Cal transfer Andrej Stojakovic commits to Illinois
April 28 - Former Cal guard Andrej Stojakovic committed to Illinois on Monday.
Stojakovic, the son of former Sacramento Kings All-Star Peja Stojakovic, made the announcement in a post to X. He chose the Illini over North Carolina and Stanford.
"They really believe I'm the missing piece to what they think is a national championship team," he told ESPN.
Stojakovic spent his freshman year at Stanford before transferring to Bay Area rival Cal for 2024-25.
A former five-star high school recruit, Stojakovic's numbers rose sharply with the Golden Bears, as he averaged 17.9 points and 4.7 rebounds per game in 29 games (28 starts). He was named to the All-ACC Tournament team.
In 61 games (38 starts) between Stanford and Cal, the 6-foot-7 guard has career averages of 12.6 points and 4.0 rebounds per contest. Previous suitors included Texas, UCLA and Oregon.
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The Herald Scotland
an hour ago
- The Herald Scotland
Caitlin Clark's new Wilson basketballs reveal who she is as a person
The colors, the patterns, the detailing -- all are the result of months-long conversations between Clark and Wilson's design team about who she is, what she likes and what messages she wants to send to young fans. "It was a really fun process for me to go through," Clark told USA TODAY Sports. "It's things that are super important to me and all very different things, too, throughout my life. So hopefully they can make an impact on whoever's going to pick the ball up." Clark joined Michael Jordan as the only athletes to be brand ambassadors for Wilson, signing a multiyear sponsorship deal in May 2024 with the official manufacturer of basketballs for the WNBA, NBA and NCAA. In part because of the short turnaround time before the release of her first signature ball last October, Clark's first line leaned heavily into history. The records she broke at Iowa. Her historic rookie season with the WNBA's Indiana Fever. But Clark and Wilson knew they wanted future lines to be more personal, reflecting who Clark is as a person as much as a player. "She's actually influencing this. It's not just people at Wilson picking the design," Hudson Vantrease, director of product design at Wilson, said. "We never wanted to just put her name on a ball and call it a day," he added. "We want to tell the most compelling story, and having her as part of that is a positive to it." Wilson invited USA TODAY Sports to attend the design team meeting in April where Clark saw the finished basketballs for the first time. The design team also gave USA TODAY Sports a behind-the-scenes look at the collaboration process with Clark for the latest collection, which will be released June 23. There are four balls in the collection, and they differ in both purpose (one is an indoor-only ball, one is outdoor-only and two can be used either indoors or outdoors) and price point. One, the Embrace, is an Evo NXT basketball, meaning it has the same construction as a regulation W ball and could be used in official games. "Awesome. Awesome, awesome, awesome," Clark said when she walked into the Indiana Fever's practice gym and saw the four new basketballs. "You guys killed it." The team responsible for developing Clark's line has about a dozen core members. They met with Clark at last year's All-Star Game and got her initial thoughts about the collection, including what a young Caitlin Clark would have wanted. "I think she said a blue ball," said Haley Reines, the product line manager at Wilson. Afterward, Reines and product designer Julia Muscarello sent Clark a detailed questionnaire, asking her everything from her favorite color (blue) to her hobbies outside of basketball (golf, being on the water) to what she'd be if she wasn't a basketball player (chef). They also monitored social media, taking note of Clark's clothes -- there's an Instagram account devoted to her fits -- and what she does off the court. "I don't want to say borderline stalking, but yeah," Muscarello said with a laugh. "I was trying to stay on the Caitlin pulse." Those answers and details drove the design process, which involved "hundreds" of hours. Christopher Rickert, the senior director of global production at Wilson, said the team began with 50 design ideas and whittled them down. Sometimes the color wasn't right. Sometimes the pattern didn't work. Sometimes what seemed like a great idea on paper didn't quite translate into reality. When the team had 10 ideas, they sent the designs to Clark for her thoughts. There were further tweaks, and prototypes were made to make sure the designs looked the same on an actual basketball as they did in drawings. The four designs ultimately chosen for this year's line all have very different looks, but there's a commonality to all of them. Clark. "Whenever I do something, I want to make it the best product possible for people. But also I feel like this is an easy way for me to connect with my fans," Clark said of being so involved in the design process. "I want it to feel very personal for them, too. They can connect with me, not just by watching me on TV or coming and buying a ticket to a game." Take the Oasis ball, which can be used indoors and outdoors. Clark told Reines and Muscarello that her favorite color is blue, she likes pastels and her happy places are the water and golf course. So the panels of the Oasis ball are white and light blue, and the light blue panels have what looks like pink and green splashes of paint but is actually an abstract drawing of a golf course. Clark picked up on it right away when she saw the ball. "That looks like a hole on a golf course!" she exclaimed. Light blue is also the shade used for the pattern on the Envision, an outdoor ball. At first glance, it looks like a maze, but it's really the words "DREAM BIG." That phrase is also on the Aspire, an indoor/outdoor ball that at first appears to be white or grey. Put it in the sunlight, however, and the phrases "Dream Big," "Keep Going" and "You're Going to Be Amazing Because You Are Amazing" emerge in bold, Fever-red letters. That last phrase is what Clark says to Boston before every game. "See, she loves it!" Clark said, pointing to a picture of her and Boston on the bench that was on the design team's planning whiteboard. "We'll get her a free basketball. She'll love it. I'm going to put it in her locker." Because the Embrace is an official basketball, it cannot have any obvious detailing. Look closely, though, and you can see a pattern -- again, light blue -- within the Wilson logo and in what looks like a sunburst around the airhole. Both are the visual representation of the decibel level at a Fever game; the Wilson team took an audio file of the sound and made a graphic out of it. "Fans really admire how she just plays so well under pressure," Muscarello said. "Sometimes it's OK to embrace the noise." Though Clark had been involved in every step of the design process, seeing the basketballs on a computer screen is very different than holding the finished product. Clark picked up each of the basketballs and examined it, taking note of the different details. She spun each ball and shifted it from one hand to the other. She also studied the design team's white boards, pointing to some of the notes and photos. Though she initially seemed most taken by the Oasis ball, she was fascinated with the Envision's UV technology and said she'd have loved to have had a basketball that revealed "secret" messages when she was a kid. She also was impressed that Wilson's design team was able to turn a decibel meter reading into a design. "They're all unique in their own way. They all have different things I love about them," Clark said. "I think they each serve their own purpose and are different. "So I guess you have to buy 'em all!" she added, laughing. While there will be some fans who buy the whole collection, whether to use or keep as memorabilia, Clark was conscious of not pricing any fans out of the new line. Two of the balls are less than $50, with the outdoor Envision ball costing $27.95 and the Oasis indoor ball priced at $49.95, while the Aspire outdoor ball is $54.95. The Embrace, which is Wilson's premium Evo NXT basketball, costs $124.95. All the balls will be available on Wilson's website and at retail sporting goods stores. Last year's collection sold out almost immediately and, given the appetite for all things Clark, it's a good bet this one will, too. "It's kind of cool to see how the balls came back and they feel very `me,'" Clark told USA TODAY Sports. "That's what I love about it. I feel like I'm sharing part of my life and my journey with people. "I could have never dreamed (as a child) to have something like this," she added. "It's pretty special." Follow USA TODAY Sports columnist Nancy Armour on social media @nrarmour.
Daily Mail
16 hours ago
- Daily Mail
Chicago Sky ripped for dramatic walk-on before blowout loss to Indiana Fever without Caitlin Clark
The Chicago Sky have been ripped on social media for their dramatic walk-on to the court before being blown out by the Caitlin Clark-less Indiana Fever on Saturday afternoon. The Sky choreographed their entrance onto the United Center floor, for an enlarged crowd due to the Fever being in town. The home crowd watched an uncompetitive game as the Sky lost by 27 with Clark, the Fever's best player, never touching the floor. Chicago's roster was heard chanting 'Chi-Town, are you ready?' and 'Hey move that s*** out the way' as they strolled out to the hardwood before the 79-52 defeat. The choreography also included a freeze moment where Angel Reese was at the center of the group before scoring only four points. Fan backlash against the Sky has been intense, as they sit at 2-5 and out of the WNBA 's playoff picture. Chi-Town, are you ready⁉️ The Sky are locked in as they aim to defend home court vs. the Fever. IND-CHI on CBS | WNBA Commissioner's Cup presented by @coinbase — WNBA (@WNBA) June 8, 2025 The Chicago Sky have been ripped on social media for their dramatic walk-on to the court The routine occurred before a 27-point loss to the Fever where the team was not competitive 'Maybe they should spend more time focusing on scoring more points and less time on the pregame shenanigans if they want to be taken seriously,' one fan said. 'They should've stayed in the locker room - used all their energy here instead of in the blowout loss,' a second added. Things are not looking up for the Sky either, as they return to action on Tuesday night on the road against the undefeated New York Liberty. The Fever and Sky will not have their third meeting of the season until July 27, where Clark will presumably be healthy and get to be back on the court against Reese. From the first game this season between the teams last month, Reese had to be restrained after Clark knocked her down and caused her to spill the ball moments after she grabbed an offensive rebound near the end of the third quarter. As tempers hit boiling point, Clark turned her back and walked away as players from both teams got between the two to stop things spilling over. Reese then walked to the side of the court where a Sky official stepped in front of her to try and get her to cool her temper. That led to a racism investigation from the league into Indiana's fans, which found no wrongdoing.
NBC News
a day ago
- NBC News
'Throw all the punches': The blueprint that helped the Thunder even the NBA Finals
OKLAHOMA CITY — To reach the NBA Finals and stunningly steal its opening game, the Indiana Pacers against all odds repeatedly shot better, and defended harder, in clutch situations. It was a perfect storm. They could replicate none of it Sunday in Game 2, however, because Oklahoma City has evened the series at one game apiece by unleashing what amounted to a perfect swarm. And it could be the Thunder's blueprint to a championship. "No one-man show," Oklahoma City star Shai Gilgeous-Alexander said, "can win an NBA championship." Its 123-107 win inside Paycom Center, in which it led by as many as 23 points in the first half and smothered every nascent Indiana comeback attempt in the fourth quarter, wasn't just the product of receiving a more efficient game from Gilgeous-Alexander, the league's most valuable player. After scoring 38 points but needing 30 shots to do it in Game 1, he finished with 34 points on 21 attempts Sunday. On this night, Oklahoma City built a double-digit lead for a second consecutive game, and sustained it — something playoff opponents have rarely done against Indiana — while showing the full capability of the NBA's deepest roster. After scoring four points in Game 1, starting center Chet Holmgren scored 15. Jalen Williams, the All-Star wing largely held in check in Game 1, had 19 points thanks to an aggressive plan that led to nine free-throw attempts. Most telling was how even reserves Alex Caruso (20 points) and Aaron Wiggins (18) finished with more scoring than any Pacer. Even when Kenrich Williams, a forward whose playing time has fluctuated, entered for just eight minutes, Oklahoma City outscored Indiana by 15. Gilgeous-Alexander didn't feel a need to force his shots on Sunday, assisting six different teammates. 'They play a full 48 minutes, and you can't just throw the first punch,' Gilgeous-Alexander said. 'You're gonna try to throw all the punches, all night.' Defensively, Oklahoma City largely made Indiana star guard Tyrese Haliburton invisible for the first three quarters, by having "a lot of different guys who can guard the ball, fly around," Haliburton said. Both Oklahoma City and Indiana are reflective of the modern NBA, where rules governing the league's salary cap have turned teams away from the model of the past decade of signing two and sometimes three major stars and assembling a roster top-heavy with talent, and toward a model based on depth. Oklahoma City showed in Game 2 just how effective, and aggressive, that depth can be on both sides of the ball. If Indiana has authored multiple improbable comebacks by wearing opponents down, Oklahoma City returned the favor. Its kids — with an average age of 25, this is the second-youngest roster to make the Finals — have proven to be quick learners. The Thunder are now 12-2 after a loss this season. 'It would be easy to just say that one thing looked better tonight, but that would be oversimplifying,' coach Mark Daigneault said. 'I think we were just a little bit better in a lot of different areas of execution, of pace ... organization, decision-making in the paint, aggressiveness at the basket, gathering the ball. We just were a tick forward in all those areas.' The Thunder used the same starting lineup, with just one big man, as three days earlier but adjusted by choosing to play bigger players across all of its positions throughout every lineup, which Daigneault saw as an adjustment after his team grabbed 17 fewer rebounds than Indiana in Game 1. In Game 2, Oklahoma City won the rebounding battle by eight. For the first time this series, Oklahoma City played both of its big men, Holmgren and Isaiah Hartenstein, together for four minutes, and outscored Indiana by four points. The size and attention to detail helped the Thunder contain one of Indiana's most reliable plays, the pick-and-roll, to stop the Pacers' screen-setting big men from finding open room to shoot beyond the 3-point line. And their constant defensive movement, whether running man-to-man defense or a 2-3 zone, also blunted Indiana's ability to drive. "As you've seen they have a swarm mentality, keep everybody out of the paint," Pacers center Myles Turner said. "They sell out to the paint. They are willing to give up a multitude of shots, 3, mid-range, whatever it is, so we don't get in the paint. Now it's just about making a decision, get in there."
