Mark Pope sold Milan Momcilovic on his vision at Kentucky by beating him at BYU

Milan Momcilovic is by far and away the biggest transfer Mark Pope has yet landed in Lexington, and could very well end up being the most important pickup of his entire tenure at Kentucky. The nation's top three-point scorer means that much and more to the Big Blue Nation.

How did Pope manage such a feat? Well, according to Momcilovic himself in an interview with UK Sports Network, the star-studded transfer wanted to play for Coach Pope because he knew how hard it was to beat one of his teams.

"I feel like just playing versus him at BYU really kind of stood out to me," Momcilovic began. "My first year or two at Iowa State we played against him, and man, his teams were tough to play against."

While Pope's Cougars and Momcilovic's Cyclones split their last two games prior to Pope splitting off for the Bluegrass, Pope managed to limit his now-newest Wildcat in both contests. The best example of which came on January 16, 2024, when BYU outran Iowa State 87-72.

Momcilovic scored 11 points on 3-10 shooting from the field as BYU nailed 13 triples on nearly 40% shooting from range. "A lot of shot-making they had..." Momcilovic added, "He really likes playing with shooters, so obviously that's my strength."

Pope Playing to Momcilovic's Strengths

Momcilovic was able to exact some revenge on Pope in the NCAA Tournament this past year when a hobbled Cyclones team blew out an even more hobbled Wildcats team in the Round of 32. Now that he's a Cat, Pope can unlock Momcilovic in the same way that he shut his team down in years past.

At Iowa State, Momcilovic often operated as a secondary option to the likes of the recently drafted Joshua Jefferson, among others. Even in a season where he averaged nearly 17 points per game and short north of 48% from three, Momcilovic didn't have an offense built entirely around him.

He wasn't playing for a coach that prefers the deep ball over anything and everything else. Both those boxes are checked now in the blue and white; Momcilovic is primed for an All-SEC breakout as a result.

Pieces Falling Into Place

For that to happen as hoped, things will have to go to plan with the rest of Kentucky's roster. Zoom Diallo and Alex Wilkins will have to facilitate on a nationally impressive level to get Momcilovic the looks he needs to lead the Wildcats, and Malachi Moreno also needs to take his expected sophomore leap.

But if the pieces fall into place and our guys stay healthy, this Kentucky team has a real chance to spam shots from three and simply suffocate opponents that way. Whether or not you can beat em', if it's Kentucky, you join em'.

Milan Momcilovic possibly could not have chosen a coach more suited to his strengths. His ceiling in Rupp Arena is limitless so long as things go to plan.

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