasn't athletic but she's certainly nowhere near A'ja Wilson, Stewie or Napheesa as an athlete......she has a combination of skills, smarts and strength combined with that motor you mentioned.......BTW I don't think you have to be particularly athletic to have that motor......plenty of average athletes have been successful because they have that desire/motor while plenty of exceptional athletes have failed because they didn't have it...
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I still don't agree, despite this clarification. A'ja and Stewie as freshmen in college weren't very different from what I've seen of high school Olivia. I seem to recall Stewie's skills and the flexibility of her approach to offense and defense being more developed than Olivia's. But that's not the same thing as being more athletic in the usual sense. A'ja may have been a bit quicker than Olivia when she arrived at SC, but as for the rest, I don't remember anything else about 18 year old A'ja that I would put significantly above Olivia's strength or speed. And I don't recall her skills being significantly more developed than Olivia's.

As for Phee, I'm not sure about the point of comparing 6'4" natural center Olivia with a 6' natural forward playing center. Freshman Phee was indeed much quicker than Olivia is. Of course, so was Maya but we don't make that comparison. Why not compare Sarah with Stewie? Which one is more athletic? Try answering that one persuasively.
 
Bone Dog said:
I still don't agree, despite this clarification. A'ja and Stewie as freshmen in college weren't very different from what I've seen of high school Olivia. I seem to recall Stewie's skills and the flexibility of her approach to offense and defense being more developed than Olivia's. But that's not the same thing as being more athletic in the usual sense. A'ja may have been a bit quicker than Olivia when she arrived at SC, but as for the rest, I don't remember anything else about 18 year old A'ja that I would put significantly above Olivia's strength or speed. And I don't recall her skills being significantly more developed than Olivia's.
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We'll have to agree to disagree, but I'm sure that you and I both hope she has a career that comes close to any of those other wonderful players.......
 
IMG_3277.jpeg
 
Charliebball said:
I didn't say she wasn't athletic but she's certainly nowhere near A'ja Wilson, Stewie or Napheesa as an athlete......she has a combination of skills, smarts and strength combined with that motor you mentioned.......BTW I don't think you have to be particularly athletic to have that motor......plenty of average athletes have been successful because they have that desire/motor while plenty of exceptional athletes have failed because they didn't have it...
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To this day, people have differing thoughts on whether Larry Bird was athletic or not. LB is also in the GOAT conversation, so it doesn't really matter (for Jokić as well). I would be thrilled if the Big O has the ability to take Indiana State to the championship game basically by herself. Of course she will have loads of talent around her over the next four years.
 
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