17-year-old Andre stoyakovic has a familiar surname and exquisite shooting skill. He has proved that his identity is not just as simple as the so-called “Son of fame”-“I will let everyone call me Andre, not the son of Peja ‘.”
— Inscription
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One morning in the middle of may, in anaheim, california, only a burst of whistles, the sound of buzzer and the sound of sneakers rubbing the floor were heard one after another in a stadium with nine stadiums. A young man whose surname is known to all, the silver cross hanging around his neck dangling. He held a basketball in his hand and stood in the corner of the court away from the camera. He saw several Compton Magic teammates moving towards the camera range.
The 6-foot-7-inch teenager turned a deaf ear to this. He fengshui ball from one end of the court to the other, staring forward blankly. He didn’t smile on his face and didn’t spit out a word on his mouth. He knew very well that he was in the spotlight and was very sensitive to it. Everyone knows his name, and especially after he recently received scholarship invitations from university of kentucky, university of kansas and duke university, everyone now wants to see how outstanding he is.
Sometimes, the judges would wait for a second to remember who he was. They sometimes say, “stoakovic…… Why is this name so familiar?”
At this time, the coach of the Magic team would whisper, “This is the son of Peja stoakovic.” Peya stoakovic is the legendary three-point shooter in Serbia. He spent 13 years in NBA and was a three-time NBA All-Star player. He once served as the main force in the Kings and won the championship in the Mavericks.
The boy in front of him, his name is Andrej. “j” is not pronounced. After the game began, it was obvious that the 17-year-old andre’s playing style was quite different from his famous father. I saw Andre holding the ball on the flank, testing it to the right, and then suddenly took the left Road to break through to the basket. He continued to attack, making people dizzy and dizzy on the court, and skillfully shuttled around the defenders. When he led the ball to the whole game and accelerated to the basket, he left only two shadows of light formed by Adidas sneakers with reddish yellow color matching on his feet.
People didn’t expect Andre to play like this at all. Everyone believed that he would become a shooter who was good at receive the ball, just like his father. However, Andre also has the same soft shooting feel as his father-their shooting points are very high, almost raising the ball over the head and then throwing it out, but Paya’s shooting posture is more exaggerated, more standard. However, Andre is eager to prove to the world that he has more athletic ability and more diverse functions than his father. He has his own unique identity. He is either someone else or himself.
“I am showing every moment that I can do more things.” Andre said.
How can I distinguish myself from my father? This idea has always inspired him. He worked hard to be the best of himself-although he knew that to some extent he was a modern version of his father. His father taught him almost all his life’s learning, such as jump shots, footsteps, and the speed that made him crack the complex attack and defense.
Andre loved his father. He knew very well how lucky he was to have such a close and emotional father. But andre is also very clear about the external awareness of himself. Everyone is underestimating him. In the eyes of others, his story was somehow bound to his father’s story. Moreover, this is indeed the case. However, Andre was eager to write his own story like his father.
“I will prove it to the world. I can do it. I am andre.” He said, “not the son of Peja.”
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The 45-year-old pejia has been retired for 11 years. The last time he took part in basketball affairs was as the deputy general manager of the Kings team. After his old friend Vlad Divac resigned in 2020, he also submitted his resignation one day later. Since then, he and Andre have been inseparable and trained together almost every day. He witnessed his son’s passion and hard work, all of which inspired him to look up to his son and give his son everything.
Andre wanted to leave a deep impression on his father, because his father was his initiator and urged him to succeed. Although his father sometimes made him feel extremely depressed in training and wished to kick the Basketball Without a trace, he still listened attentively and remembered every word his father said. Like many teenagers, he is unwilling to admit these to his father. But Andre found himself secretly chewing his father’s teachings repeatedly:
“You are already lazy in your mind.”
“If you are ambitious but don’t do big things, you will do nothing.”
“Preparations are necessary. It is your duty to spur yourself until you reach your potential.”
In this match in May, Andre did not glance at his father once, but he knew his father was watching him play. Father and son set off from Sacramento’s home almost every weekend and came to Southern California to participate in the league. Peja put one hand in his pocket, one hand leaning against a tall wooden box, wearing gray shorts and dark purple new belun t-shirt, he looked very fond of his father. He hid far away from the stands and left the families of other Magic players far away. Part of the reason is that he is 6 feet 10 inches tall, enough to see everyone. Another more important reason is that he doesn’t want to attract any more unnecessary attention. Andre has been under enough pressure.
“I can see that he wants to open up his own unique path.” Peja said.
Peja was very pleased to watch his son pass the ball once more and try to organize his teammates. But he was restrained and did not applaud or cheer. When his son makes mistakes on the court, he will not shout. He respected Andre’s coaches and knew his position.
But while watching his son’s shooting track, he galloped with many thoughts in his mind. Sometimes he felt an urgent need to shout “tough” at Andre, but he still restrained himself. His son must follow his own path. The following is how he realized this:
Earlier this year, Andre had just begun to play for the Magic. Once when he stepped on the court to prepare for the match, he only heard several opponents shouting, “coach, we want to see what he looks like! We have seen the video, but we want to see the real person with our own eyes!” Andre is in senior high school in Jesuit High School outside Sacramento this year. This is his first time playing AAU tour. His father warned him that opponents might target him because of his surname.
Andre did not reply to his father’s words. Part of the reason is that he became a late bloomer, and his humble character has been rooted in his heart. He has received the invitation from nearly 25 first-class alliance universities, which is an amazing achievement for a general’s 6-foot-high quasi-freshman. Before last season, he was not even the best member of the school team, but last season he soared 6 inches and broke out, becoming a versatile scorer.
In view of Andre’s late success, he did not receive much praise and was never expected to become a star. Therefore, he has never acted like a star. He will not act as if he is better than anyone else. His father never indulged him and never made him feel that he was more special than others just because he was the son of an NBA player.
Andre has realized that he cannot change his background, but he can change his behavior. So he pretended that he could not hear the comments from the outside world and readily faced people’s special expectations for him. He doesn’t need charity and sympathy from others. On the contrary, he became more active. He just wanted to be an excellent basketball player and then he could break into NBA one day.
Because of his attention, he must be extremely professional. He cannot attack others or make mistakes. But he is just a child, a child who likes to go to the beach and eat a kind of Greek baked pasta called pastisio, it is a child who sometimes wants people to know his own life on the other side of basketball.
He is often asked by his classmates whether he feels pressure and whether it is really so difficult to be a star’s son. Andre would prevaricate these questions: “No”.
But when he was alone with basketball, his thoughts would emerge, and the reality began to clasp his heartstrings. “To be honest, it’s really hard.” He said.
So many things happened too fast. Only a year ago, he felt lucky that he could lock in the seat of a NCAA middle and senior division team.
“We know that he is the type that will break out.” Andre’s coach in the Magic, Justin Williams, said. But to this extent? “I don’t think we expected it.”
He is best at shooting after fengshui ball or pushing the conversion attack to complete simple scores. As the son of the legendary three-point shooter peja, he has amazing athletic talent and can finish the separation or end in the inner crowd. He can back himself or face frame singles, almost not in a panic and hurry. His basketball IQ is obviously elite. Commentators appreciated his game vision, mid-distance scoring ability, shooting skills, and the ability to create opportunities without running.
“He will become an NBA player.” Etop-Udu-Emma, founder and CEO of Compton Magic, said, “his athletic ability is far beyond everyone’s understanding. He had many excellent performances in the competition, and many people wanted to say, ‘ah, this is peja’s son’. But this child has his own unique mode of play.”
Udu-Emma further pointed out: “He is really strong…… I really think he will take part in the NBA draft after playing NCAA for one year and become a Lotto show.”
Peja and his wife Alexandra didn’t really want Andre to be engaged in basketball. They don’t want their son to bear the pressure of “the son of Peja. They seldom talk about basketball at home. “Everyone expects him to play basketball.”
Alexandra said, “but we don’t expect it.”
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Andre was born in Thessaloniki, Greece, and spent some Childlife here. Thessaloniki is his mother’s hometown and the place where his father played professional games before entering NBA in 1998. Andre couldn’t understand why people asked his father for signatures in his childhood. During his one-hour trip to school by bus, he would imagine that he would become a football player. In greece, football is far more important than basketball. He is a little fast spirit on the green field with keen intuition.
In 2009, little stoakovich was playing bowling.
Because andre studied in an american school in athens, he was good at english when he came to america. Compared with the economic chaos suffered in Greece, Andre’s greater adjustment is that he has sufficient opportunities in the United States. After arriving at his new home, he also noticed that football here was not so popular. He found that he had never had such sufficient basketball elements around him. He would come to the NBA stadium hours before his father’s game started and learn from the players when they were training.
By middle school, he had been able to rotate in the second-to-second ball game formed by the retired peja and his friends at that time, but he could not really stick to it. He is too thin.
Andre didn’t take basketball seriously until the end of the first year of high school in Jesuit high school. It was almost when the new Crown epidemic began to break out. Andre, who is not tall enough, is not easy to play. His younger sister is taller than him, which makes him feel very discouraged. He will measure his height again and again, hoping that he can have a rapid development.
“He is very, very skilled.” Tim Kelly, the coach of Jesuit High School, said, “but he is too weak and his physical condition is not mature enough to play high enough games.”
So Andre spent the whole day in the power room, always asking Jay naxiongnelis, the sports performance coordinator of Jesuit high school, to have a heavier barbell. The more he plays, the more he accumulates his feelings about basketball matches. He watched different ways of playing in europe and the united states, so he seemed to naturally know how to play smoothly in the attack and how to organize other teammates. “He is very rational when dealing with things.” His basketball skill trainer, “bright” rashid-cann said.
Andre received a university invitation from California State Polytechnic University in his sophomore year. This was the first university invitation he received, but he was not the best player in the team at that time. He did not have a lot of time to hold the ball and did not have the vitality of today. Since then, he has become the first player to come to the stadium for training. Although he was quite different from his father in mode of play, he brought his father’s inner initiative and efforts to the court. When Andre played league matches outside the state, he often asked his coach in the Magic team, “Shall we go to throw a basket for a while?”
“When basketball leaves my fingertips, it is the most wonderful to know the feeling that the ball will enter.” Andre said.
Andre’s body is growing, and his confidence is also growing. Suddenly, Andre was 6 feet 6 inches tall when he was about 16 years old. He could easily jump to rim and dunk freely. He was no longer the child who had to stay at the bottom corner and wait for the ball to hit the last offensive round. “I feel that he has changed.” Reed Jones, his teammate at Jesuit High School, said.
Among many training methods, Andre chose to ask his father to add extra shooting training. “He began to become extremely focused.” MEET U of The Peja family, Drake Yoyo, who worked with Peja in the Kings team and developed full-time players, said.
“When magnesium light focuses on him, he will play a higher level of competition.” You said.
In the last night, andre had to throw 10 perimeter shot from five points in a row, and then left the stadium until downtown did the same thing. Peja picked up the ball for him. Andre easily passed the pass at perimeter shot, and the first four points of the three-point shooting were also successfully completed. But somehow, he couldn’t make it at the last point. This point is three point line arch top.
A staff member of the stadium reminded father and son at least three times that the stadium was going to close. But Andre was unmoved and continued to train. He must finish the training of the last point. But the staff returned to the site and told the father and son that it was time for them to leave.
Andre felt very depressed about himself because he failed to finish the training. Peja then came to comfort her son. “Maybe only 10% of NBA players can complete such training.” He said, “you almost finished this training and can already prove your ability.”
In fact, andre can be completely satisfied because of “almost. But “almost” is not his life Creed, not what his father usually taught him.
“Not enough.” Andre said. He is still full of enthusiasm, even when he is exhausted, he is still full of passion. He went back to the stadium and swore that he would never leave as long as he didn’t finish the training anyway. A word echoed in his ear, as if the ghost whispered: “You are already lazy in your mind.”
Sometimes Andre felt at a loss because it was strange for him and his father to come to a brand new continent. University coaches will call at any time of the day. It is very tiring to take part in recruitment, school, training, travel and other matters well. “This is what some people don’t understand.” Andre said, “they will think that you have received so much attention, how can you not keep loving basketball all the time?”
“After some things are finished, almost one day has passed.” He said. He feels very lucky to have the current situation, because his current situation is what many players dream. When John Calipari of the University of Kentucky called Andre, he couldn’t believe it. What he thought inside was: “What on earth have I done?! I don’t believe I can talk to Coach Calipari!”
Generally speaking, it is not unusual for the top fresh graduates to receive such a call, let alone Kali Parry and Andre’s family, who had already known each other. But Andre still did not adapt to his current success. He buried many university invitations he received and his achievements in his heart and did not want to show off. When his mother learned that he had passed the conversation with a famous college basketball coach, she asked him, “Why didn’t you tell me?!” She wants her son to be happy with what he has achieved now. But at the same time, she could not believe that her son had received so much praise. Reporters have made appointments to interview their family. Mother hopes her son can remain humble.
“He is still only nestling.” She said, “just started to fly.”
Andre is not satisfied with his current standard. He wants to continue to spur himself to become better. Peja will also talk with her son. Peja told him that college coaches would say the same good words to him, and what they said to hundreds of young players was the same. Coaches hope to flatter these players so that they can choose the school they teach. “These (praises) are nothing.” Peja told her son, “Don’t try to be brave with other people’s words.”
Peja said that he did not say these words to belittle his son’s achievements. On the contrary, he felt deeply proud, excited and happy for his son. When I heard Andre was on the phone with the University coach in the next room, he and Alexandra often cheated on themselves. He didn’t want Andre to see this side of himself all the time, because he didn’t want his praise to be printed into his son’s mind. He even less hoped that his son would be depressed because of nothing. He felt that no matter from what angle, nothing was sure to happen to his son.
In spite of this, Peja was moved that his son was about to have the chance to participate in the university league-he had never had the chance to compete in American universities.
When Peja and Andre trained together, they were at home most of the time, speaking Greek. (Andre is trying to learn Serbian to better communicate with grandparents.) Peja was very picky during training and often spoke to his son in an autocratic tone, for example, he told him that he had a 90% hit rate when shooting vacant shots. “If you can’t do it,” Paya said, “then you can’t be called a shooter.”
Once before the end of the training, when Andre couldn’t make 10 three-point goals in a row, Peja demonstrated the ball in hand. “See? It’s not that difficult.” Peja said. Peja has a three-point shot percentage of 40% in his career and won the net blazer championship twice on All-Star weekends. “You should be able to complete this training. Look at me. I’m still wearing casual shirt (just finished at random).”
If Peja thinks that his son is not devoted to something, he will not push his son. Peja was reluctant to participate (in his son’s training) at first. He and Andre’s high school coach said that he didn’t want to put any pressure on Andre. He never wanted to burden his son, but since he found that Andre really loved basketball, he did his best to help his son realize his dream.
“I think Peja is just like other fathers, looking forward to success.” Andre’s godfather Ilias violidis said, “he knows that Andre’s talent is enough to participate in the highest level of basketball games. He tries hard to make his son feel the pressure that NBA players are facing, to spur his son.”
Peja wants his son to understand that preparation is the key to success. He often compared playing basketball to going to school, telling his son that if he had fully studied, he would not be nervous in the exam, and playing basketball was the same.
Peja maintained a delicate balance between urging her son and leaving room for her son. He will care about his son’s affairs, but will not intervene. He provided his son with knowledge, but asked his son to think independently. But for Peja and Andre, there is no precedent for this way of getting along. Peja’s father was not a professional player, and Peja never thought that he could make a living by playing basketball. Everything later was just the result of continuous training. Both he and Andre were exploring how to do their job well at the moment, and the father and son tried to become in tune.
Peja couldn’t help recalling her childhood, which was quite different from her son’s childhood. “I don’t want anyone to experience the childhood I have experienced again.” Peja said.
Yugoslavia disintegrated in 1991, and Peja, who was still a teenager at that time, was forced to leave his hometown-pojga in Croatia. Andre had only heard of some of his father’s the time to live and the time to die, but he couldn’t really feel his father’s mood at that time.
At that time, the pejia family had no residence, no job and most of the property. They could only settle in Belgrade as refugees. Life was not easy. Paya’s parents worked very hard. They did everything they could to ensure that Peja and his brother grew up smoothly. Basketball has become a way for Peja to vent. “As long as I play basketball, I can forget all the difficulties brought to my parents and my family by that disaster.”
Peja’s father knew very well that his son practiced very hard. He often let young Peja go to the school playground to throw a thousand baskets and then go home. Peja is not a late player, but a genius who can stand out from the crowd in the pile of older players. He started playing professional basketball at the age of 15. Peja will feel pressure when playing in front of NBA scouts who come to Greece. Peja always told his son that no matter how much he “did”, it would take a little luck to work.
It is true that professionalism is very important, competition content is very important, and efficiency is also very important. However, pure accidental events are always an indispensable part of things. “You are completely likely to be replaced by other children in another country.” He said to Andre.
Peja envied her son’s maturity in coping with her growing popularity. Even when Peja gives very straightforward advice, he will remember that it is very difficult to accept criticism. His honesty comes from his love for his son. “I used to be a young man, and it was very difficult at that time.” Peja said, “it’s hard for me to listen to negative content about myself, but if I can accept it and try to change it, then these content will become the most useful thing for you.”
At first, Andre did not understand his father’s words. He couldn’t understand why his father asked him to repeat the monotonous training contents over and over again, such as fengshui ball around the cone, dry jump shot, receive the ball shoot behind the arc, etc, practice over and over again.
Sometimes the relationship between father and son was so tense during training that they said nothing on their way home. But in the evening, the father and son “broke the past” and returned to the familiar father-son relationship. Andre now understood the reason why his father asked him to train shooting over and over again. He can achieve the results of training in the competition. Although father and son still have conflicts from time to time, Andre still feels that his professional qualities are beginning to develop.
“The relationship between father and son will not always be perfect.” Peja said.
Sometimes Peja feels that his son is not listening to himself. Sometimes Andre felt that his father didn’t understand himself. Andre didn’t know that sometimes his father would watch his game so far away from three courts. After he finished a beautiful action, he called Youyou excitedly. After calling Yoyo, Peja will call Alexandra: “My God, he played so well!” At that time, pejia’s voice was filled with excitement.
Sometimes Andre would look into the distance after finishing a certain action to see if his father saw the wonderful action just now. Andre would smile at this moment, as if to say, “I know you are watching, right?”
Peja regards this time with his son as a gift. He said that he had the right time to leave the Kings. He could spend more time cultivating Andre and his two younger sons, Mira and Maximo. The 16-year-old Mira plays volleyball, and the 11-year-old Maximo not only practices running but also plays basketball. Peja and Alexandra fully support them to participate in the competition.
“I think it is very important for parents to have time to accompany their children before they leave home for college.” He said, “This is our last chance to pour all of us.”
Original title: Andrej Stojakovic Is spending His Own Path to the NBA
Original Author: Mirin Fader
Published: 2022.06.29
Original link:
https://www.theringer.com/nba/2022/6/29/23185640/andrej-stojakovic-nba
Translator: four Ru Ju Shi
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