Basketball

Monte Morris named Honorable Mention AP All-American

Iowa State point guard Monte Morris was named an honorable mention All-American by the Associated Press on Tuesday. The teams were voted on by the 65 national media members that vote for the AP Top 25.

The Flint, Mich. native averaged a career-high 16.4 points per game during his senior season. He dished out 6.2 assists, grabbed a career-high 4.8 rebounds, shot 46.5 percent from the floor and 50.3 percent from 3-point range while leading the Cyclones to their third Big 12 tournament title in four years.

Morris, who was named the Big 12 tournament’s Most Outstanding Player, broke his own NCAA record for assist-to-turnover ratio from 4.79 as a freshman to 5.21. He was one of 10 finalists for the Bob Cousy Award given annually to the nation’s best point guard.

The 6-foot-3-inch floor general became the eighth player in NCAA history to lead the country in a statistical category in three consecutive seasons. He was named first team All-Big 12 for the second straight year and earned All-American honors from USA Today and NBC Sports to become the 20th All-American in program history.

The AP’s first team was made up of Kansas’ Frank Mason, Villanova’s Josh Hart, Purdue’s Caleb Swanigan, UCLA’s Lonzo Ball and North Carolina’s Justin Jackson.

Other notables from Iowa State opponents on the teams included Baylor’s Johnathan Motley (second team), Gonzaga’s Nigel Williams-Goss (second team), Kansas’ Josh Jackson (third team), Oklahoma State’s Jawun Evans (honorable mention), Iowa’s Peter Jok (honorable mention) and Gonzaga’s Przemek Karnowski (honorable mention).

Morris being listed gives the Cyclones three-straight years with a player earning honors from the AP. Georges Niang was second team last season and third team in 2015.

Jared Stansbury

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Jared a native of Clarinda, Iowa, started as the Cyclone Fanatic intern in August 2013, primarily working as a videographer until starting on the women’s basketball beat prior to the 2014-15 season. Upon earning his Bachelor’s degree in Journalism and Mass Communication from Iowa State in May 2016, Jared was hired as the site’s full-time staff writer, taking over as the primary day-to-day reporter on football and men’s basketball. He was elevated to the position of managing editor in January 2020. He is a regular contributor on 1460 KXNO in Des Moines and makes regular guest appearances on radio stations across the Midwest. Jared resides in Ankeny with his four-year-old puggle, Lolo.

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