andrej stojakovic: "Haven't given much thought to play for Team USA": Andrej Stojakovic hints at two countries he would represent at international level

Andrej Stojakovic has his choice of international teams he could represent when the time comes. The new Illinois Fighting Illini wing has American, Greek and Serbian nationalities, meaning he could play for any of those national teams.

However, in an interview with Zach "Schuz" Schumaker on Thursday, the Carmichael, California native said he is leaning towards either European country rather than the United States.

"Being born in Greece, and my mom from Greece, just having that," Stojakovic said (Time stamp: 7:29). "I think that's pretty big, and I'm kind of leaning towards either Greece or Serbia. Haven't given it much thought to play for Team USA ever in my life. Obviously, that's something I would have to consider with my family if that time comes. But as of now, it's probably going to be either Greece or Serbia."

The Greek national team might be the most interested at this point, as they have already approached the former California Golden Bear to play for them. In the meantime, the U.S. and Serbia haven't approached him yet for a spot in their national teams.

"Yeah, the national team of Greece," Andrej Sojakovic said, "the coaches, came to visit me this past year. They came to watch a game while I was at Cal and came to visit for a couple nights. So I think that was a pretty serious approach by them."

Andrej Stojakovic will enter his third season in college basketball. He averaged 17.9 points, 4-7 boards and 1.8 assists for the Golden Bears this past season and garnered interest from several programs before deciding to transfer to Illinois. He was considered the No. 6 small forward in the transfer portal by 247 Sports.

Who are Andrej Stojakovic's parents, and why can he play for Greece or Serbia?

While Andrej Stojakovic was born in the United States, his parents are both European. His mother, Aleka Kamila, is a Greek former high jumper, a model and a TV presenter.

Meanwhile, Andrej is the son of former Peja Stojakovic. The former Sacramento Kings guard played for Yugoslavia early in his career. He played professional basketball in Yugoslavia and Greece before making the jump to the NBA.

While Peja was born in Pozega, modern-day Croatia, he is Serbian. After the dissolution of Yugoslavia, he wore the Serbia and Montenegro national colors in basketball competitions. He also played 12 years in the NBA, earning three all-star nods and winning the 2011 NBA title in his last season with the Dallas Mavericks.

About the author

Allan Wolburg Robles is a College Sports journalist at Sportskeeda with over 17 years of experience in the field writing for publications including Reforma, Yahoo! OddsShark and Apuesta. Allan studied Communications at Anáhuac University, where he learned what would become the basis of a trade that was already a dream of his before starting college.

His favorite team is Army West Point as when he was young, Allan lived in West Point for a couple of years, went to pretty much every home game, a couple of Army-Navy games and even got to meet some of the players.

Allan's favorite players of all time include Tommie Frazier, who was unbelievable during the Nebraska dynasty of the early 90's. Tim Tebow was also a favorite, mainly because of his leadership skills, although he was also awesome on the football field. As a fan of defensive football, (or what's left of it), Sean Taylor could take over a game for Miami.

Allan has always considered himself a student of the game more than a fan of it. So the historical part and evolution of the game, as well as the ins and outs of what happens on the field, and being able to put it into words for the audience, are his biggest strengths.

Besides sports, Allan enjoys reading books, watching movies and spending time with his dogs.

Know More

Dawn Staley, Geno Auriemma, or Kim Mulkey - who is NCAAW's highest-paid coach? Find out here

Edited by Alvin Amansec