Cyclones’ Monte Morris ‘as good as advertised’ in first five games

AMES - Monte Morris saw his opportunity and took a chance.

Abdel Nader was making a strong move to the rim for an alley-oop and Morris, who was well beyond the 3-point line in transition, launched a pass to a place near the hoop where only his man could get it.

That's Monte Morris' skill set in a nutshell and just a little part of what has made him so invaluable for No. 5 Iowa State.

'You think about it, if you walked out there and did that right now, that would be tough to complete,” Iowa State Coach Steve Prohm said. 'I think people really like Monte.”

Morris, who was named co-Big 12 Player of the Week, averaged 16 points, 7.7 assists and four rebounds in wins against Virginia Tech and Illinois last week. North Dakota State invades Hilton Coliseum at 7 p.m. Tuesday, but Morris' play has kept the Cyclones (5-0) level-headed through the early part of the year.

His 20 points, nine rebounds, six assists and zero turnovers against the Fighting Illini was an example of the junior at his most efficient, but he hasn't really tried to do much different than what he did in his first two seasons. The transition from Fred Hoiberg to Prohm hasn't been a strain on how comfortable he feels playing.

'Two different displays of coaches asking for the same thing,” Morris said. 'Coach Prohm always wants me to push the ball and Fred always wanted me to push the ball. Fred always told me it's my pace that dictates the whole game. I'm still using that to this day playing under Prohm.”

Morris made hay in taking care of the ball - he's the national assist-to-turnover ratio leader the last two seasons and has given the up-tempo ISU offense more of the same this year. He has 23 assists to one turnover in the last three games and leads the Big 12 in assist-to-turnover ratio (5.8).

All five Iowa State starters are averaging double-figure scoring, which players said can be traced back to Morris.

'Monte is consistent,” Jameel McKay said. 'Sometimes he might not score as much, but he can dominate the game just passing the ball and when he steps on the court he just dominates.”

Prohm has a well-documented history of success with point guards, putting Isaiah Canaan and Cameron Payne in the NBA from Murray State, and has the chance to do it again with Morris.

'He's as good as advertised,” Prohm said. 'He's been terrific.”

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