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It has been a busy week for the Illinois Fighting Illini men's basketball program. At the beginning of the week, specifically Tuesday afternoon, forward David Mirković made it clear he intended to return to Champaign for his sophomore season.
Later that evening at Gordyville USA's Kickin' Cancer event in downstate Illinois, forward Jake Davis and the Ivisic siblings in fellow centers Tomislav and Zvonimir both revealed their plans to run it back as well.
Now, the next piece of the retention puzzle has been made official. Guard Andrej Stojaković, the son of ex-NBA player Peja Stojaković, is set to return to Champaign for his senior season. The Illini Men's Basketball "X" account confirmed several reports about the news on Friday, including from Stojaković's own agent.
"I'm back," Stojaković said in a brief video.
Stojaković was later seen on Instagram Live, sharing his thoughts about why one more college basketball season made sense.
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"I love it here. I love it here," Stojakovic said. "We're going to come back, we're going to be better. It's going to be a hell of a ride. We're going to have fun doing it. We're going to win a lot of games."
Stojaković helped lead Illinois to the Final Four earlier this month, where it would lose to the UConn Huskies. But the soon-to-be senior wants something greater: college basketball's mountaintop, better known as a national title.
"We're coming for that national championship," Stojaković added. "Expect us to win a lot of games and expect us to laugh while doing it because we're going to have a lot of fun."
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The Illini aren't quite done. Their pursuit of former Wisconsin Badgers star John Blackwell is still ongoing, and the hype is beginning to build toward another historic season in Champaign.
What happens next remains suspenseful, but in the unpredictable world of college hoops, anything is possible.
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