Any Butler basketball fan remembers Ethan Morton.

His 51-point effort at Pine-Richland. His thrilling performance down the stretch of a comeback playoff win over Peters Township at Mt. Lebanon. His willing his team to victory in the state tournament while playing on a high ankle sprain at Robert Morris University.

His leading the Golden Tornado to the WPIAL championship and three WPIAL final appearances in four years, scoring well over 2,000 points and being named Mr. Pennsylvania as the best high school basketball player in the state.

Morton invited all of his teammates, family and friends to a gathering to formally announce his selection of Purdue to continue his basketball career.

We all had visions of what was ahead, including Morton producing double-digit scoring seasons and anchoring the Boilermakers as a national title contender.

While the explosive scoring has not happened — Morton has not averaged as many as four points per game in any of his seasons at Purdue — the winning has.

Purdue recently clinched its second consecutive Big Ten regular season title with a 77-71 win over Illinois. The Big Ten had not had a repeat regular season champion in 17 years.

The Boilermakers have been ranked among the top three teams in the country all season and are anxious to erase the painful memory of being a top seed losing to a 16-seed in last year’s NCAA Tournament. Purdue will likely be a No. 1 seed again in this Morton’s senior year.

A former starter, Morton is averaging 12.2 minutes per game and only 0.8 points per game, this year.

A fall from grace? Not in his teammates’ eyes. His on-court efforts have not been lost on them.

In an article appearing in the Lafayette Journal & Courier in Indiana, senior center Zach Edey — headed to the NBA as a likely lottery pick — said of Morton: “He’s sacrificed more than anyone I’ve seen on this team. We all know what type of player he is. He’s taking a role and he has accepted that role on the team .. He is just all about winning.”

Morton makes smart decisions on the court. His 39 assists and only nine turnovers attest to that. When the Boilermakers need a shut-down defender against an opposing player, Morton is often the guy they call on.

You don’t have to score to contribute.

Undoubtedly, Morton would love to relive the days of driving the length of the floor for a clutch layup, hitting a timely trey, wearing down the opposition with his ball handling and ball distributing ability.

Those days may yet return for him as Morton has a year of college basketball eligibility remaining.

For now, Ethan Morton is all about Purdue. He’s getting his degree in engineering. And he’s just about the most giving teammate anybody’s gonna find.

Just like he was at Butler.

John Enrietto is sports editor of the Butler Eagle