Every day that passes without a decision from Andrej Stojakovic is making the situation around the Illinois Fighting Illini basketball team feel more uncomfortable.
At first, this entire process seemed straightforward. Stojakovic announced he planned to return to Illinois for another season, giving fans hope that the Illini were building a legitimate national championship contender for 2026-27. Then came the NBA Draft declaration. Then the combine. Then the waiting.
Now, with the May 27 withdrawal deadline approaching fast, Illinois fans are stuck in a strange place where almost everyone around basketball appears to agree on what should happen, except the one person who still has not publicly made the decision.
NBA executives just said the quiet part out loud
According to Jeff Goodman of the Field of 68, he recently asked 10 NBA executives whether Stojakovic should stay in the NBA Draft or return to college.
The result was brutal in its clarity.
All 10 executives reportedly said he should go back to Illinois.
Not nine out of 10.
All 10.
That level of consensus is rare, especially for a player with Stojakovic’s pedigree and offensive talent. But it also reflects what scouts have been hinting at throughout the pre-draft process.
The concerns are not difficult to identify.
Stojakovic shot just 24.4 percent from three-point range last season, and reports from the combine suggested perimeter shooting drills did not necessarily quiet those concerns. Defensively, while he improved late in the season, there are still questions about how his game currently translates to NBA spacing and athleticism.
That does not make him a bad player. Far from it.
It simply means the jump from high-level college basketball to the NBA is still enormous.
Illinois knows exactly how much is at stake here
This is not just another draft decision. If Stojakovic returns, Illinois immediately enters next season with legitimate Big Ten title and Final Four expectations. His downhill scoring ability, physicality and offensive creation would make him one of the conference’s defining stars.
Without him, the ceiling changes.
That is why the silence feels heavier now than it did a few weeks ago.
The longer this drags out, the more it feels like Illinois fans are bracing themselves emotionally for a decision they desperately do not want to hear. Even though signs continue pointing toward a return, the uncertainty itself is becoming exhausting for a fan base that already started celebrating his comeback once before.
The draft process may have already done its job
To be fair, going through the NBA Draft process was absolutely the correct move for Stojakovic. Players should gather feedback. They should test themselves against NBA competition. They should learn exactly where they stand professionally before making life-changing decisions.
And honestly, Stojakovic may have already gained exactly what he needed from this process. The feedback appears clear. Improve the jumper. Continue developing defensively. Come back and dominate another college season.
If that happens, his NBA outlook in 2027 could look completely different. But until the final announcement actually comes, Illinois basketball remains trapped in this strange waiting game where every hour without news somehow feels louder than the last one.
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