The splash addition Mark Pope made to this Kentucky basketball team was Iowa State transfer Milan Momcilovic. Last season for the Cyclones, Momcilovic led the team in scoring, averaging 16.9 points per game while shooting 48.7% from three on 7.5 attempts per game. He was without a doubt the best shooter in college basketball last season, and that will be the case again this year.
Momcilovic transferred over to a school where he will play for Pope, who loves elite shooters. This is the perfect place for Momcilovic to come in and play, which is why many are now high on Kentucky this season. On many platforms, Momcilovic was ranked as the #1 player in the transfer portal, and his numbers from last year warrant this ranking.
Isaac Trotter of CBS Sports put out an article breaking down the upcoming college basketball season, and he listed his Preseason All-American teams. Trotter listed a first, second, and third team in this article, and Momcilovic was not one of the 15 players listed. This has left BBN very confused, knowing he was one of the best players in college basketball last season, and now he is at a school that better fits his game.
There are a couple of reasons why I could see Trotter leaving Momcilovic off his All-American teams, and the first reason is that there will be more offensive mouths to feed in Lexington. Iowa State was a defensive-minded team, and now in Lexington it's all about offense. This Kentucky team has some elite scorers, which could take away from Momcilovic.
The second reason as to why Trotter could have left Momcilovic off the list is because Momcilovic doesn't add much aside from shooting. Last season, he added 3.1 rebounds per game and one assist per game. Momcilovic is going to need to see these numbers improve if he is going to be an All-American this season.
While this is true this year, when it comes to the impact Momcilovic has on winning for the Wildcats, it will be top 15 in college basketball. I do believe when this college basketball season ends, Momcilovic is going to be an All-American, but there are some things that he will need to improve.
When it comes to what Momcilovic is about to do as a shooter, he is about to have a historic season for the Wildcats. A lot of threes are going to rain down in Rupp Arena this season, and a lot of them will be from Momcilovic.
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This article was originally published on www.si.com/college/kentucky as Kentucky superstar Milan Momcilovic is receiving disrespect from the national media.