AMES, Iowa – Junior point guard Monté Morris announced Friday that he will return to Iowa State for his senior season and will not enter his name into the 2016 NBA Draft.
“After carefully considering all of my options and speaking with Coach Prohm and my family, I have decided to return to Iowa State for my senior season,” Morris said. “Ultimately, it came down to wanting to accomplish a number of things, with earning my degree and continuing my development as a basketball player my top priorities. I want to get stronger and become the best basketball player I can before becoming a professional, and I feel another year at Iowa State can help me do that.”
Morris also noted his appreciation for the fans and the university.
“One of the great things about playing at Iowa State is playing in front of Cyclone fans at Hilton Coliseum. I can’t wait to experience Hilton Magic again with my teammates. We will work hard this summer as we try to earn Iowa State’s sixth consecutive NCAA Tournament berth. This university and its fans have always been loyal to me and I will always be loyal to ISU.”
Morris, who will turn 21 on June 27, is a Bob Cousy Award finalist and a Big 12 Second-Team selection as a junior. He averaged career highs of 13.9 points, 4.0 rebounds and broke ISU’s single-season record with 6.9 assists per game, which was previously held by Jeff Hornacek.
One of the top floor generals in the college game, Morris and his eye-popping 4.47 career assist-to-turnover ratio return to head coach Steve Prohm’s program.
“The way Monté handled this process speaks volumes about his character and maturity,” Prohm said. “From our program’s perspective we are ecstatic. For me personally, I look forward to continuing to develop our relationship and to help him continue to grow as a player and person in his efforts to reach his ultimate goal of becoming a professional basketball player after the 2016-17 season.”
“Monté has had a terrific first three seasons at Iowa State and I look forward to helping him and his teammates to reach their goals,” Prohm added.
The Flint, Michigan native, enters his senior season with his name etched on a number of Iowa State’s career lists. Morris is 26th in scoring (1,133 points), sixth in assists (551), eighth in steals (172) and 18th in 3-pointers made (98). He needs just 115 assists and 40 steals to break Hornacek’s school records of 665 career dimes and 211 career steals.
Morris has played in 105 career games and made 86 consecutive starts, the fifth-longest streak in school history.
