Andrej Stojakovic Is Illinois' Answer to Kylan Boswell's Absence vs. Maryland

Illinois cannot recreate the impact of Kylan Boswell. It’s impossible. Players can be similar, but they’re never identical. That is the beauty of basketball. Each player possesses a unique skill set – and like a fingerprint, it can never be replicated.

So when the Illini lost Boswell to a hand injury in practice, instead of turning to Mihailo Petrovic or Brandon Lee – a pair of guards who were expected to see an uptick in minutes following the loss of Boswell – coach Brad Underwood turned to a different candidate: wing Andrej Stojakovic.

Andrej Stojakovic powers Illinois past Maryland

The next opponent on the docket was Maryland, a club led by 5-foot-11 guard David Coit, who had poured in a prodigious 73 points in his previous two outings. Boswell would have been the natural defender to check him, but that was obviously no longer an option.

Cue Stojakovic. We had already seen the 6-foot-7 wing shut down Texas Tech’s Christian Anderson and take Ohio State’s Bruce Thornton out of the game in the second half of Illinois' win in Columbus last month. But could Stojakovic do the same to the flame-throwing Coit? The answer was a resounding yes.

After Coit connected on his first attempt of the contest – a heavily contested long-distance pull – it looked like the Illini were in line to be on the wrong end of another offensive explosion from a Big Ten star. But following that make, Coit went 0-for-7 from deep and just 4-for-14 from the field (finishing at 5-for-15), as Stojakovic put the handcuffs on the Terrapins guard and tossed the key away.

Chasing him around the three-point line, battling over screens, contesting shots – and blocking two of them – Stojakovic was stuck on Coit like gum to the bottom of a middle-school desk.

Underwood has challenged his wing to become Illinois’ go-to stopper – and on Wednesday he answered the bell. With Purdue up next, Stojakovic’s ability to lock up star guards may truly be tested if Underwood elects to assign him to Boilermakers point man Braden Smith, which appears to be the likely scenario.

But that defensive masterpiece was just the second-best part of Stojakovic’s night. Again, without Boswell, the (perhaps basic) line of thinking was that Petrovic and Lee would be earning heftier minutes. Instead, the Illini just put the ball in Stojakovic’s hands and let him make magic.

And although we may not believe in supernatural occurrences, Stojakovic's efforts sure were super – but they were anything but natural. Scoring 30 points and connecting on a season-high four threes, Stojakovic had the hottest of hands.

Andrej Stojakovic had his best game of the season:

30 PTS
9 REBS
9-18 FG
4-7 3PT

🔥🔥@IlliniMBB pic.twitter.com/7L2lmViRyj
— NCAA March Madness (@MarchMadnessMBB) January 22, 2026

But even if his 4-for-7 showing from deep was a head-turner, Stojakovic still did much of his damage at the cup. He is crafty, athletic and a contact seeker to the fullest extent. A relentless attacker, Stojakovic is going to will himself to the tin for two (either points or free throws). It’s what he does.

Stojakovic is clearly most comfortable as the No. 1 option, as he thrives in high-volume situations. And in the next month or so, without Boswell in the fold, Illinois will need this version of Stojakovic to compete with – and, ideally, beat – the likes of Purdue, Nebraska and Michigan State.

The Illini don’t want to rely on one player offensively, but if they’re forced to – which tends to become the only choice down the stretch of tight games – Stojakovic made it abundantly clear they will be in safe hands if and when the time arises.