5. It’s Stojakovic time for the Illini
It was just game two of the Illinois basketball season, but finally, we got to see one of the prized transfer portal additions on Friday night.
Andrej Stojakovic took the court for the first time with the Illini. He has a ton of potential, but Brad Underwood did a smart thing by bringing the junior off the bench. This eased Stojakovic back into action, and he played pretty well.
By game's end, Stojakovic logged 22 solid minutes. He dropped nine points, five rebounds, and three assists on 4-of-10 shooting from the field. He was just getting back into action, so Stojakovic was a little sloppy with three turnovers, but I was pleased with what I saw out of him.
Now that Stojakovic is back healthy, I think it is pretty clear that it is time for him to be back in the starting lineup. I love what Jake Davis brought Illinois in the first two games, but he is a nice rotational piece, and that is what he will be moving forward.
These past two games were just tune-ups for what is about to come for Illinois. On Tuesday, I expect the lineup to be different. Illinois should ramp up the intensity and look for Stojakovic to be back in the starting lineup, trying to take down No. 10 Texas Tech.