WEST LAFAYETTE, Ind. — Last March, Ethan Morton was playing on a bum ankle, sparking Butler to a come-from-behind PIAA boys basketball playoff win over Upper St. Clair.

“I'll always remember that night,” Morton said. “Packed house at Robert Morris (University), so much energy and emotion.

“The NBA shut down on that same night ... and the world changed.”

Morton must feel like he's on a different planet these days.

After scoring 2,198 points and tallying 912 rebounds and 682 assists while putting together the best high school career in Butler basketball history, the 6-foot-6 Purdue University freshman point guard finds himself fighting for every minute he can get on the floor for the Boilermakers.

“This is what I signed up for,” Morton said. “Go to a great team with great players in a great league. I knew it'd be a challenge and it's been one.

“At the end of the day, it's still basketball. It's on me to get better.”

Purdue is off to a 7-4 start despite all seven of its leading scorers being underclassmen. Four of those players are freshmen.

Morton is not among them. He's been coming off the bench for his minutes.

For now.

“Ethan Morton is going to have a great career here,” Purdue assistant coach Steve Lutz said. “He's going through what a lot of college freshmen go through. The game has to slow down for him in his mind. The college game at this level is so much faster and they (freshmen) just aren't used to playing that fast.”

And Morton got off to a slow start because of an ill-timed bout with mononucleosis.

He was diagnosed with the disease in late October and was not cleared to return to practice until the week of the Boilermakers' season opener.

“He was quarantined for 30 of our first 45 days of practice,” Lutz said. “That's missing a lot ... conditioning, weight lifting, time in the gym, all of that.”

Through 10 games, Morton is averaging 12.3 minutes of play. He's tallied eight rebounds, 16 assists and 11 turnovers.

He's scored eight points, sinking 3 of 17 field goal attempts, including 2 of 12 from 3-point range.

“Not exactly where I expected to be at this time,” Morton admitted. “It was definitely tough (battling mono). First off, it sucks to be sick. I had to miss all of those practices, but there are no excuses.

“It's just part of the adversity you face. I have to overcome it.”

Morton says the game is beginning to slow down for him, “but it still seems pretty fast.”

Lutz and the other Purdue coaches aren't worried.

“Ethan is in the process of adjusting,” Lutz said. “He'll do it. He's too talented not to.”

Playing in front of packed gyms at Butler, Morton was looking forward to playing in front of thousands of people in a sold-out Mackey Arena on the Purdue campus.

With the COVID-19 pandemic going on, the Boilermakers and other college teams have been playing in empty arenas.

“That's definitely been different,” Morton said of the quiet arenas. “I feel like I haven't totally experienced this (college basketball) yet.”

The 14,000-seat Mackey Arena is considered one of the loudest facilities in college basketball.

“The noise and energy are the best,” Lutz said. “Right now, our players have to draw that energy from each other.”

Purdue has five players averaging between 9 and 14 points per game. Zach Edey, a 7-foot-4 freshman center, is averaging 11.3 points per game. Brandon Newman, a 6-5 freshman guard, is netting 9.1, 6-4 freshman guard Jaden Ivy 6.7 points per game.

“There is so much talent here, so much talent on the other teams ... It's crazy. You're always fighting for minutes, every day in practice,” Morton said. “It's a constant battle and I'll keep battling and working to figure things out.”

Morton has had his moments. He had six assists in a win over Oakland. He played 25 minutes against Clemson.

Lutz agreed with Morton's assessment of competitive practices.

“(Head) coach (Matt) Painter has no problem determining who's going to see playing time on game nights,” he said. “The players determine that themselves.

“We're a young team, but our goals never change here. Win the Big 10. Make the NCAA Tournament.2Get to the Final Four. That bar has been raised to that level at Purdue and we expect to reach for it.”

Morton expects to be part of it.

“I just want to win,” Morton said. “Whether it's on the court or on the bench cheering us on, I'll do everything I can to help this team succeed. That's why I'm here.

“I think back to my freshman year of high school and how much I had to learn then. Obviously, this isn't high school. This is a much higher level and it's up to me to catch up.”