Will he stay or will he go? That's the main offseason question currently facing Illinois and Brad Underwood, as countless eyes are on standout wing Andrej Stojakovic. After a tremendous 2025-26 season with the Big Ten powerhouse, Stojakovic is currently testing the NBA Draft waters.
Andrej Stojakovic has NBA Draft Combine shooting day that most expected
He has until late May to announce he's going to pull his name out and return to college, but it's up in the air if he's going to do that or not. After an up and down start at the NBA Draft Combine, there has been plenty of worry that he might decide to make the jump to the pros.
Hold the phone on that. While Stojakovic is getting some positive feedback, no final decision has been made. In a conversation with Andy Katz, the standout left the door open for a return to Illinois. In the video below, you can tell this is not going to be an easy decision for him
🤔 Stay in the draft or head back to Illinois? @TheAndyKatz talks next steps with Andrej Stojakovic at the NBA Draft Combine 🔥 pic.twitter.com/RQA8aPoHmW
— Andy Katz (@SidelinewithAK) May 12, 2026
Andrej Stojakovic won't close the door on a potential Illinois return
"Both great options," Stojakovic said on either returning to Illinois or staying in the NBA Draft. "I'm going to evaluate both at the end of this process and we'll see."
While he didn't strongly hint he was leaning one way or the other here, it must be highlighted that Stojakovic also didn't hesitate in saying his favorite memory from last season was no question reaching the Final Four with his teammates.
Illinois defied the odds and went on a brilliant NCAA Tournament run. While this team didn't reach the natty contest, with Michigan going on to win the title, it took nothing away from what Underwood was able to do. Already, plenty of analysts have the Fighting Illini as the preseason No. 1, with a great shot of winning it all.
Obviously, whether or not Stojakovic decides to come back or not will play a huge role on things there. Underwood and his staff worked overtime this offseason in building out a national title-contending roster, including bringing in transfer Stefan Vaaks. Player retention was paramount for Underwood, while high school studs Quentin Coleman, Lucas Morillo, Ethan Brown, Zavier Zens and Landon Davis will hope to help out too.
In terms of player retainment, Stojakovic was a major win for Underwood, but he surprised some people when he decided to enter the NBA Draft despite recently announcing his return to Champaign. Again, though, he did so with the option to return to school.
In a recent NBA Mock Draft from ESPN, which arrived after the lottery was set, Stojakovic is going No. 53 overall to the Houston Rockets. The majority of mock drafts that have been posted of late have him going late in the second round.
Could he end up rising after the Combine? Definitely, but it might be too much of a reach for him to climb into the first-round conversation. Because of this, returning to Illinois and pushing for a national title might be what he ends up favoring.
Everything is a bit up in the air, but Stojakovic still has some time to make his final decision. Clearly, it's not an easy one for him and he may be getting pulled one way in his mind, and another in his heart. Illinois fans will surely respect whatever he decides, but they'd of course be over the moon if he makes everyone happy by playing for Illinois next season. If that does happen, it'll be time to start dreaming about Underwood and Co. winning it all.
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