Andrej Stojakovic Finding His Way to the Foul Line, Over and Over

Andrej Stojakovic had missed his first four shots from the field and was scoreless through 16 minutes against Virginia on Wednesday night at Haas Pavilion. It was surprising, given that he scored 30 points in Cal’s previous game.

The 6-foot-7 sophomore guard didn’t panic and begin hoisting 3-pointers. Instead, three times he created offense by dishing assists to teammates. And finally, with 3:53 left in the half, he drew a foul and went to the free throw line.

Stojakovic made both attempts, pushing Cal’s lead to 25-21 and triggering what would be a productive final 24 minutes for him and the Bears.

Dribbling into the heart of the Virginia defense repeatedly in the second half, Stojakovic went onto score 23 points in Cal’s 75-61 victory. His aggressiveness earned him 13 free throws and he converted 11 of them.

This has been Stojakovic’s approach much of the season and especially the past three games, where he has averaged 24 points in part by getting himself to the foul line over and over. He’s made 28 of 34 free throws just the past three games.

Stojakovic, who transferred to Cal this season from Stanford, is the No. 2 scorer in the ACC at 20.1 points per game entering Saturday’s afternoon game at Haas against Virginia Tech.

“Andrej’s made a huge leap,” said Cal coach Mark Madsen, alluding to Stojakovic’s freshman scoring average of 7.8 points last season with the Cardinal. “He was a good player last year at Stanford but he has elevated his game to a much higher level. I attribute it to, No. 1, Andrej’s fierce desire to be great.”

Nothing has changed more than Stojakovic’s determination to attack the defense and reap the benefits. His 88 made free throws and 106 attempts are both second-most in the ACC.

Stojakovic is averaging 7.1 free throw attempts per game one year after going to the line just 1.1 times each game. His current number is the highest by a Cal player since Leon Powe shot 10.0 free throws per game in 2005-06, which is the most by a Golden Bear since at least 1980.

“Andrej is someone who really can do everything on the court,” Madsen said. “Nobody wants to let him shoot 3’s. He’s got a good mid-range.

“And he has a unique ability to attack the basket with so much force and power that people have to foul him to make him miss. And he makes all his free throws.”

He’s converting 83 percent from the line, a quantum leap from 53 percent last season. All of his shooting numbers are up, as are his rebounds (4.5), assists (1.7) and blocked shots (1.2).

Madsen said Stojakovic has made himself into a solid defender, especially in pick-and-roll scenarios. “That was not on the scouting report last year for Andrej,” his coach said.

No doubt, that scouting report is more involved than ever this season.

Cal’s Top-10 Free-Throw Attempts per game (since 1980):

1. Leon Powe (2005-06): 10.0

2. Mark McNamara (1981-82): 9.0

3. Shareef Abdur-Rahim (195-96): 8.9

4. Leonard Taylor (1986-86): 8.1

5. Sean Lampley (2000-01): 7.9

6. Ed Gray (1996-97): 7.7

7. Leon Powe (2003-04): 7.6

8. Andrej Stojakovic (2024-25): 7.1

9. Lamond Murray (1994-94): 6.9

10. Don Coleman (2017-18): 6.6