BUTLER TWP — His minutes are up. So are his numbers.

Most importantly, so are his prospects.

Butler graduate Ethan Morton is rounding back into form as an effective bench player for the third-ranked Purdue University men's basketball team.

The Boilermakers are 11-1 so far this season — losing only a 70-68 decision to Rutgers — and Morton “has become a big part of what they have going on there,” Butler coach Matt Clement said.

The 6-foot-6 sophomore guard is averaging more than 16 minutes per game after averaging 8.8 minutes last year. He is fourth on the team with 24 assists, has hit 11 of 23 field goal attempts, including five of nine shots from 3-point range.

“I was still anxious and nervous going into this fall,” Morton admitted. “We had all of this scoring and talent coming back. I wasn't sure how things were gonna go.

“I had to let go worrying about everything. Last year, I played too tentative and I think that hurt me. This year, I've been more aggressive, not worrying about making mistakes.”

Sixteen of Morton's 19 rebounds this season have been defensive boards and he has nine steals. He has turned the ball over only six times.

“The last five or six games, he's averaged more than 20 minutes per game,” Clement said. “He's definitely found a place in their system.

“I'm just so proud of him. Other players who went through what he did last year would have looked to transfer out. But Ethan never put his head down. He's kept grinding, going about his job on the floor.”

While he has four players averaging in double figures, Purdue coach Matt Painter appreciates what Morton brings to his team.

“He gave us a lot of really good minutes,” Painter said of Morton in the Lafayette (Ind.) Journal & Courier after the Rutgers game. “He's someone who is active and can pass the basketball.”

Morton said Coach Painter reminds players coming off the bench “not to try to cram 30 minutes of play into 10 minutes on the floor.

“He emphasizes just doing your job, making the right plays. Some nights, opportunities will be there to make a splash play, other nights, it won't,” Morton added.

Jaden Ivey, a 6-4 sophomore guard, leads Purdue with 16.7 points per game. Zach Edey, a 7-4 sophomore center, averages 14.4 points per game, 6-10 senior forward Trevion Williams 13.7 ppg and 6-5 senior forward Sasha Stefanovic 11.3 ppg.

“They might have three NBA draft picks on that roster right now,” Clement said. “Ethan has a chance to play in the Final Four, maybe win a national championship.

“I'd take his role on a team like that over a guy averaging 12 points on a team with seven wins or so.”

Still, Morton has had to adjust to being a role player for the time being after tallying 2,198 points, 912 rebounds and 682 assists during a stellar high school career at Butler.

“Definitely an adjustment I've had to make,” he said. “But I'm not alone there. Every player coming off the bench for our team was a star in high school.

“I'm helping a lot on defense, making a good pass here and there. And shots are beginning to open up for me. I've had to adjust my game here compared to my years at Butler.”

Clement believes the Butler version of Morton will emerge at Purdue — eventually.

“The Ethan Morton we saw at Butler, we'll see again to some degree during his remaining three years at Purdue,” the Butler coach said. “He's just too good of an offensive player for that not to happen. I can see him emerging into a T.J. McConnell-type of player.

He's never lost his enthusiasm and energy toward the game and that's a credit to him.”

Either way, Morton is enjoying playing in front of boisterous crowds of 16,000 at Purdue's Mackey Arena.

“It is so loud in there,” he said. “You have to appreciate the support we get from the community. We sell out every game.

“We had a home game on a Monday, the students were gone on break, and we still sold out. It's incredible. I feel like I'm enjoying and appreciating the game again.

“What we had at Butler, what we have here ... It's special to me. The atmosphere was unbelievable,” Morton added.