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4 hours ago
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The week got off to a great start for Illinois basketball and Brad Underwood, beating out North Carolina, Stanford and Cal-Berkley for guard Andrej Stojakovic.
Stojakovic was a priority recruit for Underwood and Co., as the team has had a busy off-season reassembling a bulk of Balkan talent while also getting older in the process. ESPN's Jonathan Givony was the first to report the news Monday, which was eventually confirmed by multiple sources.
Stojakovic spoke to ESPN and was highly complimentary of the recruiting process and the vibe Champaign is currently continuing to build.
"I think the main reasons were pretty clear to my inner circle as a basketball fit," Stojakovic said. "Coach [Brad] Underwood has been very aggressive recruiting me from the start and constantly reiterating how much I'm wanted and needed as a basketball player there. They really believe I'm the missing piece to what they think is a national championship team."
In doing so, Stojakovic averaged 17.9 points per game this past season for the Golden Bears, revealing he sees himself in a similar role as the likes of Ayo Dosunmu, Will Riley and others who were clearly the faces of the program during their years in Champaign.
"I'm looking forward to being part of a team where I can bring the ball up and have shooters all around. I can also be a shooter, play on the wing, when someone else is bringing the ball up," Stojakovic added.
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If there was any indication regarding the excitement of Stojakovic's pledge, Underwood changed his profile picture to depict him essentially running the Balkan sector of the transfer portal.
Regardless, Illinois being a national title contender now looks like a real possibility.
We'll find out once November hits.
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