Iowa State’s Milan Momcilovic talks about his big game against Kansas State
Iowa State’s Milan Momcilovic talks about his big game against Kansas State
Milan Momcilovic has a vision.
It includes a summer of the type of work it takes to improve upon a hugely successful freshman season for the Iowa State men’s basketball team. That means hours in the gym. It means seemingly endless training sessions. It’s months of sweat, sore muscles and not much else.
After that summer, though, is a winter in which Momcilovic can unleash the shooting prowess that has made him an All-Big 12 candidate and potential NBA draft pick. It also can bring out added dimensions such as agility and playmaking that could make him even more effective.
“I feel like it would unlock a star,” Momcilovic told the Register.
“If I can find a way to do those things, I feel like I would be unguardable.”
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Momcilovic does not lack confidence, and he’s got the game to justify it.
The 6-foot-9 forward from Pewaukee, Wis., averaged 10.9 points per game while shooting 42.4% from the floor and 35.9% from 3-point range. It was enough to be named to the Big 12’s All-Newcomer Team and lift expectations for what he could be as a sophomore for an Iowa State team that is likely to begin the year ranked in the top 10.
“This is a really big summer for Milan,” Iowa State coach T.J. Otzelberger said. “His work ethic this spring, what he’s been doing and the time he’s spent in the gym has been amazing.
“He had a great spring, but it’s really a big summer in terms of the weight room, athletically, how he continues to move without the ball, strength, explosiveness – all those things are going to be really huge.”
Momcilovic’s stats speak to the success he had as a freshman, but they don’t fully encapsulate why there’s a belief he’s poised for an even bigger breakout next season. His offensive success was largely built on making difficult shots, with his long frame, shooting touch and talent allowing him to make some of the hardest looks in basketball – mid-range 2s with a defender on him – at a high clip.
“He shot 52, 53% on 2-point field goals away from the rim, which is amazing,” Otzelberger said. “It speaks to his touch and his ability to make hard shots. But we definitely need to find ways to get him easy baskets.
“Trying to continue to work with him, give him solutions to how we can get efficiency and production without him having to work so hard for it.”
Momcilovic is almost working backward in that regard. He’s mastered some of the PhD-level offensive moves but can make major leaps in some of the more fundamental areas of the game, like playmaking, coming off screens and having a quicker trigger in transition.
To get there, Momcilovic is dedicating the bulk of his summer to improving his physical assets.
“The agility, the lateral speed, the quickness, sprints, vertical, all that good stuff just because I think that’s going to help me so much in my game,” he said. “Whether that’s on the defensive end guarding someone, getting more rebounds, jumping higher, finishing at the rim better. All those things need to improve to go to the next level, and they need to improve to help the team out.
“Those are the No. 1 priority right now.”
Iowa State will open the 2024-25 campaign as a national-title contender after going 29-8, winning the Big 12 Tournament and advancing to the Sweet 16 last season. They’ll return one of the best backcourts in the country with guards Tamin Lipsey, Keshon Gilbert and Curtis Jones, and they will welcome a strong class of transfers and recruits.
What could help separate the Cyclones, though, is a weapon like Momcilovic that few teams can match with his size and shooting.
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“We do have big goals,” Momcilovic said. “We want to be a Final Four team. We want to win the national championship. We want to win the Big 12.
“Getting better in this offseason for my team and doing everything I can so when I come in the summer, I’m locked in, I’m prepared, because I don’t want the way last year ended to happen again.”
That size and skill combination also makes Momcilovic a serious NBA prospect.
“They told me I had a chance to get drafted late in the second (round) this year,” Momcilovic said of his NBA feedback, “but I think it wasn’t a very great chance.”
So a return to college basketball could pay major dividends for Momcilovic in terms of his future professional career.
“Definitely got to take it one day at a time,” Otzelberger said, “and at the same time, when you’re his size and you shoot the ball the way he does, have the basketball IQ and the understanding of how the game’s supposed to go, there’s a pathway for guys like that.”
The urgency to make good on that potential aligns with Iowa State’s push to capitalize on what is likely to be their highest preseason ranking since the 2015-16 squad opened at No. 7.
“Really excited to get back in June this year because we know how good we are now,” Momcilovic said. “We know what we’re going to be working for this year.”
Travis Hines covers Iowa State University sports for the Des Moines Register and Ames Tribune. Contact him at thines@amestrib.com or (515) 284-8000. Follow him on X at @TravisHines21.