A new Florida Gators recruiting target has emerged in the transfer portal with the coaching staff tied to California Golden Bear Andrej Stojakovic.
If the name sounds familiar to you, there are about three reasons why:
First, he was a really good high school player who was also extremely productive at Cal this past there.
Secondly, he was someone the Gators recruited out of high school and were considered to be one of the top options.
Thirdly, he is the son of Peja Stojakovic–a successful NBA player.
Now that all this has been cleared up–let’s talk about Stojakovic as a player. Coming out of high school Stojakovic was a 5-star recruit in the consensus, though different outlets did have quite a range is how they saw him with some ranking him as a top-15 player and others seeing him just inside the top-100. Ultimately he chose to go to Stanford where he averaged 7.8 points per game as a freshman. After a coaching change he transferred to California for this past season, and this where his game absolutely blew up. Leading the way for his team in multiple facets, Stojakovic averaged 17.9 points, 4.7 rebounds, 1.8 assists, and 1.2 blocks per game–making him one of the top players in the portal once he entered his name in. With the high pedigree as a recruit and the heavy production as a sophomore with multiple years to play he has become an extremely sought-after player, and one that the Gators are being increasingly talked about for.
A bit smaller than his dad, Stojakovic stands at 6’7” and 205 pounds and is a guard with length. Florida hasn’t had many wings taller than 6’5” in the Golden era and they would love to add more length at this position, and Stojakovic brings length while having the ball handling and skill of a smaller player. Stojakovic is someone who can play pick and roll or move off the ball and attack off the catch and that versatility has allowed him to be so much of a stat sheet stuffer. His diverse skill set also helps him be both a tremendous transition player as well as someone who excels when the game slows down, making him even more desirable for a team like Florida.
Known as an excellent shooter out of high school (just like his dad was), Stojakovic actually hasn’t shot the ball all that well so far in his career hitting 32% of his threes, though his ability to put up numbers despite not shooting the ball great speaks to how skilled he is–and if the shots start to really fall he could take a huge leap.
As you can guess by the fact that his first two years have been spent at Stanford and California, academics are important to Stojakovic and his family. Committing to Stanford at the time he did given where the program was at came as a surprise to many, and it spoke to how important it was to him to be at a high-academic institution. Being in California close to family was a priority at first, though given the programs that are rumored to be at the top of his list it appears that location no longer matters all that much. Illinois is one of the top schools in this recruitment, and Stojakovic will be taking a visit there on Tuesday. While they are expected to be a favorite in this recruitment, don’t count out the Gators who will certainly be a player here.