Stanford transfer Peja Stojakovic's son Andrej Stojakovic reportedly joins California Golden Bears for 2024-25 season

After a lone season at Stanford, freshman Andrej Stojakovic entered the transfer portal.

On Friday, Stojakovic told ESPN he signed with the California Golden Bears, choosing to stay close to home over programs like Kentucky, North Carolina and Michigan. Stojakovic averaged 7.8 points, 3.4 rebounds and 0.9 assists while shooting 40.9 % and 32.7 % from beyond the arc.

The guard is the son of former NBA Champion Peja Stojaković. The three-time All-Star played 13 seasons in the league with the Sacramento Kings, Indiana Pacers, New Orleans Hornets, Toronto Raptors and Dallas Mavericks, with whom he won the ring in 2011.

ESPN reports Andrej Stojakovic visited California's campus last week and was impressed. Additionally, coach Mark Madsen had also pursued him in person.

"I didn't know him at all. My dad didn't know him personally. He came to the house that same week I entered the portal," Stojakovic said. "The stories and experiences he was able to share with my dad the first time meeting."

"We kind of bonded over each other's goals. What he wants to accomplish for his team, but his vision for myself. He truly believes in me, the staff truly believes in me. That's all someone like me could ask for."

Andrej Stojakovic cites coach Madsen and guard Jaylon Tyson as his reasons

Fresh out of high school, as a four-star recruit, Andrej Stojakovic had multiple major programs pursuing him. He eventually settled with Stanford but chose to transfer following the firing of coach Jerod Haase.

Andrej Stojakovic had offers from other elite programs but chose the Golden Bears because of coach Madsen.

"It was just the overall transparency from Coach Madsen and his staff," Stojakovic told ESPN. "We had many conversations about a development plan, what me at Cal could look like. Just overall, the consistency with them recruiting me, spending time with myself and my family."

Stojakovic was also specifically inspired by the progress guard Jaylon Tyson made with California. Tyson played for Texas and Texas Tech first before transferring to California for his junior season.

The guard averaged 19.6 points, 6.8 rebounds and 3.5 assists in just one season with the Golden Bears. In his freshman and sophomore seasons, Tyson averaged 1.8 and 10.7 points respectively.

"What they did with him, if you compare his years at Texas, Texas Tech and Cal, it's a similar vision as to how they could use me," Stojakovic said. "Showcase skills I haven't been able to use in the past and showcase some of my game that I haven't really worked on myself."

After just one season with California, coach Madsen has turned around the team immensely and it will be interesting to see what he can do next season.

What do you think of Andrej Stojakovic joining the Golden Bears? Let us know your thoughts in the comments.