Iowa State men’s basketball: ESPN lists Monte Morris among top PG returnees

ESPN has listed Iowa State’s Monte Morris as one of the top five returning point guards in the nation.

Mar 28, 2014; New York, NY, USA; Iowa State Cyclones guard Monte Morris (11) shoots the ball against Connecticut Huskies forward DeAndre Daniels (2) and guard Shabazz Napier (13) during the first half in the semifinals of the east regional of the 2014 NCAA Mens Basketball Championship tournament at Madison Square Garden. Mandatory Credit: Adam Hunger-USA TODAY Sports

C.L. Brown unsurprisingly highlights how Morris killed nationally on the assist-turnover ratio as a freshman.

"He didn’t crack the starting lineup until the final 17 games of the season. But when he did, the Cyclones operated at a higher level, as evidenced by their 13-4 mark in that span. Morris led the nation in assist-turnover ratio as a freshman last season. His 4.79 mark smashed the old record of 3.96 set by Utah State’s Tyler Newbold in 2009. Morris played roughly half the season as a backup, but next season he’ll fully inherit the offensive reins from the start."

Morris joins that elite list with Wichita State’s Fred VanVleet, North Carolina’s Marcus Paige, Louisiana Tech’s Kenneth Smith, and Kentucky’s Andrew Harrison. A little interesting that Harrison is on the list, and Brown even mentions his not-so-great assist-turnover ratio, but he’s definitely one of the best guards coming back.

There should be no surprise that Morris will return as a starter and teams will be ready for him. He’s an incredibly smart basketball player that feels the tone of a game and doesn’t force horrible passes that’s really easy to do in this up-tempo system.