Facing Ex-School Stanford Won't Be an Issue for Andrej Stojakovic, His Coach Says

Impressed by the improvement Andrej Stojakovic has made since his freshman season, Cal coach Mark Madsen has no concerns about his ability to emotionally handle his first meeting vs. Stanford, his former school.

“Andrej’s mature beyond his years,” Madsen said. "Andrej’s going to handle this extremely well. He understands this is his former school so it’s meaningful to him. But he has a job to do and he’s going to separate those two.”

Stojakovic and the Bears (6-2) will face the Cardinal (7-2) in their Atlantic Coast Conference opener Saturday at 1 p.m. at Haas Pavilion.

Madsen faced a similar situation last season, facing the school for whom he earned All-America honors and helped to a Final Four. Madsen was two decades removed from his time at Stanford, Stojakovic just a year.

“We talk a lot about the process — don’t get caught up in the emotion,” Madsen said. “Play with emotion for every game, but don’t get emotional. Andrej Stojakovic has done an outstanding job this year of going through all of his checkpoints. “

Although still a young player, the son of former NBA star Peja Stokakovic apparently has a Steph Curry-like regimen that his part of his routine. And that process should aid him on Saturday afternoon, his coach said.

“He has regulated system and a routine that allows him to focus on the moment, that allows him to stay centered on the task at hand,” Madsen said. “Of course there will be some emotion but at the same time this is a workmanlike opportunity for us and especially for Andrej to go through his checkpoints and to do the things he’s been doing all season to be successful.”

Madsen said Stojakovic spends extra time in the film room, stays after practice to work on his game and takes a professional approach to improving. Whatever it is, the system apparently is working.

“It’s amazing to see the growth,” Madsen said. I’ve told him, `Andrej, your jump from last year as a freshman to this year has been outstanding.’ “

Compare the numbers:

— He averaged 7.8 points for Stanford as a freshman; he leads the Bears so far at 18.8 per game.

— He produced 3.4 rebounds and 0.9 assists per game last season; this year those numbers are 5.1 and 1.5.

— His field goal percentage has risen from 41 percent to 45 percent, his free-throw accuracy from 53 percent to 80 percent.

— He has scored at least 15 points in every game for the Bears, is averaging 20.4 the past five outings and comes off a career-high 26 points; Stojakovic scored single digits in 23 of 30 games last season.

“But there’s still so many more things to add to his game,” Madsen said. “His game is unfolding right before our eyes and it’s a beautiful process.”

One aspect where Madsen already believe he’s seeing progress is Stojakovic’s understanding of when to shoot and when to share the ball. He totaled just four assists through the Bears’ first five games but has eight over the past three.

Yes, a small sample size but it grabs Madsen’s attention.

“That’s the challenge of being a talented scorer: It’s finding the balance between being scoring at a high level or making your teammates better. If you look at the film, Andrej has done a really nice job, especially over the last 3-4 games, of hitting that balance in a nice way.”

INJURY UPDATES: Madsen said forward BJ Omot, who has missed the past four games with an upper-extremity injury, will continued to be sidelined for a while. It’s not career-threatening not even serious he said, but will take time to heal.

“Very positive things happening in his recovery process,” Madsen said of the 6-8 junior forward, who averaged 10.8 points as a starter through Cal’s first four games.

Junior guard DJ Campbell, who scored 8.8 points through four games, will return soon, Madsen said. We don’t want to rush it, we don’t want any setbacks.”