Nickel: Slow and less athletic, maybe, but Milan Momcilovic can shoot the lights out

Can we please make ‘The Serbian Sniper’ stick?

Because Milan Momcilovic felt great about everything Friday. Playing 35 minutes from home, with 50 friends and family – maybe more – in the stands just for him, including his no megaphone-needed father, the sophomore forward debuted in the NCAA tournament opener with a totally healthy and healed hand.

And he eyed up the shooter-friendly NBA arena, Fiserv Forum, home of the Milwaukee Bucks.

The Iowa State sophomore forward who won three WIAA state basketball titles with Pewaukee had a great performance in the first round of the NCAAs on Friday, scoring 20 points on 8-14 shooting with 4-8 from three. Iowa State rolled, 82-55, as expected, but Milwaukee got a front row seat for the guy nicknamed ‘The Serbian Sniper’ and now we want more.

“Shooting always translates,” said Momcilovic. “If you're a good shooter, you can play wherever. That's what I kind of pride myself on, I can play wherever and teams, obviously they get up closer, get into me, because obviously I'm slower. … I can create and score fade aways, anything like that.”

But he missed time this season with a small broken bone in his left, non-shooting hand. He actually opted for the surgery on the broken bone in fact because it would heal faster, and it did, and he has a permanent souvenir – a screw – in the top of his hand as a result. Since his return, it hasn’t affect his shooting at all, even as the guide hand.

“I got lucky there. It was a pretty easy transition to come back,” he said.

Shooting was always his thing at Pewaukee, and when he got to Iowa State that didn’t change, even as the competition elevated.

“I kind of always had that growing up. I was kind of always like the taller, skinny guy who can shoot, not the most physical guy, and that's what the coaches always get on me for – defense,” said Momcilovic. “But I always kind of had that stroke.”

That means with Iowa State playing here in the first round, the great storyline was of course Momcilovic and his homecoming. But even more than that he also played on the same floor as the Bucks, a team that he follows somewhat.

“I really like this arena,” said Momcilovic. “The rims are friendly; in the first half, Lipscomb had two that kind of bounced in there, so I like the rims. It kind of feels like a college a little bit, it's a lot nicer than a college arena, but I think it's, it's a lot easier to shoot.”

Momcilovic has such a shooter mentality that he and his roommate, Cade Kelderman, get in extra shots at the end of the day. By 4 p.m. they’re done with classes, school work and practice, so they have dinner and then head back to the gym.

“We're not the most athletic guys. We got to work harder,” said Momcilovic. “So we go back and shoot. We have a lot of competition.

“It's a lot of movement shooting. It's not just spot shooting, you’re only going to get some of those in a game.”

Iowa State will play here again on Sunday in the second round. Momcilovic is on a good team that plays well defensively and has a lot of options to distribute the ball. It had a size advantage against Lipscomb and used that to push the scoring inside.

And here’s another good thing to look forward to – Fiserv Forum is big enough to drown out Mr. Nick Momcilovic, respectfully. It makes some cringe, including Milan, when he yells at the refs, everybody, even his own kid.

"My dad always goes nuts. That's nothing new to me. He was always yelling in the stands even though I don't like that," said Milan. "I'm used to it. He loves me, he supports me, and I appreciate that."

This article originally appeared on Milwaukee Journal Sentinel: Milan Momcilovic can shoot the lights out

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Nickel: Slow and less athletic, maybe, but Milan Momcilovic can shoot the lights out

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