Andrej Stojaković is about to be Illinois’ most important player for the next month, and he made that very clear on Wednesday night. Just days after senior guard Kylan Boswell was ruled out until mid-February with a broken hand, the junior wing dropped 30 points against Maryland to lead No. 11 Illinois (16-3, 7-1) to its eighth-straight win.

What stood out more, however, was how Stojaković coupled his offensive output with a strong defensive performance. Normally, Boswell takes on the opposing team’s best player, but without him, somebody had to step up. That person on Wednesday was Stojaković, a player who’s usually talked about because of his offensive prowess.

“Kylan was going to be on (graduate student guard David Coit) for the majority of the game if he weren’t out,” Stojaković said. “So, I know that making that a focal point of my preparation and my mindset going into this game. I know I had to make his game as hard as I could for him to make really hard shots.”

Coit came into Champaign having scored 73 total points over his previous two games. He started off against Illinois with that same offensive aggression, making his first three shots of the game and scoring 9 points in just five minutes. However, he was quickly shut down. Stojaković limited Coit the rest of the night, only allowing him to score 6 more points and holding him to a very poor 1 for 8 from three. 

“To have a guy as important as Kylan, and now him being able to trust me to go at the other team’s best scorer, it means a lot to me,” Stojaković said about embracing tough defensive assignments. “Showing him that I can do it is something I’m taking pride in.”

Defense was not something Stojaković has been traditionally known for. But coming to Illinois, head coach Brad Underwood and his staff believed that their star transfer could not only be a top-tier scorer, but an effective defender as well. He had the physical building blocks, but now that he’s been around for a while, Underwood has had a chance to push Stojaković and help grow him into that two-way force. 

“I was really frustrated with the first start of the year because, you know, I didn’t get to grind on him,” Underwood said. “I didn’t get to just demand and get after it with him defensively. I’ve always known he was a capable scorer, but what do you do that 95% of the time when you don’t have the ball? … He’s taken coaching at a really really high level.”

Playing defense has not been the only area Stojaković has grown at Illinois. Throughout the year, Underwood has preached that he needs Stojaković to rebound, especially early in the season when you rarely saw him on the glass. In his first five games of the season, Stojaković had 19 rebounds, but over his most recent five, he’s totaled 30. There’s been an improvement, especially in terms of effort, and it’s helping Stojaković turn into a more complete player.

“You throw in the nine rebounds tonight from a kid that in buy games couldn’t get a rebound,” Underwood said. “He’s turning into one heck of a terrific player.”

As Illinois plays the next month or so without Boswell, Stojaković must continue to step up. Yes, a team effort is needed as well, but Underwood was very clear that Stojaković will be an X-factor for the Illini as they head into a particularly tough stretch of the Big Ten schedule.

“It’s going to be him for a lot of nights, and he’s got to want to accept that challenge,” Underwood said. “He’s got to want to expect that from himself … Defense is just effort and a desire and a want to and, ‘I’m going to do this.’ Then it’s my job to make doggone sure that he’s ready to do that and demand that he does it. So yeah, he’s got all the tools to be an outstanding, outstanding defender.”

No. 4 Purdue (17-2, 7-1) is the first challenge in a two-week stretch that includes No. 10 Michigan State (17-2, 7-1) and a rematch with undefeated No. 7 Nebraska (19-0, 8-0). The Boilermakers are led by All-American senior guard Braden Smith, who, once again, would’ve been handled by Boswell on the defensive end. 

Now, Stojaković may be the one to fill that role after his success in slowing down Coit. Purdue will be a tougher task than defending Maryland, just because it has a stronger supporting cast and more weapons that will need to be slowed down. However, Stojaković is ready for the challenge, and he’s approaching it with his signature even-keeled mentality.

“Next two days I feel confident that we’ll be incredibly focused on the task on Saturday,” Stojaković said. “(Boswell’s injury) doesn’t change our focus. Yes, it hurts to have somebody like that out, but we have the trust in each other to compete at the highest level we can.”

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