INDIANAPOLIS — Andrej Stojaković walked off the courtroom at Lucas Oil Stadium on Friday morning after Illinois’ open Final Four observe in entrance of a stunning sea of orange-clad followers.
He waved with each arms to among the individuals leaning over the wall to greet the Illini gamers on their way to the locker room, then stopped to signal a hand-drawn poster board that learn that he wore No. 2 on the courtroom however was No. 1 in that fan’s coronary heart.
One of the primary issues that always is talked about in stories on Stojaković is that he’s the son of three-time NBA All-Star Peja Stojaković.
Road to the Final Four: How Illinois basketball got here for the 1st time since 2005
The cameras typically discover his father within the crowd watching his video games. One of CBS Sports’ social media options for the Final Four was Andrej making an attempt to guess his dad’s NBA stats. Their hug after Illinois’ Elite Eight win over Iowa circulated on-line. Andrej, sporting a backward Final Four cap, slapped his dad’s hand, went in for a hug and listened as his dad mentioned a couple of phrases, each breaking into massive smiles.
But Andrej Stojaković is making an attempt to forge his own path past his father’s legacy, and he has made a reputation for himself on this NCAA Tournament. During Illinois’ run to its nationwide semifinal towards Connecticut at 5:09 p.m. Saturday, the 6-foot-7 junior wing averaged 15 factors on 59.5% taking pictures and three rebounds within the 4 video games. He was named to the All-South Region staff.
He has completed it with a clean, athletic, downhill recreation that’s completely different from that of his dad, who was a deadly shooter throughout his 13-year NBA profession and is second all time in 3-pointers made for the Sacramento Kings.
“I’m sure nobody can put themselves in his shoes,” Illinois assistant coach and recruiting coordinator Geoff Alexander mentioned. “That’s quite a bit to reside as much as. Peja was top-of-the-line gamers on this planet and a man that has gained. For him to must reside in his footsteps, I feel he’s completed an unbelievable job.
“He’s very secure in his own skin. He knows he’s Andrej Stojaković and not the son of Peja Stojaković. He’s trying to carve out his own path, his own lane, his own identity. It’s a beautiful thing to see.”
As coach Brad Underwood made his media rounds over the weekend to preview Illinois’ first trip to the Final Four since 2005, he informed a narrative on “The Rich Eisen Show” about Peja’s go to to Illinois with Andrej, who transferred in after a freshman season at Stanford and a sophomore season because the main scorer at California.
Peja walked into Illinois’ fitness center — hadn’t touched a ball — and nailed 13 straight 3-pointers.
“The man still can fill it up,” Alexander mentioned. “He can put it in the basket.”
Andrej admitted there’s a strain in that — making an attempt to make his own way in a recreation his father performed so effectively. But at this level, it’s nothing new.
“I’ve dealt with that expectation and pressure my whole life,” Andrej mentioned. “So I haven’t really bought into anything that’s been said recently in the tournament.”
Underwood mentioned a few instances this season that Peja tries to let Andrej be himself — not Peja’s son. As Illinois has garnered increasingly media consideration throughout the event, Peja has declined interviews, wanting the main target to be on Andrej.
Both of Andrej’s dad and mom have helped him with his profession. His mom, Aleka Kamila, is “everything” to him and has helped him when he has struggled mentally with his confidence or the strain he faces.
Andrej mentioned Peja has supplied recommendation all through his profession — “not just about basketball but life in general.” But he additionally hasn’t interfered, which Andrej mentioned is available in half from the pure obstacles that an NBA participant’s household faces.
“Throughout my life, I’ve dealt with when I was younger, stretches of not being around him, him being on the road so much,” Andrej mentioned. “When he lived in different cities, me visiting on the weekends. We have a really good relationship of when I’m busy, he lets me experience things on my own and not really get in the way.”
Illinois ahead Jake Davis mentioned that comes by means of as a result of Andrej is “100% his own player,” although he does assume it has been “super sick” to have an NBA legend across the program.
“He wants to get better and wants to learn and strive to win games as a team,” Davis mentioned. “He’s very much a team player for us.”
Andrej seems ahead to spending extra time with his dad and mom within the offseason, however proper now he has enterprise to deal with.
After battling accidents at completely different instances this season — a knee concern within the preseason and a excessive ankle sprain in February — he has made himself a participant essential to Illinois’ success down the stretch. He comes off the bench to supply a key scoring spark, typically altering the sport’s dynamic with his means to get to the rim, and has scored 17 factors or extra in 4 of Illinois’ final seven video games. But the Illini even have relied on him to be a multifaceted participant.
Alexander pointed to his assist defending Iowa star guard Bennett Stirtz within the Elite Eight game. Stirtz got here out in that recreation sizzling because the Hawkeyes jumped to an early lead, however Stirtz went 2-for-8 from the sphere and 1-for-5 from 3-point vary within the second half.
“We made an adjustment and used (Andrej’s) length, his athleticism, his ability to make Stirtz take hard shots. It was huge for us,” Alexander mentioned. “Not that he couldn’t do that before. He just knows how important it is now to winning. Those are the things he’s grown in from year to year.”
Andrej picked Illinois as a result of he needed to broaden his recreation and he needed to win. He desires to proceed doing each.
He has no thought what to anticipate when he returns to a packed Lucas Oil Stadium on Saturday night to face UConn, how the environment inside a soccer stadium will really feel. But he’s assured in his means to deal with it.
“I think I’ve done a good job of trying to maintain the same focus level from regular season to NCAA games so far, not letting the crowd faze me, especially in our two Houston matchups where it was loud in there,” he mentioned. “As a team, we’ve done a really good job of staying focused on the task and not worrying about the media outside.”
Peja might be watching, although Andrej can’t say if he might be sporting orange and blue as some have pleaded on social media. His dad likes to put on plain issues with out logos, although he does have Illini gear.
“Oh, he has stuff,” Andrej mentioned. “He has a lot of stuff.”
Andrej mentioned he is aware of all his dad desires is for him to have a fantastic expertise.
“He’s someone who enjoys watching basketball, and all he cares about is myself and the rest of the guys on the team finding enjoyment from playing,” Andrej mentioned. “He doesn’t care we made the Final Four. It’s not about that. It’s about the hard work we put in is finally paying off. And the idea of us loving the game is showing right now.”
