Milan Momcilovic : A unique archetype in a one of kind draft class.
article by Amine
Ranked 51th on the 2023 ESPN 100 and not even first in Iowa State freshman class (second behind Omaha Biliew), Milan Momcilovic took the Big12 by storm since the start of the season, averaging 11.9 points per game [44/37/84] and 3.3 rebounds per game for the Cyclones.
Actually ranked second among freshman in scoring within the Big12 conference behind Ja’Kobe Walter but with better shooting splits, Milan is a natural born scorer. Today I am going to breakdown his offensive game starting by his post-up game.
In fact when you’re talking about a 6”8 [2.03m] forward you don’t normally expect that he is a master of the post-up game but as the title said, Milan is unique. He sets his feet well, has a very strong core, an [already] elite footwork, great fadeaways and knows how to find his spots, those are the tools of a perfect post-up player. One thing I would like him to improve is his shot-selection that is pretty strange sometimes especially considering he could get a much better look if he would just replace himself.
The second one is obviously is shooting game that has been looking very good those past months.
As the stats shows he’s a really good catch and shooter with a pretty good 3pt percentage [37.8%] but what caught my attention is the fact that nearly all of them [97.8%] are assisted. The lack of burst and big time athleticism restrain his ability to create his own shot from deep as he drive and attack physically the body of his opposition most of the time. Him being able to create his own and create distance during 1v1 situations could mean a lot for his career in the league.
The third one as I said earlier is his ability to score on drives. He is a perfectly balanced and physical player able to hit fadeaways, create space with his body, knows how to operate in tiny spaces, scores on one foot, gets defenders to jump and last but not least he’s an overall great shotmaker.
Finally, and unfortunately we’ll finish on a pretty bad note, his lack of burst and athleticism do not just restrain his ability to create his own shot behind the line but also his ability to often get to the rim. We saw it on transition and on some half-court sequences Milan is a good finisher, and the stats shows.
But as the stats shows too he doesn’t get there often. This problem causes two major issues, firstly it doesn’t permit him to go on the FT line often [2.2 FT per game] and the second is that we can already ask ourselves how his offensive game is going to translate in the league if he ends up in a dynamic team such as the Oklahoma City Thunder.
Despite the athleticism issues I firmly believe he has all the tools to be a first round pick, a legit NBA player and make up for his weaknesses.