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The third time wasn't the charm for North Carolina basketball this week, as they failed to recruit top transfer portal wing Andrej Stojakovic for a third straight time.
"As much as UNC basketball fans wanted to see Cal transfer Andrej Stojakovic in Carolina Blue, they were once again disappointed to find out he committed to Illinois on Monday, shunning the Tar Heels for a third time," Nick Delahanty wrote.
On Monday, Illinois landed Stojakovic, the son of former NBA champion and three-time all-star Peja Stojakovic, landing one of the top scorers in the country. Stojakovic's top three also included North Carolina and Stanford, the school where he started his collegiate career.
“They really believe I’m the missing piece to what they think is a national championship team,” Stojakovic told ESPN.
"While Illinois was presumed the favorite from the jump, the UNC basketball program made a strong effort to lure Stojakovic to Chapel Hill," Delahanty said. "The Tar Heels recruited him out of high school, pursued him as a transfer last offseason and rekindled their interest for him when he entered the transfer portal a few weeks ago. Unfortunately, all three recruiting processes ended the same way: Stojakovic not becoming a Tar Heel."
While North Carolina has enjoyed a strong portal haul this offseason, writers and fans are both lamenting at how big of a miss Stojakovic will be to the team's on-court product.
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"This is a major miss for the UNC basketball program on the transfer portal recruiting trail, as landing a player of Stojakovic's caliber would have been a massive addition to next year's squad," Delahanty said. "Unfortunately, the Tar Heels came up short once again in pursuit of the son of former NBA star Peja Stojakovic, a player they have coveted for quite some time."
Fox Sports Radio's Aaron Torres was blunt in his criticism of the miss, going as far as to call out head coach Hubert Davis.
"UNC went out this off-season, hired a GM, raised a bunch of money... and ended up with arguably a worse roster than they had a year ago. Hubert Davis is so cooked, man," Torres said.
Missing on Stojakovic is also more than just not having a big-name player. The Tar Heels received confirmation that promising freshman Drake Powell would be entering his name into the NBA Draft. That left Seth Trimble to be the only top-six scoring player from last year's roster to remain with the team next year, though Ven-Allen Lubin's eligibility is still up in the air.
"Davis signing Stojakovic would be a program-changing move," Braulio Perez wrote before the player's commitment to Illinois. "With Drake Powell entering his name into the NBA Draft, it leaves a massive hole for this team in 2025-26. Stojakovic averaged nearly 18 points per game last season and he'd immediately become a top scoring option for Davis if he indeed chooses the Tar Heels."
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