Good things certainly came in threes for Pewaukee High School’s Milan Momcilovic in the 2022-23 boys high school basketball season.

The senior 6-foot-8 wing, who will play for Iowa State University next fall, has been chosen by The Associated Press as its state player of the year. The award is added to previous recognitions from the Wisconsin Basketball Coaches Association as their co-Mr. Basketball and Gatorade as its state boys basketball player of the year.

The same panel of sportswriters also selected De Pere’s Brian Winchester as its coach of the year after guiding the unbeaten Redbirds to the WIAA Division 1 championship.

“Going out on top as one of the best to ever do it in the state of Wisconsin and winning three in a row was truly a special feeling,” said Momcilovic, who helped the Pirates win three straight Division 2 state championships.

Momcilovic led the Pirates to that third straight title with a 71-54 win over Whitnall at the Kohl Center in Madison on March 18. Along the way, he picked up his third consecutive Woodland-West Conference player of the year nod.

His scoring ability from all three levels led a young team returning only himself and junior guard Nick Janowski in the starting lineup from their reigning title-winning team.

On the season, Momcilovic led Pewaukee in scoring (23.6 ppg), rebounding (9.3 rpg) and blocked shots (1.2 bpg). He also averaged 2.6 assists per game, a total second only to Janowski’s 4.9.

“Milan is the player that every team on any level would want because he’s a great teammate and proven winner,” Pewaukee coach David Burkemper said. “It was an honor to coach him for four years.”

Momcilovic won the AP award over two of his peers. De Pere’s Johnny Kinziger and Brillion’s Jeremy Lorenz were also nominated after leading their teams to state championships.

For all he achieved this season, Momcilovic said the sweetest of those honors was hoisting a gold ball a third time. He also thanked his coaches, family, the Pewaukee community and his teammates for their contributions to the team and individual success he has enjoyed.

“Our team and I worked so hard for that moment and put so much into each other,” Momcilovic said. “It was really cool to see.”

Brian Winchester helped De Pere end title drought

It was now or never for the De Pere boys basketball team this season.

The Redbirds entered as the top-ranked team in the state in Division 1 and never flinched on the way to winning their first state title since 1934 while becoming the first boys team from Wisconsin to go 30-0.

De Pere was the fifth school to go undefeated in Division 1 since the tournament moved from classes to divisions in 1991, joining Milwaukee King (2003), Oshkosh West (2006), Germantown (2012, 2013) and Stevens Point (1994, 2016).

Winchester has put in countless hours with De Pere’s feeder programs, helping to develop a cast of standouts that includes senior Johnny Kinziger, junior forward Will Hornseth and sophomore guard Zach Kinziger.

The trio scored 44 of De Pere’s 47 points in the second half of its 69-49 championship win over Arrowhead at the Kohl Center in Madison on March 18.

It capped a dominating season for a team that was as good as any defensively and had an offense that averaged more than 74 points.

The Redbirds won 28 games by double figures, beat teams by 30.6 points per game, went 6-0 against Division 1 squads ranked in the top 10 and defeated Division 2 state champion Pewaukee in a February showdown.

Winchester, who has coached De Pere for 16 seasons, was chosen from a nomination list that included Pewaukee’s David Burkemper, Onalaska Luther’s Brad Schaper, Wausau Newman Catholic’s Jeff Waldvogel and Brillion’s Chad Shimek.

“I feel very honored to be selected by those who cover high school sports throughout the state,” Winchester said. “The award represents the effort and commitment of the players and our entire coaching staff.  Brian Pritzl, Jeff Kinziger and Jake Zeitler are highly deserving of recognition for how great they are working with our players every day and their outstanding contributions to scouting and game preparation.“The success we experienced this year resulted from very talented and dedicated players along with the support of De Pere High School and the De Pere Basketball Booster Club. It is truly amazing how many people have coached, supported and created opportunities for all players in our program over the years. I feel very fortunate to be a part of it.”

Scott Venci of USA TODAY NETWORK-Wisconsin contributed to the reporting of this story.

2022-23 AP BOYS BASKETBALL ALL-STATE TEAM

Bold = Area player

PLAYER OF THE YEAR – Milan Momcilovic, 6-8, sr., PewaukeeCOACH OF THE  YEAR – Brian Winchester, DePere

FIRST TEAMNick Janowski, 6-3, jr., Pewaukee*Johnny Kinziger, 6-0, sr., De PereKon Knueppel, 6-6, jr., Wisconsin LutheranJeremy Lorenz, 6-8, sr., Brillion*Milan Momcilovic, 6-8, sr., Pewaukee*unanimous

SECOND TEAMLevi Birkholz, 6-4, sr., Lakeside LutheranDemarion Burch, 6-4, sr., Milwaukee HamiltonMarcus Hall, 6-6, sr., Schofield D.C. EverestGavyn Hurley, 6-6, sr., MiddletonMac Wrecke, 6-5, sr., ArrowheadTHIRD TEAMTyran Cook, 6-2, sr., Waukesha SouthWill Hornseth, 6-8, jr., De PereEric Kenesie, 6-0, jr., Kenosha St. JosephXzavion Mitchell, 6-6, so., Oshkosh NorthCody Schmitz, 6-4, jr., Gale-Ettrick-Trempealeau

FOURTH TEAMDavion Hannah, 6-6, so., NicoletCal Klesmit, 6-2, sr., NeenahPeter Lattos, 6-8, sr., West SalemNolan Minessale, 6-5, jr., MarquetteKai Rogers, 6-11, so., Wauwatosa West

High Honorable Mention (received at least two votes)Evan Anderson, 6-4, jr., Onalaska; Logan Baumgartner, 6-4, sr., Medford; Jamariea Dalton, 6-2, sr., Fond du Lac; Ty Fernholz, 6-2, jr., Stoughton; Cal Fisher, 6-0, sr., Deerfield; Jaquan Johnson, 5-11, jr., Pius XI Catholic; Amari McCottry, 6-6, jr., St. Thomas More; Mason Prey, 6-4, sr., Wausau Newman Catholic; Alex Sherwood, 6-7, sr., Appleton Xavier; Bo Vollrath, 6-6, jr., Fall Creek; Nic Williams, 6-2, sr., La Crosse Central

Honorable Mention

Chandler Batchelor, sr., Dodgeville; Aidan Chislom, sr., McFarland; Al Deang, sr., Madison Edgewood; Dadon Gillen, sr., McFarland; Brady Larson, sr., Fennimore; Max Lucey, sr., Cuba City; A.J. Bender, so., Lake Mills; Arhman Lewis, sr., Madison La Follette; Sam Mickelson, jr., Madison Memorial; Aaron Uttech, sr., Columbus.

Gavin Wunderlin, jr., Potosi; Drew Daoust, so., Southern Door; Caleb Glaser, sr., Appleton East; Zach Kinziger, so., De Pere; Emmett Lawton, sr., Green Bay Notre Dame; Connor Pytleski, sr., Green Bay Southwest; Matt Merlo, sr., Random Lake; Mitch McCarty, sr., Campbellsport; Cullen Rauls, sr., Fall River; Pierce Arenz, jr., Kiel.

Tanner Schumacher, sr., Howards Grove; Jaydon Awe, so., Stevens Point Pacelli; Dawson Schmidt, sr., Shiocton; Eli Talsma, sr., Hurley; Grant Warren, jr., Marathon; Jamiir Allen, sr., Wisconsin Lutheran; Ahmad Badwan, jr., Salam; Devin Brown, so., Milwaukee Academy of Science; Jake Dunham, sr., South Milwaukee; Dupree Fletcher, jr., Carmen Northwest.

Luther Smith Jr., sr., Sussex Hamilton; JR Lukenbill, sr., Burlington; MJ Stackhouse, jr., Kenosha Indian Trail; Will Gardner, sr., Franklin; Canan Huss, sr., Chippewa Falls McDonell Central; Tyson Lucas, sr., Cameron; Eddie Mittermeyer, sr., Chippewa Falls McDonell Central; Tyler Orr, sr., Rice Lake; Ryan Popowich, jr., Bruce; Domanyck Schwarzenberger, jr., Bloomer. Bennett Fried, sr., La Crosse Central; Tanner Jones sr., Bangor; Carson Koepnick, sr., West Salem; Isaiah Schwichtenberg, sr., Onalaska Luther; T.J. Stuttley, so., Onalaska.

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This article originally appeared on Milwaukee Journal Sentinel: Pewaukee's Milan Momcilovic awarded AP boys basketball player of year