AMES — Sophomore forward Milan Momcilovic is looking to finish his second collegiate season by helping take Iowa State deep into March after winning the Big 12 Tournament and making Sweet 16 in the NCAA Tournament a season ago.

But this season hasn’t gone to plan for the 6-foot 8-inch forward, as he’s dealt with a non-shooting hand injury he sustained during practice that caused him to miss a month. At that time, the Cyclones had their first four Big 12 losses, which caused Iowa State to drop in the standings.

Since Momcilovic has returned, Iowa State has gotten back to its winning ways, as the Cyclones have gone 4-2 since his return to the starting lineup.

However, while this injury highlights his second season in college basketball, it doesn’t discount what Momcilovic has done for Iowa State and the improvements he has made from year one to year two.

Momcilovic came to Iowa State after an impressive four years at Pewaukee High School in Wisconsin, where Momcilovic scored 2,000 points, won three consecutive state championships and was named Wisconsin Mr. Basketball in his senior season.

“My high school career was definitely a good one to remember,” Momcilovic said. “The biggest thing was winning back-to-back-to-back, not many people did that in Wisconsin.”

His success got Momcilovic offers from many different schools all over the country, but one school stuck out more than most: Iowa State.

“Definitely had a lot of places to go, but something that stuck out to me was how committed to me they were from day one,” Momcilovic said. “They started talking to me very early and never wavered throughout the process and you could tell they really wanted me.” 

At the time of his commitment, the sixth-seeded Cyclones were coming off an embarrassing 59-41 first-round loss to 11th-seeded Pittsburgh in the NCAA Tournament.

This season was the second under head coach T.J. Otzelberger. He had just taken over a program that was 2-22 the year prior and led it to back-to-back NCAA Tournament appearances, with more expected on the horizon.

But to replicate that success, Otzelberger needed to add players who brought a high skill set and were committed to his style of basketball, and Momcilovic was the type of guy he needed.

“Milan has an elite skill level, but also the ability to make his teammates better on both ends of the floor,” Otzelberger said. “Offensively, he shoots the ball with great range and is an extremely gifted passer, allowing him to be an effective playmaker. He is a highly competitive defensive player. Milan is consistently active on the offensive and defensive glass.”

Entering his first season, Momcilovic had looked to make a name for himself by getting an opportunity to showcase what he had done in high school at the Division I level at Iowa State.

“Coach [Otzelberger] told me a week or two before the first game that I was starting, so that was pretty cool to start my first game as a freshman,” Momcilovic said. “The goal was just to play good.”

Right from the get-go, Momcilovic would gain trust from Otzelberger enough to be in the starting lineup not just to start the season but the whole season, as Momcilovic was one of only three Cyclones in the 2023-24 season to start every game.

But of those three, Momcilovic was the only freshman of that group. The other two were then-junior Keshon Gilbert, who had just transferred over from UNLV, and senior Tre King.

These three players tied a school record for the most games played and started, but for Momcilovic to do it as a true freshman, while averaging just over 30 minutes per game, was abnormal.

It was especially unique since he also averaged double figures, as Momcilovic was one of four scorers on last season’s Iowa State team to score double digits, with an average of 10.9 points per game on a 42.4% field goal clip.

However, one of the biggest aspects of Momcilovic’s game was to help space the floor and provide outside perimeter shooting, which he did, as he was second to only then-junior Curtis Jones last season in 3-point shooting, as he went 61-for-170 (35.9%) from deep.

While Momcilovic did go on to struggle shooting the ball in the latter half of conference play, he still managed to help the Cyclones to a 13-5 Big 12 record, while having integral performances against the team above them in the standings — the Houston Cougars.

In the two games Momcilovic played against the then-No. 2 team in the country, he had hit the final couple of shots in Hilton Coliseum to upset Houston the first time. He would later be a big part of Iowa State’s dominating 69-41 Big 12 Tournament winning game against the Cougars, leading the team with 18 points.

His performances in Kansas City and during the season helped earn Momcilovic spots on the Big 12 All-Freshman Team and the Big 12 Championship All-Tournament Team.

Following that, Momcilovic would go on to help the Cyclones make it out of Omaha, Nebraska, by putting up 19 and 10 against South Dakota State and Washington State, respectively.

While Iowa State’s season would end in the Sweet 16 in Boston to Illinois, it did not stray away from what Momcilovic and Iowa State had accomplished that season.

“It meant a lot, just because it was a good first year,” Momcilovic said. “There were a lot of ups and downs, so kind of just managing that and being the same guy and being consistent every day because I had a lot of good moments and bad moments, so just trying to stay level-headed through it all because that’s what freshman year is all about.”

But after having time to reflect before his second collegiate season, Momcilovic had an opportunity to build off his successes from year one, while growing from what he had experienced during that time as well.

“Being better on defense, being better on rebounding and being more aggressive on offense,” Momcilovic said. 

That mindset helped Momcilovic carry his success over from year one to year two, as Momcilovic continues to play a huge role in the Cyclones’ successes this season.

From a coaching perspective, Otzelberger noticed how Momcilovic had used his time over the offseason to help him become a better basketball player for his team by doing things he had initially wanted him to do with an increased emphasis on certain aspects of his game where he could improve.

“He’s moving a lot better,” Otzelberger said. “His confidence to continue hunting shots has elevated, we’d like to continue to have him do that. We want him to be highly aggressive and we’ve seen progress there. Defensively and on the glass, he’s got a lot greater sense of pride in getting a stop, finishing a play on the glass or blocking out, those are winning things and he’s put greater focus on it.”

The same goes for his teammates, who have noticed a change in Momcilovic’s game even after having such a successful freshman year a year prior.

“Milan is keeping his head in the right place and shooting the ball at a high rate,” Jones said. “Last year he got into a little slump, but this year he’s super confident every time he steps on the floor.”

“He’s expanded his game,” junior guard Tamin Lipsey said. “He’s been a threat at all times and obviously when he came back, we started playing better. He’s a big part of our team. Defensively, I feel like he’s grown a lot from last year by getting faster and working on agility in the offseason, so I think his overall performance has improved.”

So far in the 2024-25 season, Momcilovic still holds a double-digit average in points with 10.6 on a 42.2% field goal clip while still shooting the second-most 3-point shots on the team by going 44-for-111 (39.6%).

But unlike his first year, Momcilovic experienced a different kind of adversity after sustaining an injury to his non-shooting hand in practice prior to Iowa State’s game against then-No. 9 Kansas in Ames.

His injury would knock him out for nearly a month, as Momcilovic was forced to have surgery on his injured hand and had to watch the games in street clothes from the bench.

During that time, the Cyclones struggled mightily in Momcilovic’s absence. Iowa State went 3-4 during the near month stretch, and the Cyclones had not lost a conference game before his injury.

Three of those losses came one after the other, including the devastating 80-61 loss to Kansas State at home, which ended a 29-game win streak in Hilton Coliseum that was the second-best in program history.

“It was definitely an interesting spot I was in,” Momcilovic said. “I’ve never really had surgery, so it was the first time I had surgery. Just being out for those four weeks was kind of a mental reset. Not being able to play, practice or do anything was just to clear the mind, enjoy the team and watch the games.”

Even during this stretch, Momcilovic’s teammates admitted that the offensive game plan had to be altered because of the injury that forced the sophomore forward out for an extended time.

“When he was out, we felt like it was a struggle to get going on the offensive side,” Lipsey said. “When he came back, I don’t know if it was the spacing or it’s his shooting ability, but the teams that came in had to switch up how they defended when he’s on the court.”

Momcilovic made his timely return after Iowa State had just lost its third consecutive game on the road against Kansas and got the nod to start against TCU at home, with ESPN’s College GameDay in town.

In his return, Momcilovic would help the Cyclones obtain a 30-point win over the Horned Frogs, as he scored 14 points on 5-of-9 field goal shooting, 4-of-7 from deep, all in 22 minutes of playing time.

“Coming back in, I could see where I impacted the team,” Momcilovic said. “Whether they needed my floor spacing or my shooting, so just coming back in with a different mindset that I need to be aggressive to help this team out.”

This win helped break Iowa State’s three-game losing streak and would soon turn into a four-game winning streak before eventually dropping games on the road to now-No. 4 Houston and Oklahoma State.

With the Cyclones looking to right the ship from these losses and contend in March, Momcilovic looks to play an integral part in that, while seeking to make a name for himself as his career rolls forward.

“First of all, just bouncing back from the last two games,” Momcilovic said. “Everyone is getting healthy now so that’s good. Just finishing strong, win these three games and then go to the [Big 12] Tournament and hopefully win that and games in the NCAA Tournament. One day, I’d like to get to the NBA, but I just keep working hard and keep my head down, and whatever happens, happens.”