Former Iowa State Cyclones star Milan Momcilovic just signed with Kentucky for a major payday.
Withdrawing his name from the NBA Draft, Momcilovic reportedly signed a $6.5 million deal to play for former BYU head coach Mark Pope and the Wildcats next season in the SEC. Momcilovic, transferring to Kentucky after three seasons as a Cyclone, will earn more in his fourth year of college basketball than the average NBA rookie contract ($4.5 to $5 million).
That’s some serious cash, and it’s right up there with the likes of Florida’s Thomas Haugh, who signed a deal encroaching $10 million to play basketball for the Gators next season. By contrast, BYU star and projected first-round pick AJ Dybantsa earned roughly $7 million for his lone season with the Cougars.
Momcilovic, a native of Pewaukee, Wisconsin, led Iowa State with 16.9 points per game last season as Iowa State achieved its fifth consecutive NCAA Tournament appearance following a a third-place finish the Big 12 and tracking as high as No. 2 in the AP Top 25 during the second week of January. Tennessee bounced the Cyclones 76-62 from the Sweet 16 in Chicago.
Kentucky won the all-too-fast battle for Momcilovic as multiple schools clamoring for 6-foot-8, 225-pound big man cast their offers to land the universal No. 1 forward in the portal after removing his name from the draft. Pope and the Wildcats fended off competing interest from Arizona, Louisville and St. John’s.
Momcilovic’s father, Nick Momcilovic, speaking with KSR+ Radio, opened up on the process of his son signing with Kentucky:
“His agents and us, as parents, did a few Zoom calls with schools before he withdrew from the NBA draft, but after Milan formally withdrew, it was speed dating for him,” Nick Momcilovic said. “Milan, his agents, and us, as parents, spent a lot of time and had many discussions with Coach Pope and his staff, and were able to get all the information we needed for Milan to make his decision and for all of us to fully support him on his decision. We are very excited for Milan and honored to be a part of the BBN family.”
It’s probably mind boggling to even be a fly on the wall for those discussions, which if we’re talking about Zoom here, probably didn’t push beyond an hour. Pope secured extended conversations with Momcilovic and his camp, and perhaps that made the difference but the turnaround in Iowa State transfer’s recruitment is pretty insane.
With the transfer portal, it’s unsurprising more players are being recruited in a vacuum. But to compete with a rookie contract, that’s some interesting territory for players when considering the financial ramifications of another year of college ball. Factor in the prospective fifth-year rule that’s on the table and we’re looking at yet another wrinkle in the mess we call college athletics.
