Last Monday, when the UConn Huskies women's basketball team defeated the Syracuse Orange at Mohegan Sun Arena, freshman Jovana Popovic really stuck out.

Starting in place of the still-rehabbing Blanca Quinonez, Popovic scored 10 points on 5-of-7 shooting. Not only did she score, she also very clearly had an inherent understanding of where to be on the floor and what to do with the ball when she had it in her hands.

She didn't seem overwhelmed by the idea of playing college basketball, or of wearing the UConn jersey. She also didn't seem phased by the crowd size, which she admits is much bigger than she's used to in her native Serbia.

And this Monday, in a win against Texas, Popovic stuck out again. She scored 22 points and went of 7-of-11 from the floor as the Huskies won 83-61. She was 3-of-3 from three-point range and trailed only Sarah Strong (27) in scoring.

And while those in attendance at these exhibition games have noticed her already, the national consciousness is taking notice as well.

On Oct. 14, Shane Laflin of ESPN put out 10 impact freshmen for the season ahead. He did not post about Popovic, instead selecting teammate Olivia Vukosa. On Tuesday, Laflin put out another post saying he had a section ready on Popovic but he ultimately didn't select her. He then said he "should have known." He's realizing what the general public is about to: Popovic is going to play a huge role for this team.

The biggest question right now for head coach Geno Auriemma is about how will he use Popovic when Quinonez is back healthy?

Will he bring Quinonez off the bench to ease her back into the rotation, buying a little reprieve from having to make tough decisions? Will he send Popovic to the bench and instead use her as a catalyst for the second unit?

Or, will he bench a veteran like Ashlynn Shade in favor of Popovic to keep her in the starting rotation? All things are on the table at this time.

The Huskies will be back in action on Sunday afternoon at Gampel Pavilion for the final exhibition tune-up of the season. That game will be played against Army and will come in advance of the season opener, which is Nov. 2 at Gampel against the Cornell Big Red.