Monté Morris is one of the best point guards in the country, but ISU coach Steve Prohm has high standards for his leaders on the floor.

At Murray State, Prohm coached future NBA guards Cameron Payne and Isaiah Canaan. Though he’s only coached Morris for six games, Prohm said Morris has lived up to the hype.

“He’s as good as advertised,” Prohm said. “He’s been terrific. It’s been fun coaching him.”

Morris had his best game of the young season during Thanksgiving break, when he scored 20 points, pulled down nine rebounds and dished out six assists without a single turnover in the Emerald Coast Classic championship game against Illinois.

On the season, Monté Morris is averaging 15.3 points, 6.8 assists, 4.2 rebounds  and 2.0 steals per game. While most would consider those pretty impressive numbers, Morris expects even better of himself.

“I think I’m playing at a decent level,” Morris said. “I feel like I could turn it up just a little bit more. There are a few things on the defensive end I want to get better at, but I feel like I’m attacking good. I’d like to average a little more assists.”

Prohm’s previous point guards have both been big-time scorers, whereas Morris follows the mold of the true, pass-first point guard. Prohm has been working on Morris to become more aggressive and assertive offensively throughout the season.

Morris is tied with Abdel Nader as the second-leading scorer on the team. Both are just behind Georges Niang. Morris’ 15.3 average is a significant increase from his 11.9 points per game last season, in which he was also Iowa State’s second-leading scorer.

“I think he’s been more aggressive this year,” Prohm said. “I’m trying to get him to continue to think more offense. He’s so unselfish.”

Not only has Morris taken his individual offensive game to another level, but he has also risen the offensive game of his teammates. Five of the seven regular rotation players are shooting the ball at a 50-percent clip or better.

The only two exceptions are Matt Thomas and Naz Mitrou-Long, both of whom are 3-point specialists and therefore shoot a lower percentage from the field due to longer, lower-percentage shots.

“I think [Morris] is the reason,” Niang said of Iowa State’s high shooting percentage. “Obviously, making shots is easier when someone is getting it to you in your shot pocket or getting it to you in your scoring areas, and you don’t really have to create much. I think that credit goes all to him.”

Morris has shown his ability to score the ball and set up his teammates to score, but his ability to handle the ball in an ultra-efficient manner has been his claim to fame.

Morris has led the nation in assist-to-turnover ratio for consecutive years and owns the NCAA record in the statistical category after registering a 4.79 assist-to-turnover ratio as a freshman and 4.63 assist-to-turnover ratio as a sophomore.

Morris is on pace to break that record this season. His 41 assists and just eight turnovers put him at a 5.13 assist-to-turnover ratio. While his numbers are eye-popping to most outside his locker room, Jameel McKay said Morris is playing the way all his teammates expected him to.

“Every day he’s going to dominate the game, and that means sometimes he might not score as much,” McKay said.

“He can dominate the game just passing the ball. When he steps on the court, he just dominates. Right now, he just got that swagger about himself. He believes he’s the best guard every time he steps on the court, and he plays like it.”

As Morris dominates at the NCAA level, it’s been speculated that he might decide to forgo his senior season and head to the NBA next year. Experienced with sending guards to the NBA, Prohm has been working with Morris on the defensive end of the court.

“When you talk about going to the next level, you’ve got to be able to guard your position, and that’s something I think he’s really put a focus on,” Prohm said. “And when he’s really good defensively for us, then we’re a lot better.”

Morris’ two steals per game this season have verified that defensive emphasis, as ISU guards have cranked up the pressure under Prohm compared to a less aggressive defense under former ISU coach Fred Hoiberg.

Prohm said he’s talked to “NBA people” about Morris, and those people have liked what they’ve seen from the junior this season.

“I think [NBA] people really like Monté,” Prohm said. “Defensively, he’s showing that he can really guard, and he can run a basketball team, obviously. He’s going to have a bright future, and we’ll deal with all that stuff in April.”