On Wednesday, Kentucky women’s basketball picked up what could end up being its last commitment of the offseason from Oregon State transfer guard Dominika Paurová. Before that, however, was Clara Silva, who Kentucky flipped from Virginia Tech.
What do those two have in common? Sure, they’re both ‘Cats, but they’re also international talents. Paurová hails from the Czech Republic, while Silva will be making the trip across the pond from Portugal.
The only issue with bringing in international prospects is that they aren’t on your typical rankings and recruiting lists, so it’s hard to fully get a grasp on how good the player is that you’re bringing in. However, Kentucky appears to be getting two hidden gems in Paurová and Silva.
ESPN contributor Shane Laflin wrote back in November that Silva would “safely land in the top 10 in the recruiting rankings” if she played in the United States. European sports journalist Luis Vallejo had a similar sentiment regarding both Paurová and Silva.
“Dominika Paurová (2005) and Clara Silva (2006) will play for Kenny Brooks at Kentucky. Two of the best European projects of their respective generations,” Vallejo wrote in Spanish.
Before Paurová arrived at Oregon State, she was a main contributor to the Czech Republic National Team. She even averaged 9.9 points and 6.3 rebounds per game for the U20 squad as the youngest player on the court. As a freshman in college, she averaged 5.5 points and 2.1 rebounds per game while also shooting 37.2% from three-point range for the Beavers.
As for Silva, she played in seven games for her home country of Portugal last summer at the FIBA U18 Women’s European Championship. She averaged 18.1 points, 11.6 rebounds, and 2.3 blocks in 33.1 minutes per game.
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