California standout Andrej Stojakovic gets an opportunity to perform in front of his former fans when the Golden Bears visit Stanford in an Atlantic Coast Conference men’s basketball rematch Saturday night.
Stojakovic, who transferred from one side of the San Francisco Bay to the other last summer after his freshman season, had 25 points when the Golden Bears (12-14, 5-10) were beaten 89-81 at home by the rival Cardinal (16-10, 8-7) in each’s first-ever ACC game in December.
The son of former NBA star Peja Stojakovic leads Cal in scoring at 17.7 points per game as he’s gotten much more playing time with the Golden Bears (32.3 minutes per game) than last season with the Cardinal (22.3).
The game will feature more than just a Stojakovic homecoming. Mike Montgomery, who had tremendous success as coach both at Stanford and Cal, will be honored before the contest.
The 77-year-old led the Golden Bears to the NCAA Tournament in four of his six seasons at the helm, after having taken the Cardinal — a team that included current Cal coach Mark Madsen — to the Final Four in 1998.
“There’s always going to be some emotion in there,” Madsen said of his own personal homecoming. “I was at Stanford for four years. Just have some great friendships, from the players, teammates, coaches, faculty, other students, other athletes. So I have a lot of great memories there.”
With five games remaining in the regular season, both teams find themselves jockeying for position in the ACC Tournament.
Cal currently sits in 13th place, with only the top 15 earning a spot in the prestigious event.
Stanford ranks seventh, but with only a one-game lead over Georgia Tech, Pittsburgh and Florida State in a battle for a top-nine finish and a first-round bye.
The Cardinal are 53-29 against Cal since the Montgomery era at Stanford began in 1986.
The chance to sweep the rival for the first time in his four-year college career adds to a big night for Stanford star Maxime Raynaud, the ACC’s leading scorer (19.9) and rebounder (11.3), when he plays his third-to-last home game in what coach Kyle Smith calls an unselfish season.
“He’s made it really easy for the others to fall in line,” the first-year Stanford coach noted. “And that’s not always how it goes with your best returning player.”
