Cal basketball’s leading scorer and son of NBA legend enters transfer portal

Cal basketball is losing its leading scorer from the past season, who is also the son of a legendary NBA three-point shooter. The Golden Bears are coming off a trying first year in the ACC. In head coach Mark Madsen’s second season in charge, the team finished 14-19 and 6-14 in conference play. One of the highlights of this stretch was the development and production of Stanford transfer Andrej Stojakovic. The son of Sacramento Kings great Peja Stojakovic, Andrej showed every bit of his McDonald’s All-American potential this past season.

The 6’7 shooting guard has had several standout performances while leading the team with 17.9 points per game. Stojakovic was subsequently named an All-ACC Honorable Mention selection and one of the most improved players in the country. Unfortunately, the 20-year-old is on the way out.

According to On3 National Basketball Reporter Joe Tipton, Stojakovic has entered the transfer portal with a “Do Not Contact” tag. It’s a tough blow to a Golden Bears program that is trying to regain its status as an NCAA Tournament contender. Cal basketball has not made The Big Dance since 2016 when Cuonzo Martin was in charge. Since then, the program has fallen on tough times.

Mark Madsen, a former two-time NBA champion with the Los Angeles Lakers, comes in after a successful tenure at Utah Valley. The Walnut Creek, California native led the Wolverines to a 28-9 record in his fourth year in charge. Madsen has seen minimal progress in his two years at Berkeley, but that is somewhat to be expected, given the program’s transition to a new conference.

While the ACC was uneven overall this past year, the combination of facing unfamiliar teams and the loaded travel schedule made it difficult for all of these West Coast schools. Madsen will ultimately need to get busy, specifically in the transfer portal, to rebuild his team. Stojakovic enters the transfer portal as one of the top remaining players now, and there’s a good chance that a major program like Kentucky or North Carolina picks him up.

Looking at this situation more positively,  Stojakovic’s improvement in Berkeley is a positive reflection of Madsen as a coach. Cal basketball should continue to attract talented players because of these types of player development success stories. Overall, it might take a few more years for this program to become an NCAA Tournament contender again. However, as long as next year’s group shows some steady progress, Madsen is likely the right man to lead the Golden Bears in the ACC Conference.