Stanford among the final four schools for five-star Andrej Stojakovic
The Stanford basketball team received great news on Wednesday after Andrej Stojakovic announced his final four schools.
The five-star and Carmichael, California native cut two schools from his list as both Duke and Virginia did not make the cut. The 6-foot-6, 185-pound small forward is now only considering UCLA, Texas, Stanford and Oregon.
In an interview with 247Sports, Stojakovic explained that he does not have a specific date in mind, but he does hope to have a decision made before the early signing period begins on November 9th.
He also opened up about where he stands with each program, and it sounds like Stanford is making a major push:
They're probably recruiting me the hardest and they are recruiting me the hardest out of the four. Coach Ehsan and I have a really close relationship. Isa Silva is my neighbor so I get to see him frequently and it's just one of those schools where it's a 'Plan A' for basketball and a 'Plan A' academically so you're setting up a lifetime of success when you go there and you can't go wrong."
He also explained in a past interview with On3 what he is looking for in a school:
“I will be looking for a healthy environment to help me grow as a player and a person,” Stojakovic said. “Most of my family is overseas and would love to come to watch me play. I want to go somewhere that would be easy for my family to get to. A good ratio of academics and basketball. My goal is to make the NBA, so I want to look heavily at the school that can best help me get there.”
Stojakovic is planning to visit both Stanford and UCLA one more time prior to making his decision, which will give the Cardinal one final chance to make a surge for a commitment.
Landing Stojakovic, who ranks as the No. 21 player in the 247Sports Composite Rankings would be a major addition to Stanford's class which currently holds a commit from five-star guard Kanaan Carlyle. It would likely give Stanford some of the best perimeter players that the program has seen in recent memory.
The Cardinal will need to continue to push hard for his services, as UCLA is viewed as the favorite at the moment.