Illinois basketball is one of the few teams that is waiting for word on whether or not one of their key players is staying in the NBA Draft.
The deadline to withdraw from the NBA Draft is at 11:59 p.m. ET on Wednesday. So, we are just hours away, and the Illini still haven’t heard if Andrej Stojakovic is coming back or trying his hand at the professional ranks.
While Illinois fans are anxiously waiting, Stojakovic did post on his Instagram. It was a picture that said, “I’m Back.”
The only thing is, it wasn’t a picture of him. Alabama’s Amari Allen announced that he was pulling out of the NBA Draft process, and Stojakovic decided to post the announcement of Allen on his Instagram.
Heart skipped a few beats. #Illini pic.twitter.com/9CeRm0Wbip
— Writing Illini (@WritingIlliniFS) May 27, 2026
That is A+ trolling by the Illinois wing. He gave me, and I am sure many others, a little bit of a heart skip with that post.
Illinois basketball will know soon if we get a player back who racks up the numbers in Andrej Stojakovic
We are less than six hours away from the deadline to withdraw from the NBA Draft. At this point, I think the best-case scenario for Stojakovic is that he gets drafted somewhere late in the second round.
For Illinois fans, the best-case scenario is that Stojakovic is back in the fold. That is a ton of production that would instantly vanish if he decides to chase his dreams of playing in the NBA.
Think about that for a second. Illinois would lose 13.5 points, 4.5 rebounds, and 1.0 assists per game in the blink of an eye. Getting that much extra production from the roster we have now would be tough.
This is a huge decision for all parties. Regardless, I wish Stojakovic nothing but the best in his future endeavors.
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