Last season was undoubtedly up and down for junior wing Andrej Stojakovic. He had some great games and moments during the non-conference slate, but seemed to slow down when conference play began. The ankle injury midway through conference play didn’t help, but you could argue he was in a big slump at that point. That slump was as good as gone by the time the NCAA tournament started.
Starting with the VCU game, Andrej Stojakovic went on a tear. When the offense was slow to get anything going, all they had to do was swing it to Andrej and let him get downhill against his defender. It was unstoppable for stretches of these tournament games. His relentlessness attacking the rim was a big reason for both of this team’s victories against VCU and Houston in the Round of 32 and Sweet 16.
With the offense running through top-5 pick Keaton Wagler for a majority of last season, Stojakovic’s usage wasn’t as high as he probably hoped at times. This season, I would expect to see a decent bump in his usage. Don’t get me wrong, new transfer guard Stefan Vaaks and returning forward David Mirkovic will get plenty of usage as well. But, I don’t see either of them taking as much usage as Keaton Wagler did last season.
It’s obvious when given the opportunity, Stojakovic can be the go-to scorer on a very good team. His ability to get to the rim, finish with both hands as well as through contact consistently, draw fouls, and put constant pressure on the defense is something this team needs. With all of the shooters this team had last year and will have this year, they need someone who can get to the basket and draw fouls when the shots aren’t falling like normal.
While the Illini may be loaded again this season, that doesn’t mean Stojakovic can’t take a big leap in production. The half court offense will surely be running through David Mirkovic if healthy when the season begins, but don’t be surprised if they play a bit faster than last season and you see Stojakovic being aggressive and pushing the ball in transition more often.