UConn center Olivia Vukosa made Thursday’s women’s college basketball game against Ohio State personal. However, her reason for doing so is completely unsubstantiated.
The Buckeyes would’ve been thrilled to receive her commitment!
Vukosa’s quote after the women’s college basketball game proves that she is a certified psychopath, and I mean that in the absolute best way possible. Her mentality toward the sport resembles that of the all-time greats, like Michael Jordan.
Who is Olivia Vukosa?
Olivia Vukosa was considered the No. 3 prospect in the women’s college basketball recruiting Class of 2026. The New York-native played at Christ the King High Regional High School and averaged an astonishing 19.4 points, 17.9 rebounds, 5.5 blocks and 3.8 assists per game as a junior. She was named as the New York Gatorade Player of the year after the 2024 season.
Vukosa’s senior season was just as impressive. The 6-foot-4 center averaged 17.8 points, 18.1 rebounds, 5.5 assists and 4.4 blocks per game. Christ the King reached the state championship game. Its star player was named as the Gatorade National Player of the Year after the 2025 season and was selected to play in the McDonald’s All-American Game. Nobody had an answer for her.
Vuskoa had her pick of the litter when it came to college basketball. There was not a single program in the United States that was going to turn her away. In the end, she picked UConn over South Carolina, LSU, Texas and Ohio State.
UConn defeated Ohio State.
Now, through the first four games of her freshman season with the Huskies, Olivia Vukosa is averaging 5.5 points, 8.8 rebounds, 2.0 assists and 0.8 blocks in 20.0 minutes per game. That includes a blowout win over Cornell, an 11-point loss to Michigan, a 12-point win over Iowa and a blowout win over Ohio State on Thursday.
The victory against the No. 17-ranked Buckeyes was Vukosa’s best game of the year so far. She finished with 8 points, 12.0 rebounds, 6 assists and 2 blocks in 29 minutes. The No. 4-ranked Huskies won by a final score of 87-55.
When asked about her performance after the game, Vukosa said that she took it “personal.”
“I was recruiting by Ohio State and obviously I didn’t go there, so I wanted to show them what they’re missing.”
Here’s the thing. Vukosa makes it sound like the Buckeyes stopped recruiting her or snubbed her. That is very much not what happened. Ohio State offered her a scholarship and pushed hard to land her commitment until the decision was made.
Don’t get it twisted. Vukosa chose UConn so her quote on Thursday night does not make a lot of sense.
However, the quote is a great sign for the Huskies!
Michael Jordan was notorious for fabricating stories that were not true to manufacture a competitive edge. The most famous example is a made-up story about Washington Bullets guard LaBradford Smith. I am not comparing Vukosa to Jordan. I am simply pointing out the similarities in how they approach the game.
She created a false narrative in her head, as if she did not pick UConn over Ohio State, to motivate herself into playing the best game of her young career. Jordan was a certified psychopath in the best way. It seems like Vukosa shares that quality.