Kentucky’s offseason momentum continues to build in a big way after the Wildcats landed Iowa State transfer Milan Momcilovic, and now one of the team’s rising voices, Malachi Moreno, is giving fans a glimpse into what that addition really means inside the program.
Momcilovic arrives in Lexington with a reputation that already speaks for itself. Last season at Iowa State, he averaged 16.9 points per game while shooting an elite 48.7% from three-point range on high volume. That kind of efficiency made him one of the most feared shooters in college basketball and a major priority for Mark Pope in the transfer portal.
The Wildcats didn’t just see him as a scoring boost — they saw him as a system-changer.
That belief was reinforced during last season’s NCAA Tournament, when Momcilovic faced Kentucky and dropped 20 points in a game that showcased exactly why he is so dangerous. His ability to stretch defenses and punish even small defensive lapses left a lasting impression on both fans and players.
Now that he’s officially part of the roster, Kentucky players are already noticing the difference he brings.
Speaking at a camp at Great Crossing High School, Malachi Moreno spoke with Nick Lazaroff of BBN Tonight and didn’t hold back when describing Momcilovic’s impact on the team’s outlook.
“He’s a shooter. He was the best shooter in the country last year, so we knew we needed it, and he fits Pope’s offense perfectly, so we’re going to be dangerous,” Moreno said.
That type of confidence from a returning player highlights how quickly Momcilovic has changed the tone around the program. Kentucky already had a young roster filled with potential, but it lacked a proven elite perimeter threat who could force defenses to stretch and open up the floor.
Momcilovic changes that immediately.
His presence is expected to unlock the offense in multiple ways — from creating more space for drives, to opening up post touches, to giving Kentucky a reliable late-clock scoring option. For developing players like Moreno, Kam Williams, Braydon Hawthorne, and others, that spacing could be the difference between inconsistency and breakout seasons.
Still, Kentucky’s ceiling won’t be determined by one player alone. The Wildcats’ true potential depends heavily on how much growth comes from their young core over the summer. If several players take major steps forward, Kentucky could quickly evolve into one of the most complete and dangerous teams in the country.
But even without massive internal leaps, Momcilovic’s shooting alone raises the floor significantly. If he comes close to replicating his Iowa State production, he could be on pace for one of the most efficient three-point shooting seasons in Kentucky basketball history.
That’s why the energy around the program has shifted so quickly. What once looked like a team with upside and question marks now feels like a roster beginning to take shape around a clear identity — spacing, shooting, and explosive offensive potential.
And with Milan Momcilovic now in the mix, Kentucky’s ceiling suddenly looks a lot higher than it did just a few weeks ago.
