4-star guard Morris commits to Iowa State

Four-star point guard Monte Morris announced his commitment to Iowa State on Wednesday - his 17th birthday - in an afternoon event at Flint (Mich.) Beecher High School.

The 6-foot-1, 175-pound Morris is ranked as the no. 83 prospect in the country for the Class of 2013, according to Rivals.com. He was also offered by Arizona State, Cincinnati, Georgia Tech, USC, Princeton, Providence, Rhode Island and Western Michigan. Other schools that had shown him strong interest were Butler, Illinois and Xavier.

Morris visited Iowa State unofficially in early June. He also made unofficial visits to Arizona State, Syracuse and Indiana.

Assistant coach Cornell Mann was the lead recruiter for Iowa State on Morris. The commitment to ISU awakens echoes of the 1980s when Iowa State flourished in large part on the talent of Flint products like Barry Stevens and Jeff Grayer.

The Cyclones now have two verbal commitments for 2013. Onalaska (Wisc.) shooting guard Matt Thomas committed to Iowa State earlier this month.