The 2025-26 campaign for the Illinois basketball program is one that many fans are anxious to get started.
That doesn’t necessarily mean Illini fans are excited or down about the upcoming season, but more a curiosity about what we are going to see on the floor. Another offseason of turnover, but much less than the year prior, has fans intrigued about the talent Brad Underwood has brought in.
On Wednesday night, news broke that didn’t sit well with the Illini fanbase. Scott Richey of the News-Gazette reported that Illinois’ new transfer portal addition, Andrej Stojakovic, is currently out with a knee sprain.
News from @IlliniMBB preseason event hosted by C-U Kiwanis Club on Wednesday night? Junior guard Andrej Stojakovic is currently sidelined with a sprained knee.
— IlliniHQ (@IlliniHQ) September 4, 2025
More from the 101st annual event via #Illini beat writer @srrichey:https://t.co/1E0oCu61PC
Underwood mentioned this news at the Illinois men’s basketball tip-off event. Richey also reports that there is no timetable for Stojakovic’s return.
The 6-foot-7, 205-pound wing played for Stanford and Cal before transferring to Champaign. Last season, he averaged 17.9 points, 4.7 rebounds, 1.8 assists, and 1.2 blocks per game with the Bears.
I think the Illinois basketball fanbase needs to take a deep breath and relax on the Andrej Stojakovic news
When you first see the news, you automatically think, oh crap, here we go. Early injuries could hamper the Illini in 2025-26. I think we should take a step back and look at the timeline.
It is just the start of September. The season doesn’t really get going until November. In the article by Richey, Underwood says that Stojakovic isn’t being rushed back out of an “abundance of caution.”
This is complete speculation, but Underwood doesn’t seem overly concerned about the issue. If this were a massive injury that was going to keep Stojakovic out for a long period of time, there would have been mention of that. Instead, it seems that Underwood is being cautious and not risking anything until the season starts.
Stojakovic has had time to gel with his teammates. Let him take a month or two off and get ready for the 2025-26 campaign. We are going to need him this season in a big way.