Iowa State Basketball: Monte Morris’ senior season flying under the radar
Iowa State basketball is headed to their sixth straight NCAA Tournament thanks to the play of their senior point guard.
After losing Georges Niang, Jameel McKay and Abdel Nadar this offseason off a veteran-laden 2015-16 roster, Iowa State was expected to have a “down” season. While they began the year in the AP top 25, the Cyclones dropped questionable games to Iowa and Vanderbilt in the non-conference portion of the schedule and a game on the road against Texas in conference play.
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The Cyclones are off the national radar because of these losses, but they are still clearly an NCAA Tournament team based on their record (18-9 and in 3rd place in the Big 12) and their quality wins over Miami, Texas Tech (twice), Oklahoma State, TCU, Kansas State (twice) and Kansas (on the road).
It’s no surprise that the Cyclones aren’t being talked about in the same breath as Kansas, Baylor and West Virginia. However, what is surprising is how little attention senior point guard Monte Morris is receiving for his impressive play.
Sure, Iowa State has improved defensively and Deonte Burton is the team’s X-factor, but where would the Cyclones be without their senior leader?
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Beyond his leadership in the locker room and his ability to initiate the team’s offense, Morris is the team’s top scorer (16.3), their top assist man by a wide margin (6.0) and their third best rebounder (4.5). He shoots 47 percent from the field, 81 percent from the free throw line and 38 percent from beyond the arc, which are highly efficient numbers for the amount of minutes he plays and the amount of shots that he takes.
Most importantly, Morris never (and seriously, I mean never) turns the basketball over. He averages just one turnover in 35 minutes per game. In his last 183 minutes (five games), Morris has just four turnovers. Before last night’s overtime win over Texas Tech, Morris had just two turnovers in his last four games.
Those are absurd statistics that limit other teams’ transition attacks and zap opponents of potential momentum changing plays.
In his last six games, Morris is averaging 17.3 points per game, including a 25-point outing that led Iowa State to a shocking victory on the road at Kansas (a place where the Jayhawks so rarely lose at). It’s no coincidence that Iowa State is playing their best basketball of the season over this stretch — they’ve won five of six with their lone loss coming against Texas.
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Morris will receive very little consideration for Big 12 Player of the Year due to the play of Frank Mason III, Johnathan Motley and Josh Jackson. But that doesn’t mean we shouldn’t give Iowa State’s best player his fair share of love.