Milan Momcilovic appears poised to take his game to the next level in 2024-25 at Iowa State.

The former Pewaukee High School basketball standout enters a huge non-conference showdown against Marquette on Wednesday night on the heels of an impressive showing in the Maui Invitational.

The former Wisconsin Mr. Basketball and three-time state champion scored a career-high in Iowa State's final game in Maui, helping the Cyclones go 2-1 in the high-profile event.

And if early returns are any indication, Momcilovic will continue to raise his NBA stock for an Iowa State team (5-1) that should get a lot of attention all season as it remains near the top of the college basketball rankings.

Marquette head coach Shaka Smart recruited Momcilovic and gave him an offer, but the Golden Eagles weren't one of his six finalists over two years ago.

Momcilovic's immediate connection to Iowa State head coach T.J. Otzelberger led him to Ames, Iowa, often a hub for Milwaukee area stars.

He won three consecutive WIAA Division 2 state championships to complete his high school career from 2021-23. Momcilovic swept the postseason awards as a senior, winning Mr. Basketball, WBCA state player of the year and Gatorade state player of the year.

The Watt brothers, also Pewaukee HS graduates, were huge fans of Momcilovic's Pewaukee Pirates during their state title runs.

Momcilovic is Iowa State's third-leading scorer at 12.8 points per game through the team's first six games.

That's an improvement from the 10.9 points he averaged in 37 games, all starts, as a freshman.

Momcilovic has started from the time he arrived at Iowa State.

And he's produced from the jump. Momcilovic led the team in scoring in his first college game and never slowed down as he displayed the smooth shot he was known for in high school. He nailed a game-winning shot in the closing moments to defeat Houston early in the conference season, a moment that helped put him on the map.

Momcilovic earned a spot on the Big 12 Championship All-Tournament Team after leading the Cyclones to the Big 12 tourney title. His Cyclones were a No. 2 seed in the 2024 NCAA Tournament and advanced to the Sweet 16.

His stat line as a freshman: 37 games, 30.2 minutes, 10.9 points, 42% shooting, 35.9% from three-point range, 80.9% free throws, 3.1 rebounds, 1.2 assists, 0.4 blocks, 0.5 steals.

His stat line as a sophomore: 6 games, 26.7 minutes, 12.8 points, 51.9% shooting, 47.1% from three-point range, 71.4% free throws, 3.3 rebounds, 0.8 assists, 0.2 blocks, 0.2 steals.

Momcilovic's shooting has improved significantly. He scored a career-high 24 points in the Cyclones' 99-71 victory over Colorado in the fifth-place game of the 2024 Maui Invitational last week. He shot 9 of 13 from the field, including 6 of 9 from three-point range.

Momcilovic is 6-feet-7 and weighs 225 pounds.

Before the college basketball season began, Momcilovic slotted in as a second-round pick at No. 43 overall, according to ESPN's rankings.

Bleacher Report's most recent mock draft has the Iowa State star 52nd overall.

"Milan Momcilovic has quickly shown off the high-level shot-making skill that earned him looks last season. Some of the off-balance jumpers he's able to make rank high on the difficulty scale," Bleacher Report's analysis of Momcilovic notes. The sports website compares him to former first-round pick Rodney Hood.

Milan Momcilovic's brother, Luka, is a senior on the Pewaukee High School boys basketball team and a Division 1 recruit having committed to St. Thomas in Minnesota. Milan played the final two years of his high school career at Pewaukee with Luka.

Luka has a similar build to Milan, standing at 6-foot-7 and weighing 215 pounds.

Luka earned Division 2 All-State Honorable Mention honors last year after helping the Pirates to a state runner-up finish. Momcilovic was named to the Division 2 All-Tournament Team.

Milan Momcilovic was a four-star recruit from Rivals, ESPN and 247 Sports as a senior. Overall, he was ranked the 34th-best player in the country by 247 Sports in 2023, No. 42 by Rivals and No. 51 by ESPN. His ranking was the third-highest ever for an Iowa State recruit in modern era, his bio states.

Who is Kon Knueppel?: Duke freshman is former Wisconsin Mr. Basketball who led Wisconsin Lutheran to 2024 state championship