Milan Momcilovic is heading into his first season with the Kentucky Wildcats carrying one of the most impressive shooting resumes in college basketball.
After a historic 2025–26 season at Iowa State, Momcilovic has quickly become one of the biggest reasons for the excitement surrounding Mark Pope’s Kentucky roster. But while his numbers are difficult to ignore, one national analyst has pushed back on the idea that Momcilovic should automatically be considered the best shooter in college basketball.
And that disagreement has created another intriguing storyline around the Wildcats.
Momcilovic was sensational for Iowa State last season, averaging 16.9 points per game while shooting 48.7% from three-point range. He knocked down 136 three-pointers, ranking fifth nationally, while his 48.7% accuracy from deep led the country.
The combination of volume and efficiency is what makes his numbers particularly eye-catching.
Momcilovic attempted more than seven three-pointers per game and still converted nearly half of them. He also shot 50.6% from the field and 87.8% from the free-throw line.
His season was historic as well. Momcilovic became the first men’s college basketball player to lead the country in both three-pointers made and three-point percentage in the same season.
That production helped make him the top-ranked player in the transfer portal after he withdrew from the 2026 NBA Draft. Kentucky ultimately landed him, giving Mark Pope a proven perimeter weapon who can stretch defenses from virtually anywhere beyond the arc.
Still, the analyst’s disagreement centers on what exactly makes someone the “best shooter.”
Is it simply three-point percentage? Is it the number of shots made? Does volume matter? Or should difficulty, defensive attention and shot creation also factor into the conversation?
That’s where the debate surrounding Momcilovic becomes much more complicated.
His 48.7% three-point shooting is an incredible number, but comparing shooters across different teams and offensive systems requires more than simply looking at one statistic. Different players operate in different roles, face different defensive schemes and receive different types of opportunities.
Momcilovic’s supporters, however, have plenty of evidence on their side.
His three-point percentage wasn’t built on a handful of attempts. He attempted 7.54 threes per game while maintaining elite efficiency, making his production particularly difficult to dismiss.
There’s also been a noticeable progression in his career. After shooting 35.9% from three as a freshman in 2023–24, he improved to 39.6% in 2024–25 before exploding to 48.7% last season.
Now, Kentucky gets to see whether that historic shooting translates to the SEC.
Momcilovic also has an unusual mental routine before shooting. He has used the internal cue “jelly bean” to keep himself from overthinking and maintain his shooting mechanics.
For Pope, having a player capable of drawing that much attention from beyond the arc could completely change Kentucky’s offensive spacing.
So while the debate over whether Momcilovic is truly the best shooter in college basketball continues, his 2025–26 numbers have given Kentucky fans plenty of reason to believe they have added one of the most dangerous shooters in the country.
Now, the Wildcats are waiting to see what he can do in Lexington.
