Morton hopeful of big finish at Purdue
WEST LAFAYETTE, Ind. — His minutes may have diminished at Purdue, but the accomplishments keep on coming.
Butler graduate Ethan Morton is wrapping up his college basketball career with the Boilermakers with the NCAA Tournament, which begins this week. He’s been part of Purdue teams that have won Big Ten regular season and tournament titles, been ranked No. 1 in the nation and earned a No. 1 seed in the NCAA tourney in consecutive years.
“I guess that’s all that’s left,” the Purdue senior guard said of a potential deep run in the NCAA Tournament. “We’re going to do everything we can to make that happen. It’s everybody’s goal to reach the Final Four, win a national championship.
“Last year’s end was tough to deal with. Now we have a chance to make it right. Not many teams get that opportunity.”
The Boilermakers (29-4) were abruptly bounced from last year’s tournament by No. 16 seed Fairleigh Dickinson in the first round. In the first round. This time, they get the winner of the Montana State (17-17)/Grambling (20-14) play-in game. Purdue will play that winner at 7:30 p.m. Friday in Indianapolis.
A win there sends Purdue intro the Round of 32 against the Utah State (27-6)/TCU (21-12) winner.
“The bracket is set up for us pretty well,” Morton said. “But it’s up to us to make it happen.”
How much Morton will be a part of that process remains to be seen. He averaged 25.2 minutes per game last season — starting 29 games — but only 11.4 minutes per game this season with no starts. He’s dished out 39 assists and turned the ball over fewer than 10 times during his time on the court this year.
Morton sank 41 field goals for the Boilermakers last season, including 26 treys. He’s made eight total field goals this season.
“The minutes haven’t been there,” he said of his time on the floor. “I do what I can to bring energy from the bench, embrace that role, tell players what I’m seeing out there and try to help that way. You have to stay engaged. I’ll do whatever I can to help the team win.”
Morton graduated from Purdue with a degree in engineering in December. He has another year of basketball eligibility, but said this is his final year at Purdue.
“It’s been hard at times, trying to get minutes on the court, but this is an extremely talented and deep team,” he said. “This is what I signed up for. I knew the challenges that go with that. All I can do is keep working hard and keep trying to get better.”
With what he hopes to be a long NCAA Tournament run in front of him, Morton admitted he hasn’t thought too much about what the immediate future has in store for him.
“When the tournament is over, I’ll have plenty of time to sort all of that stuff out,” he said. “I know I want to get into coaching at some point. Going to another school and playing my final year is out there, too.
“Everything is up in the air right now. In time, it will all work out.”
