Monte Morris: 'My heart just said' to return to Iowa State

AMES — Iowa State junior point guard Monte Morris needed some perspective on the decision he faced.

Following the Cyclones' loss to Virginia in the Sweet 16, Morris thought it was a no-brainer that he would take advantage of a new NCAA rule. He planned to test the NBA waters and get some feedback.

Then Morris had a change of heart. He's going back to Iowa State for his senior season.

'I think my decision was just weighing on how I felt in my heart,' Morris said. 'My heart just said to stay here one more year and try to get things done.'

The new NCAA rule allows underclassmen to be evaluated by NBA scouts by submitting their names for the draft, but still return to school if they hadn't hired an agent 10 days after the scouting combine in mid-May. Conversations with Iowa State coach Steve Prohm and his mother, Latonia, ultimately led him to decide he would return to Ames.

Morris, who was projected as the 43rd pick Wednesday by DratExpress' latest mock draft, averaged career highs with 13.9 points and 4.0 rebounds per game and had 6.9 assists per game — breaking the ISU single-season record held by Jeff Hornacek — but suffered a strained rotator cuff in his shooting arm in the regular season finale at Kansas that he felt hampered him through tournament play.

Although Morris only decided to return to school Wednesday, his shoulder had been weighing heavily in the back of his mind. Morris said he'll take out an insurance policy next season against injuries, which is also something he said he did this year.

'My shoulder isn't back to 100 percent yet and I think it would be me rushing into it and trying to play when I'm not ready to,' Morris said. 'I feel like just me resting and hiding behind the scenes for a little bit and trying to come back as a new person and get my body changed and things like that.'

Gaining weight is also on Morris' summer to-do list. He's 6-foot-3 and 175 pounds, but hopes to bump that number up to about 185 through an altered diet and work in the gym with the ISU strength and conditioning staff.

Morris, who doesn't turn 21 until June, had a 4.47 assist-to-turnover ratio as a junior and has started the last 86 games of his career. His presence gives the Cyclones instant credibility in the backcourt with the return of Naz Mitrou-Long and Matt Thomas along with the addition of Iowa Western transfer Donovan Jackson.

Morris is 115 assists and 40 steals away from breaking Jeff Hornacek's school records — 665 assists and 211 steals — but said the biggest thing he wants to do is improve his game while playing off the ball. Jackson is a true point guard and will give Prohm the ability to utilize Morris and Jackson on the floor at the same time.

'I've just got to put in a tremendous amount of work, which I'm going to be capable of doing, and not just talk about how good I want to be,' Morris said. 'Just actually working and working then put it on display in November. I think with me running off the ball and getting out in transition with my speed, it just shows a different approach and dimension this team can go.'