The San Antonio Spurs might have taken a loss to the unstoppable Golden State Warriors, but they are on the path to a deep playoff run and possibly 60 wins or more on the season. That means a late pick in the first round of the NBA Draft in June, but they also have some picks in the second round that might come in handy. This is where we venture to this week as the Spurs could snag a college veteran and ready to play Monte Morris out of Iowa State.
Here are his raw stats for this past season:
- 16.4 PPG, 1.5 SPG, 6.2 APG, 4.8 RPG
- 46.5 FG%, 37.8 3P%
- 1.2 turnovers per game with 22.8 usage percentage
- 6’3” with 6’2” wingspan and 175 pounds
For his career, Morris was one of the most sure-handed point guards in the country with 768 total assists and 165 total turnovers over the course of four years. That’s better than a 4.5:1 assist to turnover ratio! His slight frame and lack of weight give some people cause for concern as it will likely be hard to play defense for him against pro caliber point guards and it doesn’t help that he has lapses from time to time. However, he has found a way to get a ton of steals because of his speed and agility.
Morris can score the ball from anywhere though and he can score off the dribble as well, so the offensive side of the court shouldn’t be an issue for him to grasp and excel at even at the NBA level. He could be a good playmaker off the bench for when Tony Parker eventually calls it a career as he can slither his way through a defense similar to the All-Star guard and he can clearly find others easily as evidenced by his high assist numbers. His experience in college should make him a valuable piece right away for whoever drafts him, as he has some intangibles you only gain by staying in school.
Morris is projected so low by a few mock drafts because he is a bit undersized and he doesn’t fall into some of the archetypes we see for point guards now. You have to be like a James Harden or Russell Westbrook who have high-volume shooting games and are able to make plays for others, you have to be like a Matthew Dellavedova who is a defensive specialist or like a Patty Mills who is a three-point sniper and floor spacer. Morris doesn’t really project into any of those groups as he’s more of a throwback floor general who can make an offense flow and look smooth, but he could become more of a three-point specialist if he worked on it a bit more as he already has a solid shooting percentage from that area of the floor.
Photo: NCAA.com
Add The Sports Daily to your Google News Feed!
