Brad Underwood and the Illini need more from forward Andrej Stojakovic

Andrej Stojakovic has put up some impressive offensive performances in his short time as an Illini. He has looked the part of a go-to scorer and helped the Illini to a huge victory on their home floor vs Texas Tech. Through five games, Stojakovic is averaging 17.4 points per game on 57.4% from the field. However, the former McDonald’s All-American is being held to as high a standard as he has ever been. Stojakovic played two years on losing programs at Stanford and Cal. In those two years, the teams that Stojakovic played for combined for a 28-37 record and a 14-26 record within their conference.

Illinois head coach Brad Underwood always wants more from his stars. From Terrence Shannon Jr. to Ayo Dosunmu to Kofi Cockburn, Underwood has always pushed his stars and challenged them to do better. Regarding Andrej, Underwood knows that he can do more than just score the basketball

I asked Brad Underwood about what Brandon Lee can bring as another defensive stopper, and he thinks other guys on this team can become that as well:

“Come hell or high water, I’m gonna make Andrej Stojakovic one of those guys too.”

On Brandon: “He’s just a freshman, he’s… pic.twitter.com/PCspc1bTRU

— Tristan Thomas (@TristanThomasTV) November 23, 2025

Andrej Stojakovic needs to do the little things

Brad Underwood needs Andrej Stojakovic to be locked in on defense. In fact, Stojakovic made some major defensive mistakes in the final stretch of the Alabama game (see our Film Room Friday for the details). He was also yanked out of the beginning of the Long Island game for defensive mistakes. Through five games, Stojakovic is only averaging 3.8 rebounds per game. If the Illini want to make noise in the Big Ten and win another one of their difficult non-conference games, Stojakovic needs to be more locked in on the defensive side of the ball and on the glass.

Against Texas Tech, Andrej Stojakovic showed the defensive potential that he has as he locked up Christian Anderson.

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