Should Illinois and Brad Underwood Pursue Son of Former NBA Star in Portal?

Would California forward Andrej Stojakovic, son of former NBA star Peja Stojakovic, be a fit in Champaign?

Feb 15, 2025; Atlanta, Georgia, USA; California Golden Bears guard Andrej Stojakovic (2) shoots against the Georgia Tech Yellow Jackets in the first half at McCamish Pavilion. Mandatory Credit: Brett Davis-Imagn Images / Brett Davis-Imagn Images

In basketball circles, sometimes the apple doesn't fall far from the tree – and sometimes the tree bears almost no fruit at all.

Perhaps pedigrees and bloodlines have the potential to help a young athlete make connections or navigate certain situations, but gene pools can be a funny thing. Illinois fans of a certain age surely remember Jeff Jordan, son of all-time NBA great Michael Jordan and owner of a 1.2-points-per-game average over three seasons in Champaign.

That's no shade. A million pieces have to fall exactly into place for anyone to hit it big as a Division I college baller. But it happened for California sophomore forward Andrej Stojakovic, son of former Sacramento Kings star Peja Stojakovic – and some fortunate program is set to provide him his new home.

Could it be Illinois?

The younger Stojakovic hit the transfer portal on Thursday, as reported by ESPN's Jonathan Givony, who was informed by the player's agent. Stojakovic, a 6-foot-7 forward who averaged 17.9 points for the Golden Bears last season, has said he won't yet test the NBA Draft process.

NEWS: Cal's Andrej Stojakovic will enter the transfer portal, his agent Drake U'u told ESPN. Stojakovic becomes one of the most coveted players in the portal after posting 17.8 points, 4.6 rebounds, 1.2 blocks per game in the ACC. Will not test the NBA draft process. pic.twitter.com/RZ6UDlaO9O

— Jonathan Givony (@DraftExpress) April 17, 2025

On the surface, the development appears to be a potential boon to a program like Illinois. A high-level wing scorer would fill a gaping hole on coach Brad Underwood's roster, and it would be easy to imagine Stojakovic – whose father all but pioneered the concept of a stretch 4 – bombing away from deep in the three-happy Illini offense.

But in this instance, there's a bit of distance between the apple and the tree. Although a gifted scorer and an athletic and crafty threat around the rim, Andrej (1.4 threes per game on 31.8 percent shooting last season) isn't quite the shooter that his old man was (Peja: NBA career 1,760 threes on 40.1 percent).

Not yet, anyway. Just as Stojakovic expanded his game from his freshman season at Stanford after transferring to Berkley for his sophomore year, perhaps he'll make another leap as a junior. Substantially increasing his scoring average (from 7.8 to 17.9) and usage rate (from 21.2 to 27.8) while improving his shooting percentage (from 40..9 to 42.7) and decreasing his turnover rate (from 12.8 to 11.9) suggests exceptional growth. Maybe there's more to come.

Only one (potential) problem: Stojakovic went into the portal with the "Do not contact" tag, which means that if Champaign wasn't already on his list of possible destinations, that isn't likely to change for the Illini. In any case, whether it's locking down Stojakovic or another high-impact wing, Underwood needs to get cracking.

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