Iowa State Cyclones

Milan Momcilovic Proves Iowa State Cyclones Exhibitions Didn't Mean Anything

Milan Momcilovic was the star of the Iowa State Cyclones season opener against the Fairleigh Dickinson Knights.

Kenneth Teape

Nirmalendu Majumdar/Ames Tribune / USA TODAY NETWORK via Imagn Images

One of the things that people were keeping a close eye on in the Iowa State Cyclones' men’s basketball season opener against the Fairleigh Dickinson Knights was veteran forward Milan Momcilovic.

He is entering Year 3 with the Cyclones, and expectations for him are on the rise. Momcilovic is no longer a complementary piece, finding success by playing off his teammates. He is going to be featured prominently on opponents’ game plans and will have to adjust accordingly.

In the team’s exhibition games, he showed some struggles. Against the Creighton Bluejays, he went 0-for-7 from 3-point range.

A performance that poor will raise some eyebrows, but head coach T.J. Otzelberger wasn’t overly concerned. The biggest takeaway for him was that Momcilovic was willing to continue shooting despite his struggles. 

They want to see him attempt seven or eight 3-pointers per game this season. He has increased his volume each year so far, and is in line to do it again.

Milan Momcilovic overcomes brutal exhibition shooting in season opener

Milan Momcilovi
Reese Strickland-Imagn Images

If Iowa State is going to find success this year, it needs him to shoot and make more 3-pointers to help compensate for the loss of Curtis Jones. Momcilovic is a key contributor offensively with his array of skills.

Evidently, all it took was for the games to count for Momcilovic to find his footing. In the opener against Fairleigh Dickinson, he was on fire offensively en route to a career-high 29 points scored.

He was scorching hot from long range, knocking down 7 of 10 3-point attempts. 11 of 16 shots overall were made, and Otzelberger came away impressed with how effective he was beyond just shooting the ball.

“It's finding other ways, cutting, posting a smaller guy, trying to get some points in the paint, finish around the goal. Then you're seeing the ball go through the basket, and then that makes those threes feel a lot better with the rhythm too,” the head coach said, via Alec Busse of Cyclone Alert, part of the 247Sports Network.

Momcilovic rounded out his stat line with three rebounds, two assists and one steal in 29 minutes of play. It was very encouraging to see him get off to such a great start after the struggles he went through in the exhibition games.

Tougher opponents are on the horizon, but his confidence should be incredibly high heading into those contests. This is the exact kind of start the coaching staff was hoping to see from their star forward, who has all the tools to take that next leap in his development and become an All-Conference player.

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Kenneth Teape
KENNETH TEAPE

Kenneth Teape is an alumnus of SUNY Old Westbury and graduated in 2013 with an Honors Degree in Media Communications with a focus on print journalism. During his time at Old Westbury, he worked for the school newspaper and several online publications, such as Knicks Now, the official website of the New York Knicks, and a self-made website with fellow students, Gotham City Sports News. Kenneth has also been a site expert at Empire Writes Back, Musket Fire, and Lake Show Life within the FanSided Network. He was a contributor to HoopsHabit, with work featured on Bleacher Report and Yardbarker. In addition to his work here, he is a reporter for both NBA Analysis Network and NFL Analysis Network, as well as a writer and editor for Packers Coverage. You can follow him on X, formerly Twitter, @teapester725, or reach him via email at teapester725@gmail.com.

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