After spending one season at Stanford and one season at Cal, Andrej Stojakovic felt another change was needed in his basketball career. The talented guard decided to enter the transfer portal again after his sophomore season, and there were three teams immediately in mind as to where he wanted to go: Illinois, UNC, and Stanford (for a second time).
Former 5-star UNC SG has an upset over Duke on his mind
It took just one day for Stojakovic to decide he wanted to go and play under head coach Brad Underwood at Illinois, and UNC was slighted yet again. At that time, Hubert Davis had missed out on another top transfer portal target, and maybe if he had landed Stojakovic, the Tar Heels would be in the Elite Eight right now instead of Illinois.
Illinois' investment in Andrej Stojakovic is paying off, and UNC missed out
Illinois certainly paid well to get Stojakovic on its roster, but that adds another question as to how UNC could have missed out on the junior guard. While the details of his deal have never been disclosed, it is clear that Underwood knew he needed Stojakovic and made sure he got him in Champaign.
Illinois paid Andrej Stojakovic to be the Illini's best player this season.
— Dave Wischnowsky (@wischlist) March 27, 2026
If he's the Illini's best player this March, it will be money incredibly well spent.
UNC was an early exit in this year's NCAA Tournament, and maybe if they had a player like Stojakovic on the court with them, they would be the team in the Elite Eight instead. Yes, the Tar Heels had Caleb Wilson, and they lost him to injury before the tournament, but not everything can rest on one player.
Stojakovic could have brought experience to UNC's roster that desperately needed it. So far in the NCAA Tournament, Stojakovic is averaging 14.3 points per game, with his highest-scoring game being the second round vs. VCU, the team that beat UNC, with 21 points.
With UNC now searching for its next head coach, maybe the Tar Heels can bring someone in who is willing to go out and spend the money both in high school recruiting and in the transfer portal to build the best roster possible. The Tar Heels can become the blue blood they once were, but they need the right players in order to do so.