The UNC basketball program has been enamored with Andrej Stojakovic for quite some time.
North Carolina recruited him out of high school, ultimately seeing the son of former NBA legend Peja Stojakovic commit to Stanford.
Last offseason, Stojakovic ended up in the transfer portal, and again, the Tar Heels were heavily involved. However, the story was the same: Stojakovic ended up elsewhere, landing in the ACC with California.
Now, Stojakovic finds himself once again in the transfer portal, and as expected, North Carolina has at least shown interest.
Is the third time a charm for the UNC basketball program? Not so fast...
Andrej Stojakovic has completed a Zoom with USC and has been in steady contact with Kentucky, a source told @247Sports.
— Travis Branham (@TravisBranham_) April 21, 2025
Others showing interest include North Carolina, Florida, Clemson, LSU, Cincinnati, UConn and more. A return to California is also still in consideration. https://t.co/wq0jOp02as
Travis Branham of 247Sports confirmed that the Tar Heels have shown interest in Stojakovic, as they are among a long line of suitors for his services. However, there's a growing indication that this is a one-team race, as Illinois is viewed (by many) as the clear front-runner.
With Stojakovic being on an official visit at Illinois, this recruitment might be over very quickly.
Adding a player of Stojakovic's caliber would be a huge addition for any program, especially the UNC basketball program. It's not often that a player with his scoring ability becomes available, as he would immediately be plugged into the Tar Heels starting unit the moment he arrived on campus.
Of course, we aren't sure of the extent of the Tar Heels interest. Did they check in with his representatives in case things fall through at Illinois? Are they kicking the tires in case they need to pivot once they get official word on Drake Powell's status for next season?
There are quite a few scenarios here that could be in play, but at this point, we advise you not to get your hopes up about Andrej Stojakovic becoming a Tar Heel.
Things change (especially in this new era of the transfer portal), but it appears that the UNC basketball program will once again not be the team that Stojakovic decides to continue his college basketball career with.