Andrej Stojakovic gets candid on picking Brad Underwood's Illinois over UNC, Stanford: "Ghosted all the coaches"

Illinois transferee Andrej Stojakovic has been preparing this offseason for his junior season. The son of NBA legend Peja Stojakovic committed to the Fighting Illini on April 28 after his one-year stint with the California Golden Bears.

Zach Schumaker interviewed him on Thursday's episode of "The SchuZ Show" on YouTube, and the sharpshooter got candid on how he ended up choosing Illinois as his next destination over the likes of the North Carolina Tar Heels and the Stanford Cardinal.

"Yeah, I think, I think after my visit at Illinois, I took a couple of days to talk to other schools and really hone in on the possibilities of me seeing myself at those different types of schools, and I think there was just a day where I didn't talk to anybody," Stojakovic said. "I literally ghosted all the coaches, including Illinois."

He also opened up on the criteria he had in choosing the next school to play for.

"I was just to myself, and just trying to figure out a place where I can envision myself succeeding and failing and what it would look like," Stojakovic said (22:28). "I think I just kind of got that gut feeling that it was Illinois, and then I kind of gave it a couple more days, and me being at Illinois kind of became more clear. And I think that's why, that's why I chose it.

"Because even after I decided on Illinois, the next couple of hours and day or two were even more clear for me to go there. So, I think that was the main reason."

In his two years of collegiate hoops, Stojakovic has averaged 12.6 points, 4.0 rebounds 1.3 assists per game.

Andrej Stojakovic reveals how he told Brad Underwood that he was transferring to his program

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Later on his interview on "The SchuZ Show", Andrej Stojakovic revealed how he told Brad Underwood, Illinois' coach for eight years, that he is transferring to his program for the 2025-2026 season.

"I FacedTimed him, it was me, my mom and my dad in our kitchen," Stojakovic said (23:00). "I just told him, 'Coach, I really appreciated him being interested from the beginning. I'm all in.' I'm bought into what he's trying to build there with the guys that he's recruiting and the coaching staff that he has over there. So, just looking forward to the year we're going to have."

Stojakovic will be joining a Fighting Illini squad that finished their 2024-2025 campaign with an overall record of 22-13 and 12-8 in Big Ten play. They made it to the second round of this year's NCAA Tournament.

About the author

Koby del Rosario is a college sports journalist at Sportskeeda who took up BS in Advertising Management at De La Salle University, one of the big "four" universities in the Philippines. Koby has over four years of experience with Complex PH, M2.0 Communications, The LaSallian, Daily Tribune, and Time Attack Manila.

Koby's favorite college team would have to be the North Carolina Tar Heels. Apart from being MJ's alma mater, Koby has always been fond of the Jordan silhouettes that release in the school's colors (being a sneakerhead himself).

His past favorite college players would have to be Russell Westbrook (UCLA) and Markelle Fultz (Washington). With Russ, his 1-2 punch with Kevin Love during their UCLA days was something Koby marveled at as Russ became his favorite player to watch post-Kobe.

Besides playing basketball, Koby enjoys nightlife, collecting sneakers, and playing video games. Apart from hosting parties and taking pictures for parties/bars/clubs, Koby is learning to DJ as a hobby with all sorts of house and hip-hop as the main genres.

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Edited by Victor Ramon Galvez