Milan Momcilovic was Kentucky’s biggest offseason addition, and arguably Mark Pope’s most talented addition of his tenure thus far. While his recruitment was filled with varying updates and suspense, he went in-depth with UK Sports Network about the process.
“When I committed to Kentucky, I was on my driveway,” he said. “I don’t like talking in the house because my parents eavesdrop, so I went to the driveway while coach (Mark Pope) was on the beach and let him know I was coming. The rest is history.”
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Momcilovic was heavily invested in the NBA Draft process up until the withdrawal deadline, but ultimately made the decision to return to college, choosing among Kentucky, Arizona, and Louisville. One stood out early amongst the rest.
“I knew Kentucky was where I wanted to play kind of early in the process,” Momcilovic said.
Many players are intrigued by the brand of Kentucky basketball, one of the biggest in the sport, but for Momcilovic, it was Mark Pope that he was sold on. Making the biggest decision of his career, with millions of dollars and his development on the line, not taking a visit, what gave Momcilovic such confidence in Pope?
“I just kind of had a gut feeling that Coach Pope’s offense and his system was kind of built for me,” he said. “He (Pope) told me that if there was one guy in the world to play for his system, it was me.”
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Momcilovic’s knowledge of Pope’s offense goes back to his tenure at BYU, where the two faced off there as well, splitting two games in the 2023-24 season, BYU’s inaugural season in the Big 12. “It helped watching Pope’s teams at BYU, when we played them at Iowa State,” he said in his media availability earlier this month.
“I loved the way his teams played, moving the ball, sharing it. A lot of shooting. That stuck in my mind in the recruiting process.”
As for the Kentucky brand: “It’s a blue blood. It’s one of the biggest brands in college basketball, if not the biggest. At the end of the day, that didn’t matter to me. I’m more of a relationship type guy, and I gotta trust you.”
“The brand’s really cool, but I want to have a connection with the head coach.”
