Former Iowa State Basketball Star Supports Milan Momcilovic’s Decision

The Iowa State Cyclones men’s basketball team is going to look a lot different during the 2026-27 season than it did when their 2025-26 campaign came to an end in the Sweet 16 of the 2026 NCAA Tournament.

Several players from their rotation will not be returning, including Milan Momcilovic. Despite having a year of eligibility remaining, he declared for the 2026 NBA Draft and entered the transfer portal.

After withdrawing from the draft, focus shifted to where he would be playing his senior year. It wasn’t going to be with the Cyclones, as they were never mentioned as one of the teams in the mix.

That was something which disappointed fans, but Momcilovic had to feel a little better knowing his former teammates were supporting him. Tamin Lipsey, who is going through the draft process himself, recently spoke about the decision his former teammate made to go back to school.

Tamin Lipsey speaks on Milan Momcilovic decision

Iowa State Cyclones guard Tamin Lipsey dribbling the ball. — Mar 27, 2026; Chicago, IL, USA; Iowa State Cyclones guard Tamin Lipsey (3) drives the ball in the first half against the Tennessee Volunteers during a Sweet Sixteen game of the Midwest Regional of the men's 2026 NCAA Tournament at United Center. | Kamil Krzaczynski-Imagn Images

"With how college basketball is nowadays, it's hard to blame the player. There's no hard feelings to Milan on my side. We're best friends and I just want the best for him. Obviously his goals are to go to the NBA, but with (how crazy) college basketball, the transfer portal, and the NIL market, it's hard to blame a kid like that with the opportunities that he has,” Lipsey said, via Cyclone Fanatic on X.

That quote was shared just before Momcilovic made his decision in the transfer portal to commit to the Kentucky Wildcats. While he said money wasn’t a driving factor in his decision-making, it is hard to imagine it wasn’t at least part of the decision process.

Kentucky was willing to pay a high price tag to secure him, with his NIL deal reportedly being worth more than $6 million. There is a chance that he is the highest-paid men’s basketball player during the 2026-27 season, and he will almost certainly be in the top five.

Tamin Lipsey talks about Milan Momcilovic's decision to go back to college.

"With how college basketball is nowadays, it's hard to blame the player. There's no hard feelings to Milan on my side. We're best friends and I just want the best for him. Obviously his goals are to go… pic.twitter.com/wrwE8M6x0V
— Cyclone Fanatic (@cyclonefanatic) June 2, 2026

This past season, the highest NIL valuation was owned by AJ Dybantsa of the BYU Cougars. He landed somewhere in the $4.1 million to $4.4 million range. Momcilovic could have cleared that by $2 million, more than tripling the NIL valuation he had for his junior year at Iowa State.

Hopefully, Cyclone Nation can take a similar approach to this whole situation as Lipsey has. The timeline wasn’t a good one for the Cyclones to work on, and head coach T.J. Otzelberger had to go make the difficult decision to move on so he could restock the talent on the roster.

Everyone would have preferred to have Momcilovic in the mix, but it wasn’t in the cards. As a result, he will be suiting up for the Wildcats during his senior year, and the only time Iowa State may have to run into him is during an NCAA tournament matchup.

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