Basketball
How Andrej Stojakovic could take a leap in his senior season at Illinois
Stojakovic is the Illini’s best two-way player and has the opportunity to make a major leap heading into his senior season.
Andrej Stojakovic announced his return to Illinois basketball on Friday, April 17th. The rising senior guard/forward will be one of the best players on this Illini roster that looks to build off a successful run to the Final Four. Stojakovic is the last of the core Illini members to announce the decision to return alongside David Mirkovic, Tomislav Ivisic, and Zvonimir Ivisic. Without Keaton Wagler and Kylan Boswell, the offensive and defensive responsibilities will certainly increase for Andrej Stojakovic. Through his junior season with Illinois, Andrej flashed potential on both sides of the ball, but he will now need to do so far more consistently.
His play in the 2026 NCAA tournament certainly ignited confidence that he can handle these increased responsibilities. Heading into the first time that he is playing with the same program for two straight seasons, Andrej Stojakovic has a chance to really take a leap in his game. How?
Consistency on both ends of the floor
Like Terrence Shannon Jr. and Kylan Boswell, Andrej Stojakovic had some stellar games and some forgettable games. For example, Stojakovic notably dropped 30 points in a home win vs Maryland. He then followed that game up with a five-point performance vs Purdue. After scoring 21 points vs USC, Stojakovic only scored 8 points combined in the subsequent two games. With more offensive responsibility and more of a defined role next year, Stojakovic cannot have forgettable, single-digit point performances. Terrence Shannon Jr. was outstanding in his second year at Illinois in this regard.
Also, Stojakovic had some stellar defensive performances throughout the year vs the likes of Christian Anderson and Bennett Stirtz. However, he struggled heavily on the defensive side of the ball at different points in the season, which led to Brad Underwood sitting him on the bench. As a senior next year, Stojakovic has to bring his elite defensive performances every night. If he can guard as he did in the NCAA Tournament, watch out for Stojakovic.
Get easy baskets in transition
Everyone is going to say that Andrej Stojakovic needs to fix his jumper this offseason. For the most part, they are correct, as during Big Ten play, Andrej only shot 20.5 percent from behind the arc. However, during the NCAA tournament, Stojakovic was one of the leaders in the Final Four surge and only shot 28.6% from the three. He will need to at least be a respectable shooter; however, Andrej can increase his point output by figuring out other ways to score.
Terrence Shannon Jr. made a huge jump by becoming extremely well-conditioned and literally sprinting out in transition whenever the Illini got a defensive rebound. Shannon Jr. was an absolute force in transition and could not be stopped. Andrej may not have the brute strength that Shannon Jr. had, but he has above-average athleticism and feathery touch around the rim, which already make him an elite finisher. If Stojakovic can take that jump that Shannon Jr. did, he can up his point output by a lot.
Also, Stojakovic needs to crash the glass harder and get more than 4.5 rebounds per game. Brad Underwood will certainly harp on that, too, as Stojakovic has a world of next-level potential.
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