Andrej Stojakovic, Peja's son, commits to Illini

California transfer Andrej Stojakovic, the son of former NBA star Peja Stojakovic and one of the best available players in the portal, has committed to Illinois, he told ESPN on Monday.

Stojakovic chose the Fighting Illini over North Carolina and Stanford, where he started his college career.

"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."

Stojakovic, a 6-foot-7 sophomore, pointed to the long line of bigger playmakers who have found success under Underwood in Champaign as a key factor in his decision.

"Their track record. Ayo Dosunmu, T.J. [Shannon], [Marcus] Domask, Will Riley, Kasparas [Jakucionis], bigger guards that are considered ball-handlers, that can relieve pressure for their teammates," Stojakovic said. "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."

A McDonald's All-American and top-25 recruit coming out of high school, Stojakovic struggled to find consistency as a freshman at Stanford. But after transferring to Cal last spring, he had a breakout season with the Golden Bears under Mark Madsen.

Stojakovic averaged 17.9 points and 4.7 rebounds this past season, and finished the season by averaging 33.0 points in two ACC tournament games - shooting 7-for-13 from 3-point range in those contests.

"Being able to be one of those guards that can handle the ball, it helped me a lot this past year. The confidence coach Madsen gave me, being able to be that ball-handler," Stojakovic said. "I'm confident I can go to a top 25 team and do the same."

After losing Jakucionis and Riley early to the NBA draft, Underwood needed to rebuild his perimeter, leaving a clear opening for Stojakovic to play a huge role right away. He's the second transfer addition of the spring for the Illini, and becomes the fifth player with Balkan heritage on the roster. Stojakovic joins fellow Serbians Mihailo Petrovic and David Mirkovic and Croatian brothers Zvonimir and Tomislav Ivisic in what will be the most international team in the Big Ten.

With all the new faces, the key for Illinois next season will come on the defensive end of the floor. If all the pieces fit, the Illini should have one of the elite offenses in college basketball.

"I'm confident we can become one of the best offensive teams in the country, but it's going to take a lot defensively," Stojakovic said. "We have to hone in on the little stuff. It's going to start with the guards, [we] have to set a tone that's going to maybe be surprising to some people. We're ready to surprise people defensively and I think we're going to do great things."

Jonathan Givony is an NBA draft expert and the founder and co-owner of DraftExpress.com, a private scouting and analytics service used by NBA, NCAA and international teams.