REPORT: Monte Morris linked to FBI investigation of college basketball

Mar 18, 2017; Milwaukee, WI, USA; Iowa State Cyclones guard Monte Morris (11) drives around defender Purdue Boilermakers guard Carsen Edwards (3) during the first half of the game in the second round of the 2017 NCAA Tournament at BMO Harris Bradley Center. Mandatory Credit: Benny Sieu-USA TODAY Sports

Former Iowa State star Monte Morris has been implicated in a Yahoo Sports investigation into the underbelly of college basketball for eating a meal with former ASM Sports associate Christian Dawkins. Dawkins is one of the men at the center of the FBI scandal with the potential to rock college basketball and collegiate athletics as we know them.

According to documents obtained by Yahoo, Dawkins’ expense reports list meals and meeting with players of their families while in high school or college before they turned pro, including Morris, who is the school’s all-time leader in assists and steals.

“There’s nothing wrong with meeting with an agent,” Atlanta-based lawyer Stu Brown told Yahoo. “But then it becomes a question of who pays for the meal.”

Other players listed in the same part of the report as Morris report Alabama point guard – and one-time Iowa State recruit – Collin Sexton, Kentucky guard Kevin Knox, Duke forward Wendell Carter, former Creighton player Justin Patton, who went on to sign with ASM Sports and super-agent Andy Miller after his collegiate career, former Texas player Prince Ibeh and former Virginia star Malcolm Brogdon.

As a whole, the report implicates some of college basketball’s most prestigious programs and some of the sports biggest current stars. For example, Michigan State star Miles Bridges, another one-time Iowa State recruit, and his family are listed as having received hundreds of dollars in advances from Dawkins.

Former Kansas star Josh Jackson, former Washington star, and eventual No. 1 overall pick in the NBA Draft, Markell Fultz and former Utah star, and again, a one-time Cyclone recruit, Kyle Kuzma are all listed as having received more than $1,000 from ASM.

At this point, it is not clear how big of an impact this report will have on the future of college basketball but it remains a story worth monitoring.

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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