Cal's Andrej Stojakovic Scores 31 Points With His Name Misspelled on His Jersey

Bears end their three-game losing streak by beating Northwestern State, a member of the Southland Conference

Cal coach Mark Madsen / Kyle Terada-Imagn Images

Cal may not be able spell Andrej Stojakovic's name yet, but the Bears are learning he can put up big numbers.

Wearing a jersey that had his name spelled Stojajovic (an extra J where the K should be) on the back, Stojakovic poured in a career-high 31 points to help Cal end a three-game losing streak in the Bears' 84-66 victory over Northwestern State Saturday afternoon at Haas Pavilion.

Stojakovic noticed the misspelling just before the team came out for its final pregame warmup. At that point he was told he could either keep the jersey with the misspelling or wear a blank jersey. He opted to have his name be Stojajovic for this one game.

"I don't know what happened, but I guess it worked today," he said.

Athletes are known to be superstitious, so would he consider keeping the jersey with the misspelling?

"I want to fix it," he said. "It's my name."

His name is also his father's name, and former NBA star Peja Stojakovic is a tough critic of his son, who believes his father's advice has helped him be the player he is. The elder Stojakovic attended Saturday's game, as he does most Cal games, and Andrej expects to get an earful from him about Saturday's game.

"When I started taking basketball seriously a couple of years ago, he's been my harshest critic," Stojakovic said of his father. "I appreciate that from him. Even like tonight when I had a good game he'll still tell me all the things I did wrong and not mention a single nice thing. It's how he raised me."

Cal coach Mark Madsn called Peta Stojakovic "a basketball savant," so he knows what he's talking about.

One thing is clear. Stojakovic is a much more productive player this season as a Cal sophomore than he was as a Stanford freshman last year after being a high school McDonald's All-American.

Saturday's game was a prime example of his all-around skills. He shot 10-for-14 from the floor, including 4-for-6 on three-pointers. He also collected seven rebounds, four assists and three blocks with one turnover.

He's now averaging 19.9 points on 46.4% shooting, including 36.2% on three-pointers. Compare that to the 7.8 points he averaged at Stanford last year when shot 40.9% from the field and 32.7% on three-pointers. The fact that he is averaging 32 minutes of playing time this year compared with 22 minutes last season is part of it, but Stojakovic mentions the confidence that Cal's coaches have instilled in him as a factor.

"Allow me to go out there and play freely and through mistakes," he said.

Cal (7-4) was a 16.5-point favorite in Saturday's game against the Southland Conference team from Louisiana, but the Bears needed it after losing consecutive games to Missouri, Stanford and Cornell, the last two at home.

Northwestern State (4-6) stayed with Cal for a while, trailing by just three points at halftime. But Cal took charge early in the second half. A three-pointer by Joshua Ola-Joseph in the first minute of the second half made it a six-point game and started an 11-2 run that put the Bears ahead by 12 at the 17:06 mark.

Cal extended its lead to 16 points midway through the second half, and Northwestern State never seriously threatened. The Bears shot 52.8% from the floor, including 61.4% in the second half.

Cal freshman Jeremiah Wilkinson added 18 points, with 16 of those coming in the seond half, and Ola-Joseph piched in with 13.

INURY UPDATE: BJ Omot missed his seventh straight game with an injury, and DJ Campbell sat out his second straight game.  Omot started two of the four games he played, but has not played in a game since. Campbell started the first four games of the season but has played only three minutes since then.

Madsen expects Campbell, who has a groin injury, to be back soon, but that is not the case for Omot. Madsen said Omot is likely to be sidelined "for a while."

Is he out for the season?

"I hope not," Madsen said.

Follow Cal Sports Report on Twitter: @jakecurtis53

Find Cal Sports Report on Facebook by going to https://www.facebook.com/si.calsportsreport