Brad Underwood found another piece to fill the final major hole on his roster. After visiting campus last Tuesday, 6-foot-7 wing Andrej Stojaković announced on Monday that he will transfer to Illinois and spend his junior season in Champaign. Stojaković is the son of three-time NBA All-Star and 2011 NBA champion Peja Stojaković.

Stojaković spent his freshman season at Stanford before moving to Cal for his sophomore campaign. There, he put on a show. He started 28 of 29 games last season and averaged a team-high 17.9 points and 1.2 blocks. Stojaković also added 4.7 rebounds and 1.8 assists per game.

With Illinois losing a major piece in Will Riley to the NBA draft, there was a clear need for Underwood and company to find a scoring wing to fill his role. The Illini were heavily linked to Italian wing Dame Sarr. With multiple other schools in contention and Stojaković jumping into the portal, their focus shifted to the rising junior.

Stojaković is a strong ball handler who can finish smoothly around the rim. He is a slasher, creating his own shots near the basket and in the midrange with his strong footwork. However, Stojaković needs to improve as a three-point shooter. He shot 31.8% from deep last season, which leaves room for growth.

Despite that issue, Illinois is still a very good place for Stojaković. With three big men on the roster that can space the floor and step out to shoot the three, driving lanes into the paint should be open for Stojaković. That will allow him to do what he does best — cut and finish closer to the rim. Add in rising junior center Tomislav Ivišić’s knack for finding cutters with ease and the strong facilitating abilities of incoming guard Mihailo Petrović, and Stojaković should thrive in what looks to be an exciting Illini offense.

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