Cal forward Andrej Stojakovic entered the transfer portal last week and is one of the most sought-after players available. Stojakovic — son of three-time NBA All-Star Peja Stojakovic — averaged 17.9 points and 4.7 rebounds as a sophomore last season and is rated as the No. 34 overall player and No. 7 small forward to enter the portal this offseason. He visited Illinois on Tuesday, and the Fighting Illini are the “team to beat,” though several other programs are poised to make a run, according to national basketball analyst Travis Branham.
“Over the weekend, this recruitment was popping off,” Branham said of Stojakovic’s recruitment, via the “College Basketball Show” on Tuesday. “You had schools including Illinois, Florida, North Carolina, Clemson and Michigan all trying to get involved in this situation. He was on campus at Illinois on Tuesday, and by all means, it sounds like Illinois is the team to beat. They are in the driver’s seat, and frankly, it would not surprise me to see him make a commitment before he leaves campus.”
The 6-foot-7, 205-pound sophomore was a 2023 McDonald’s All-American and a 2025 ACC honorable mention. He scored 20 or more points on 13 occasions, eclipsing 30 points three times against Stanford, Clemson and Northwestern State. One of the few knocks on his game is his shooting. Stojakovic connected on 32.7% of his 3.3 three-point attempts per game as a freshman and hit just 31.8% of his 4.4 attempts per game as a sophomore. Both Stojakovic and his new team hope he improves upon those percentages as a junior. Still, Illinois would remain a fit even if he doesn’t, according to national basketball analyst Isaac Trotter
“Illinois would make a lot of sense for Stojakovic,” Trotter said. “Illinois may have the best shooting frontcourt in college basketball next year. They have two centers who could shoot and make over 50 three-pointers. That would open up the rim for Stojakovic, where he is terrific. He had a 42% rim rate last year. He got to the rim at will and got to the free throw line. The paint would be wide open for him in Illinois. It makes sense why Stojakovic’s camp likes Illinois and why Illinois likes Stojakovic.”
Illinois’ roster is nearing completion, but head coach Brad Underwood said there’s still room for a couple of transfers to round out his group for next season.
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“We’re lookin’ for a few pieces,” Underwood said late last week. “We’d like another kind of a combo guard. We need a bigger forward that we’re still trying to work through and see what some of that looks like. It’s got to be the right fit. We’ve been very selective in our process to this point, and if it happens to be an older guy, that’s great. That doesn’t mean it’s not going to be a freshman, but it’s got to be the right fit and a guy who can continually stretch the floor and shoot it would be a top priority.”
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