One of the biggest draws for Kentucky in the recruitment of Milan Momcilovic was his renowned ability to shoot the three-ball unlike just about anybody else. Coming off of a season in which Momcilovic managed a ridiculous 48.7% metric from range, Mark Pope is set to receive the kind of deep threat he's been vying for since his hiring in Lexington.
And Coach Pope wants that percentage to go down. Read that again; it's not a typo.
In an interview with UK Sports Network, Momcilovic dove into a sentiment that, on paper, is undeniable confusing. Yet, it doesn't take much digging to see the wisdom in Pope's plans for his scoring star. If all goes to plan, this notch in efficiency will actually make Momcilovic better.
“Pope was telling me he doesn’t want me shooting 48% from three this year - he’d see it as a failure because it would mean I wasn’t taking enough," Momcilovic explained. "He wants me taking a lot more, 10 threes a game, and take that percentage down a little bit.”
Less is More for Momcilovic
"“I feel like I can do the same thing this year as last year, but even better,” Momcilovic said, expounding on the "less is more" philosophy that Pope is essentially selling here.
In his junior year with the Iowa State Cyclones, Momcilovic attempted 7.5 threes per game on average. If he bumps that number to 10 and is even able to manage four makes per contest, the Wildcats guarantee twelve points from distance from their best shooter every night.
Momcilovic made eight threes in four games last season. Four, through that lens, appears to be the minimum, and this anticipated strategy for the go-to scorer looks all the better for it.
Help All Around
That doesn't count what else Momcilovic is able to bring to the floor - his post fade is particularly nasty - as well as what the weapons around him will provide in terms of offensive help. Pope has finally built a team worthy of his ever-desired 30+ three-point attempts per game.
Of the playmakers in Kentucky's backcourt, Momcilovic added: “We have a lot of talent on this team... Obviously, it starts with the guards. I think we have elite guards that can play-make, they can score, they can shoot. That’s really important."
Now feels like a good time to reiterate that Kentucky is one of only two teams nationwide with two players that have an assist rate of at least 30%. Zoom Diallo and Alex Wilkins are those two guys, and they're bound to make Momcilovic's life that much easier on the perimeter.
All in all, it's a bold strategy for Pope to bank his offensive nucleus almost entirely on a player who will be the main target of every single opposing defense that Kentucky faces this season.
But why else do you pay the guy millions and haul him to Lexington? In a pivotal year for his tenure, Pope is pushing the chips in on his go-to style of play, and he couldn't have asked for a better prospect to lead that charge than Momcilovic.
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