Andrej Stojakovic returning puts Illinois basketball in the driver’s seat nationally

The dust has now settled from the NBA Draft process chaos, and the Illinois basketball team has emerged cleaner than ever.

There was about a month of nerves that kept building and building as the Illini awaited Andrej Stojakovic’s decision on heading to the NBA or coming back to the Orange and Blue.

Advertisement

Stojakovic made that decision this past Wednesday, and with his return comes a ton of national attention. Some of that attention has Stojakovic looked at as one of the best returning players in the country, and other attention is more geared towards the team.

In a recent article by Rodney Knuppel of Busting Brackets, the projected top 25 teams in the country were laid out after all of the NBA Draft hoopla.

You have all of the big names throughout the top 25. Kentucky, Kansas, and Arizona are all a part of the festivities. You scroll down, anxiously looking for the Illini. That is when you see us.

Advertisement

No. 1.

Illinois is projected as the No. 1 team in the country according to the article. The Stojakovic decision was big in the determination of having us as the top team in all the land, as Knuppel puts it, “Andrej Stojakovic returning completely changed the national picture…”

While Stojakovic isn’t the best player on the Illinois basketball team, he is another weapon for Illinois to go to when they need a spark or some tough aggression toward the hoop.

Illinois basketball will have to compete with a ton of stout Big Ten teams that don this top 25

It is fun seeing Illinois in the top five, let alone as the potential best team in the country. Being No. 1 on this list gave me goosebumps, but the season hasn’t started, and the current rendition hasn’t proved a thing without Keaton Wagler and Kylan Boswell on the court.

Advertisement

Illinois’ journey back to, at least, the Final Four is going to be tough. Knuppel lays out his top 25, and it is full of Big Ten opponents.

Michigan sits at No. 5 on the list. They lost a ton of talent, but Dusty May is arguably the best coach…

Source link : https://sports.yahoo.com/articles/andrej-stojakovic-returning-puts-illinois-120959183.html

Author :

Publish date : 2026-05-31 12:09:00

Copyright for syndicated content belongs to the linked Source.