Film Room: Milan Momcilovic

It sure feels good to write this article. There have certainly been some trials and tribulations this offseason for the Kentucky Wildcats. Donnie Freeman and Rob Wright were high profile transfers that ultimately ended up elsewhere. Tyran Stokes was obviously an entire saga that did not end well for the ‘Cats. The pursuit of Stokes also cost Kentucky other Class of 2026 prospects along the way. Ultimately, Zyon Hawthorne and Mason Williams are the only incoming freshmen. Landing what amounts to a preferred walk-on who already has a brother on the team and the son of an assistant coach didn’t exactly calm any concerns about Coach Pope’s recruiting abilities. However, a lot of that can at least temporarily be put to bed with the addition of Milan Momcilovic.

The addition of Momcilovic is massive for Kentucky for a myriad of reasons. First and foremost, he is an outstanding basketball player. Momcilovic averaged a team-leading 16.9 points per game at Iowa State while shooting an incredible 136-279 (48.7%) from three-point range. The 6’8″ forward earned Second Team All-Big 12 honors as well. His impact on the rest of the roster is very important too. He is the perfect fit alongside more ball dominant playmakers in Zoom Diallo and Alex Wilkins. They each will benefit from playing with the best shooter in college basketball. Malachi Moreno and Kam Williams are also clear beneficiaries. Finally, Coach Pope and Big Blue Nation needed a big recruiting win. Milan Momcilovic single-handily solved a lot of problems for the Kentucky Wildcats.

As always, we’ve been hard at work in the KSR Film Room breaking down Kentucky’s latest addition. Coach Pope and company saved the best for last. After withdrawing from the NBA Draft just a few hours before the deadline on Wednesday, May 27th, Momcilovic chose Lexington as his next college basketball destination around 10:00 p.m. ET on Monday, June 1st. It was a long, winding road to get there but the end result was well worth the wait for Big Blue Nation. The ‘Cats now have the best shooter in college basketball to play alongside a pair of dynamic playmakers in the backcourt and, potentially, one of the best returning centers in the country. Let’s dive on in and take a closer look at Milan Momcilovic’s game.

Making the Defense Pay – Applying Constant Mental Pressure

In reality, the only way you can play effective defense on Milan Momcilovic is to face-guard him every second he is on the floor. First of all, that is easier said than done due to the way he works off of screening action. Secondly, that is not a realistic strategy when there are other good players on the floor. However, when you choose to do anything aside from putting your full focus on taking him away is when he starts to get hot. He will make you pay for going under or up through every single time. If you help he will make you pay. If you fly at him he will side step and bury one after a rhythm dribble. All five defenders have to constantly be thinking about Momcilovic’s presence. That is a lot of mental pressure that builds up over the course of a game.

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Even the best defenses in college basketball have breakdowns multiple times per game. Milan Momcilovic is a guy that sits at the top of every scouting report. It gets driven home throughout film study, walk-through, and all personnel discussions that he is an elite shooter. Chase, go over, no help, stay tight, etc. There is never going to be a scenario where the opposing game plan isn’t largely built around taking him away from three-point range. However, breakdowns occur. You will eventually get caught going up through a downscreen like St. John’s did in this clip. When that time comes Momcilovic will make you pay. It is that simple.

Every coaching staff in America is going to tell their defense to stay home and not help off of #22 Momcilovic. However, every single game there will be defenders help off of him. Having dynamic playmakers like Zoom Diallo and Alex Wilkins will make that urge even tougher for opposing defenses. If you let those guys operate one-on-one all game long both of them are talented enough to score enough to win the game. As soon as you start stuffing the gap though it will result in easy, inside-out, catch-and-shoot three-pointers for Momcilovic.

There are so many unique ways that you can utilize a shooter like Momcilovic. Coach Pope’s creative offensive mind should have a ton of fun this offseason scheming up ways to get him open shots. Having him ghost ballscreens to a pop was one way he got a lot of open looks at Iowa State. Ghosting, or slipping, that screen puts so much pressure on the defense’s communication. If you don’t stay completely attached to Momcilovic he is going to make the shot on the pop.

Scoring Via Zoom Action – Easy Transition to Kentucky’s Scheme

Whether you are evaluating high school prospects or transfer portal additions seeing how the skills translate is a big part of the process. Obviously, there are no questions about Milan Momcilovic’s skills translating to Kentucky. Every team in the country would be thrilled to add the best shooter in college basketball. However, there are even more reasons to expect a smooth transition to Lexington for the Iowa State transfer. The Cyclones ran a good deal of Zoom Action offensively which will likely once again be the core of Kentucky’s offensive scheme. Momcilovic is a constant threat regardless of whether he is the screener, cutter, or passer. It will be fun to get to watch him operate in the Wildcats’ Zoom Action offense in 2026-2027.

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There is definitely an urge to switch as he comes off of the downscreen and receives the handoff. If you step out aggressively enough you can probably be there to contest better than if you chased him. However, this is where his size comes into play once again. At 6’8″, even with an opposing center switching out onto him, Momcilovic is able to get a pretty clean look at the basket while moving to his left. He ended up converting the four-point play in this clip. There simply isn’t much you can do defensively.

Even against one of the best defensive teams in the country Momcilovic was able to get loose via Zoom Action. Houston’s Milos Uzan defended the action about as well as he possibly could. However, the 6’8″ forward once against used his size to create a little space with the shoulder bump off of the dribble and then rise up over Uzan for a clean look. Momcilovic, per Synergy, shot 49.3% from three-point range off of the dribble last season.

If you go underneath the handoff as Milan Momcilovic comes off he is going to make you pay. This clip could have just as easily played in the previous category. As soon as he reads that his defender is going under he knows he is supposed to shoot it. There is even so much space in this clip that he is able to use a rhythm dribble to create even more separation from his defender. You should expect to see shots like this a lot at Kentucky in 2026-2027.

A lot of this film breakdown will focus on Milan Momcilovic putting the ball in the basket. That is obviously his best, most well known, skill. However, his elite shooting prowess does open up the ability for him to do some other things. As Momcilovic receives the handoff in this clip you can see the secondary defender, Arizona State’s center, step up aggressively to try and take away the three-point shot. That aggressive decision, which was necessary to deter the three-point attempt, opened up the roll man for an easy dunk.

Scoring Inside the Arc – Mid-Post, Back Cuts, Attacking Closeouts

When you make 136 three-point shots at a 48.7% clip there isn’t much room left to do much else. However, Milan Momcilovic can do more than “just” shoot from beyond the arc. Per Synergy, Momcilovic graded out as “excellent” in post-up situations, finished in the 99th percentile of points per possession via layups while shooting 78.4% at the rim, and averaged over two points per possession as a cutter. Due to how aggressively defenders will play him on the perimeter there are opportunities for him to attack closeouts or burn off pressure with a backcut. He also has the patented Dirk Nowitzki fadeaway in his bag from the mid-post. Momcilovic is rightfully known as a shooter, but he truly an all-around scorer.

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Anytime a defender gets caught in a closeout situation against Milan Momcilovic they will essentially fly at him. That opens up a lot of driving lanes for the 6’8″ forward. In this clip you see him get downhill to his left hand and finishing through a good deal of contact. This is where his physical size comes into play as well. It is much easier to finish this layup at 6’8″ than it would be at 6’4″.

There is absolutely nothing you can do about this shot as a defender. Dirk Nowitzki rode this shot all of the way to the Hall of Fame. At 6’8″, Momcilovic has similar success with the fadeaway jump shot over his right shoulder. It is completely unguardable.

It is such a luxury offensively to be able to simply clear out a side, throw the ball to Momcilovic, and allow him to make this shot. Obviously, it won’t go in every time, but it is a high percentage shot for him considering there is absolutely nothing the defense can do to stop it. His presence on the floor opens up so many options offensively.

Earlier we watched several clips of Milan Momcilovic working off of Zoom Action into a three-point shot. Here is an example of the counter to that. Defenses are obviously going to over play him and try to stay attached. However, what that does is open up the back cut. It wasn’t utilized a ton at Iowa State, but with Coach Pope’s emphasis on cutting it would be reasonable to expect to see Momcilovic have more success as a cutter at Kentucky.

Shooting on the Move – Elite Footwork and Balance

If you could isolate just the release of all 163 three-point shots that Milan Momcilovic made as a junior at Iowa State they would look nearly identical. Whether he is moving left or right, running the floor in transition, ghosting into a pop, or anything else his body ends up stacked, his shoulders are square, and his release looks the exact same as the shot before. When you pair elite mechanics with a 6’8″ frame you get the best shooter in college basketball. Watching Momcilovic shoot on the move is truly beautiful.

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This is such a tough shot. Momcilovic is running to the corner in transition and has to look back for the pass. As he gets the catch he immediately lands on balance, squares his shoulders, and gets the ball to the release point. He is a guy who can be moving in any direction, at any speed, and replicate his shot as if he were shooting in an empty gym by himself.

From this alignment every coach in the country knows what is coming. Iowa State is going to run a screen-the-screener action that will end with Momcilovic in the strong side corner. Baylor did their best to stay attached and chase, but there was a little separation. The secondary defender stepped out aggressively to defend the shot attempt too. However, Momcilovic was still able to get the attempt off and drain it. He makes so many shots where the defense simply couldn’t have done anything differently.

We’ve seen Momcilovic make three-point shots running the floor in transition and curling to his left. Now we get to see him make a shot going to his right. Watch how he sets up his defender, changes pace at the point of the screen, and then explodes to the ball while keeping his footwork intact. Coach Pope will have so much off-ball action at his disposal to run Milan Momcilovic off of in Lexington.

Kentucky fans that made the trip to Saint Louis for the NCAA Tournament got see Milan Momcilovic score 20 points on 4-9 shooting from three-point range. This three-point shot he made out of a Horns alignment was especially impressive. Collin Chandler did about as good of a job as you could ask in terms of staying attached and chasing over the top of the screen. However, the 6’8″ forward was still able to get his shot off over Chandler. Watch how he lets the bounce pass take him right into the shooting pocket. This is what is called a “no-dip 3.” Momcilovic catches the ball at shoulder height and immediately takes it above his head into his release.

This is a basketball coach’s dream. A beautiful action leads to a beautiful shot in a clutch moment late in the game. Iowa State sets a staggered double screen for their shooter, Momcilovic actually cuts on the inside of the first screen due to how his defender is guarding him, but then creates some separation as he comes off of the second screen. His footwork and balance are once again on display in this clip. To get his feet set and his shoulders square so quickly is incredibly impressive. Of Momcilovic’s 136 made three-point shots last season this was among the most impressive.

3’s That Make You Say “WOW” – Best Shooter in the Country

You know you are evaluating a special shooter when you feel the need to devote a section to clips that you simply want to show the masses. These aren’t shots that necessarily translate to Kentucky. Admittedly, they are somewhat lucky makes. However, you don’t shoot nearly 50% from deep on Milan Momcilovic’s volume without getting a few wild ones to go through the net. There will be times next season where he brings the house down at Rupp Arena with an insane made three-point shot to cap off a big run just as he did a couple of times at Iowa State. These are the shots where you simply tip your cap and be thankful that he is a Wildcat.

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There is absolutely nothing you can do defensively to take this away. Oklahoma State did a great job of staying attached and chasing Milan Momcilovic as he received the downhill handoff. They also stepped up aggressively on the handoff to contest as well. However, the 6’8″ Momcilovic was still able to nail is three-point attempt while falling out of bounds. Shots like this are demoralizing for the defense.

Flory Bidunga, who will play at Louisville next season, was the Big 12 Defensive Player of the Year. However, even his nearly perfect defensive effort wasn’t enough to keep Momcilovic from putting Iowa State up by 20 points in this clip. Again, this isn’t something anyone should expect to see on a game-to-game basis for Momcilovic. Whenever it does happen though it will be electric. There will be multiple stretches of time where he simply cannot miss and when he caps off a run with a shot like this Big Blue Nation will lose their collective minds.

Milan Momcilovic Evaluation

Milan Momcilovic is the best shooter in college basketball. That would be a sufficient evaluation by itself. However, his abilities go beyond simply being a “shooter.” He is an elite shot-maker who can create his own looks from beyond the arc both as an elite cutter and off of the dribble. Momcilovic isn’t traditionally athletic, but he has outstanding footwork on the perimeter and consistently creates separation when working off of screening action. Also, even when he doesn’t create separation, his size at 6’8″ allows him to still get off clean attempts. Every single shot, regardless of his movement prior to the catch, ends up looking the exact same. There are steps forward that can be taken as a cutter and driver, and there are some flaws to hide defensively, but his scoring and shot-making abilities cannot be overstated.