Momcilovic Ready to Bring Potent Offensive Game to Kentucky
At times last season, the Kentucky men’s basketball team struggled to make three-point shots. So, when the portal opened during the offseason, UK head coach Mark Pope targeted the nation’s top three-point shooter from last season, Milan Momcilovic.
At Iowa State last season, Momcilovic became the first player to lead the nation in three-pointers made (136) and three-point percentage (.487) in the same season. He led the Cyclones in scoring at 16.9 points per game and he tested the NBA Draft waters before deciding to stay in college and to transfer to Kentucky.
Momcilovic already has a comfort level with Pope. He believes that the two are absolutely on the same page.
“I think it’s obviously crucial to have that confidence and I can have confidence in coach and he can have confidence in me,” Momcilovic said. “Any shot, shoot (it). I don’t have to worry about shot selection. I know I have confidence where I can go out and shoot any shot and he’ll be fine with it.”
While Momcilovic is known for his three-point shooting, he’s actually hoping to get more opportunities at the rim this season.
“I’m hoping this year, I can get some easy twos,” he said. “I think that’s going to open my game a lot more. It’s going to make it easier on myself. So, if I can get any kind of cuts, layups, floaters. If I can get that going a little bit, I feel like it’s going to make me average a couple of more points.”
Momcilovic believes that practicing makes him a better shooter. However, that doesn’t mean shooting just for the sake of getting up shots. It’s not necessarily about the number of shots he gets up, but the quality of the shots he takes in practice.
“I would say now, more than anything, is what you do in the gym,” Momcilovic said. “It’s not about the quantity of what you do. It’s about the quality. I see a lot of people nowadays going to the gym and try to just get up as many shots as they can. I think you should really have a goal. Go make 100 shots but do it with a purpose. Do game shots, not just shoot 500 stationary shots.”
Momcilovic has been playing the game, and shooting at a high level, for a long time now. He admits that he knows whether the shot is going in as soon as it leaves his hands.
“Yeah, I have a good feeling of if it’s going in or not,” Momcilovic said.
The addition of the nation’s best shooter from last season will make the Kentucky offense even more dynamic this year, and Momcilovic will be looking to add to his already potent arsenal this season.
