By IlliniGuys Staff

May 27, 2026

(Cover photo courtesy Joe Clark/IlliniGuys)

Make no mistake, having Andrej Stojakovic as a part of the 2026-27 Illini basketball team is worth the wait.

Even though he made everyone wait - twice!

The 6-foot-7 wing ended his quest to enter the NBA this summer, withdrawing his name from the NBA Draft and officially returning to the Illinois basketball team.

Stojakovic was the last of the Illini's key returning players to announce his return last month, posting a video on social media on April 17th with a simple "I'm back!" exclamation. He then declared for the draft - as expected - to explore his options and get guidance from league coaches. After going through the process, Stojakovic will now set his sights on improving on his junior season in Champaign and taking aim at all-Big Ten honors as the Illini enter the season as serious national championship contenders.

The former Stanford and Cal star saw his scoring average dip to 13.5 points per game last season, but admitted that his all-around game improved as he helped Illinois to its first Final Four trip since 2005.

He'll enter the summer looking for an increased maturity to his game and hopes to stay healthy, after ankle injuries had him in and out of the starting lineup. The top slasher on the team and one of the best in the country, a healthy Stojakovic - who has scored 1,229 points in his career - will be key to the Illini winning the first NCAA title in program history.

Stojakovic scored a season-high 30 points against Maryland on January 21st, one of 19 double-digit scoring games and one of eight nights in which he scored 20 points or more.

But it's his improved defense that may prove to be most important to the team's success. His defense against Iowa scoring star Bennett Stirtz in the NCAA Elite Eight game in March shut him down in the second half of that game and led to Stojakovic being named to the NCAA All-South Region Team.

Stojakovic went into the draft process as a low second round pick at best and didn't appear to improve much on that in these past few weeks. His number one goal to improve his status for the 2027 NBA Draft is to work on a three-point shooting form that saw him connect on just 24 percent of his attempts last season and only 30 percent in his collegiate career.

He figures to open the season in the starting lineup alongside power forward and All-Big Ten freshman pick David Mirkovic, senior center Tomislav Ivisic and Providence transfer Stefan Vaaks with the fifth starter to be determined.