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Monte Morris and the sophomore leap

monte morris

Next season will be a unique one for Iowa State coach Fred Hoiberg -- it will be the first year the offense will be orchestrated by a guard recruited to Ames by Hoiberg. Sure, he has had some fine guards, including Diante Garrett, Royce White, Chris Allen, Korie Lucious, and DeAndre Kane, but that sextet were either leftovers from the previous coaching staff or transfers convinced Iowa State was the best place to continue their careers. What Hoiberg hasn’t done, and what he will accomplish in 2014-15, is having recruited a guard from high school with the specific purpose of playing the point.

When Monte Morris arrived on campus, he was clearly overlooked in favor of the expectations set for Matt Thomas, a Cyclone newbie who was expected to shine from day one, yet Morris has developed into one of the Big 12’s top guards. Consider that on a team with Melvin Ejim, the conference’s player of the year, Georges Niang, and Kane, Morris’ offensive rating led the squad. When Morris was ushered into the starting lineup, ISU went 13-4, and the evolution of his game and understanding of how to run an offense allowed the other four Cyclones to execute their offense unburdened with trying to set up teammates -- Morris would find whichever Cyclone was open at the right moment.

Travis Hines of the Ames Tribune notes Morris’ assist to turnover ratio set an NCAA record, but what is truly impressive is during that seventeen game stretch, Morris only recorded 17 turnovers (while notching two games with double-digit assists).

Can Morris continue to build off his frosh season? Hoiberg certainly had a rebuilding job when he began this current season, and that job will be tenfold in 2014-15. The return of Niang should help, as will the improvement of Thomas, Naz Long, and Dustin Hogue, but an expectation that must be fulfilled should ISU enjoy another 20-plus win season is the expansion of Morris’ offense. Deferring to teammates propelled the Cyclones in 2014, but Morris will have to shoulder a great percentage of the offense in 2015, but if his shooting is any indication -- 41 percent from beyond the arc -- Morris has the ability to be an scoring juggernaut.

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