AMES, Iowa- Iowa State head men’s basketball coach Fred Hoiberg corralled one of the nation’s best recruiting classes this afternoon, as Hoiberg announced today the signing of four players to national letters of intent for the 2013-14 basketball season. The four-person class is ranked in the top-25 nationally in a number of recruiting services, including a spot at No. 24 in the ESPN national rankings and 25th nationally in the Rivals.com ratings.
This year’s class includes a pair of preps who are consensus top-100 national recruits in Matt Thomas (6-4, 190, Fr., Onalaska, Wis.) and Monte Morris (6-1, 195, Fr., Flint, Mich.). The Cyclones also signed two junior college teammates at Indian Hills C.C. (Ottumwa, Iowa), one of the nation’s best junior college programs, in Dustin Hogue (6-6, 205, Jr., Yonkers, N.Y.) and Richard Amardi (6-9, 225, Sr., Scarborough, Ontario).
Iowa State Men’s Basketball 2013-14 Recruits
Monte Morris, G, 6-1, 195, Fr., Flint, Mich. (Beecher)
Matt Thomas, G, 6-4, 190, Fr., Onalaska, Wis. (Onalaska)
Richard Amardi, F, 6-9, 225, Sr., Scarborough, Ontario (God’s Academy [Texas]/Indian Hills C.C.)
Dustin Hogue, F, 6-6, 205, Jr., Yonkers, N.Y. (Lincoln/Indian Hills C.C.)
Monte Morris
G, 6-1, 195, Fr.
Flint, Mich. (Beecher)
One of the nation’s best point guards, Monte Morris is a frontrunner to win Michigan’s Mr. Basketball Award in 2013…a consensus top-100 national recruit, Morris is ranked No. 77 by MaxPreps, No. 78 by Scout.com, No. 80 by ESPN and No. 92 by Rivals.com in the national rankings…already a two-time winner of Michigan’s Associated Press’ Class C Player of the Year Award and a two-time first-team all-state selection…named to the Detroit Free Press’ Dream Team in 2012…averaged 19.5 points, 4.3 assists and 4.7 rebounds as a junior in 2012, leading his team to an undefeated (28-0) state championship season…it was Beecher’s first state title in 25 years…a three-year starter who has made it to the Class C state semifinals all three seasons…averaged 18.1 points, 6.6 assists and 5.9 rebounds as a sophomore in 2011 to earn his first Class C state player of the year award…narrowed his choices to Iowa State, Butler and Illinois…joins former Iowa State greats Jeff Grayer, Barry Stevens and Justus Thigpen as players from Flint, Mich., to play for the Cyclones…also considered Indiana, Arizona State, Cincinnati, Georgia Tech and USC…nickname is “Man-Man.”
Matt Thomas
G, 6-4, 190, Fr.
Onalaska, Wis. (Onalaska)
An outstanding scorer who is considered one of the best shooters in the class of 2013…considered one of the best players from Wisconsin in 2013…a consensus top-100 national recruit, Thomas is ranked No. 32 by ESPN, No. 56 by Rivals.com, No. 56 by Scout.com and No. 68 by MaxPreps in the national rankings…jumped into the national rankings thanks to his outstanding play on the AAU circuit in the summer of 2012…named first-team all-state Division 2 by both the Associated Press and WBCA as a junior in 2012…averaged 21.3 points, 5.3 rebounds, 2.5 steals and 2.1 steals in 2012 to lead his team to the Division 2 state championship…his team ended the year with a 27-1 record…scored 30 points in the state championship game, a 55-38 victory over Kaukauna…shot 46.8 percent from 3-point range as a junior…was a third-team all-state pick as a sophomore, averaging 16.4 points and shooting 41.4 percent from downtown…team finished 23-3 in 2011…choose Iowa State over Virginia, Wisconsin and Marquette.
Richard Amardi
F, 6-9, 225, Sr.
Scarborough, Ontario (God’s Academy [Texas]/Indian Hills C.C.)
A strong, athletic big man…will play his final season of junior college basketball at Indian Hills C.C…redshirted in 2009-10 at Weatherford C.C. in Texas…played 12 games for Weatherford in 2010-11, averaging 13.4 points, 9.7 rebounds and 1.1 blocks…shot 55 percent from the field…in 2011-12, had problems with his visa and went back to Canada and did not play basketball…will be classified as a sophomore at Indian Hills, but will have one season of eligibility at Iowa State under the NCAA five years to play four rule.
Dustin Hogue
F, 6-6, 205, Jr.
Yonkers, N.Y. (Lincoln/Indian Hills C.C.)
Averaged 10.6 points and 5.7 rebounds as a freshman last season at Indian Hills C.C., one of the top junior college programs in the nation…IHCC finished seventh at the NJCAA Division I national tournament in 2012…IHCC is predicted to contend for the NJCAA title in 2013…also considered Iowa, Texas Tech, Washington State and Detroit.
