In mid-May, the Kentucky basketball roster was in desperate search of a star scorer, a shooter at that. Well, they hit the jackpot when they landed Iowa State transfer Milan Momcilovic out of the portal. Not only was he a top-ranked transfer, but he’s a deadly shooter and exactly the guy Mark Pope wants on his team.
Last season at Iowa State, Momcilovic broke program records with his efficient shooting and ended up leading the entire country in three-point percentage. He shot the ball at a 48.7 percent clip on 136 makes. That’s pretty crazy efficiency, but heading into his senior year at Kentucky, that may not last, but it isn’t a bad thing. In an interview with the UK Sports Network, Momcilovic says Mark Pope wants him to take much more threes than he attempted last season.
Mar 22, 2026; St. Louis, MO, USA; Iowa State Cyclones forward Milan Momcilovic (22) celebrates after a play during the second half against the Kentucky Wildcats during a second round game of the men’s 2026 NCAA Tournament at Enterprise Center. Mandatory Credit: Jeff Le-Imagn Images | Jeff Le-Imagn Images
“”Pope was telling me he doesn’t want me shooting 48 percent from three this year. He’d see it as a failure because it would mean I wasn’t taking enough,” Momcilovic said. “He wants me taking a lot more, 10 threes a game, and take that percentage down a little bit. …Obviously, as a shooter, you care about your three-point percentage, but I think he wants more volume with makes and attempts. I don’t mind it. I’m not sure what the record is for three-point makes, but hopefully I can break it.”
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It seems like both Momcilovic and Pope are already eying at an attempt to break Kentucky’s single-season three-point record, which is 117 makes, set by Jodie Meeks in the 2008-09 season. For more reference, Jamal Murray (113) and Malik Monk (104) are behind Meeks for the most made threes in a season at Kentucky. Given Momcilovic’s shooting ability, it’s certainly doable and the fact that the 6-8 forward is already bringing it up should have fans really intrigued.
Feb 28, 2026; Ames, Iowa, USA; Iowa State Cyclones forward Milan Momcilovic (22) watches the time tick down in their loss to the Texas Tech Red Raiders during the second half at James H. Hilton Coliseum. Mandatory Credit: Reese Strickland-Imagn Images | Reese Strickland-Imagn Images
Momcilovic is going to be a focal point of Kentucky’s offense next season and this quote should reassure that as the case. There was a reason his NIL package from all of his suitors was so high, because they knew how much of a difference-maker he is. For Mark Pope, there really isn’t a better system-fit player than the most efficient player in college basketball, who would’ve broke program recrods with his numbers from last year.
We could be in for a very fun season in Lexington and Momcilovic would be a major reason for it.
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This article was originally published on www.si.com/college/kentucky as Mark Pope wants Milan Momcilovic to shoot a ton of threes next season.
