Purdue is looking to dominate the Big Ten Conference and make deep runs in the NCAA Tournament for the foreseeable future. They have one of the top-ranked recruiting classes for 2024 and just gave everyone on their squad a taste of playing in the national championship game against UConn. Coach Matt Painter already has to deal with the departures of Zach Edey, and Lance Jones. However, the NCAA Transfer Portal will also see them lose both Ethan Morton and Mason Gillis, per The Purdue Exponent.
The expectation for Purdue was that they were only going to lose the National Player of the Year and their key transfer from last season. But, plans don't always work out. Ethan Morton has only been given meager minutes by Coach Matt Painter which makes the decision understandable. Newcomers Myles Colvin and Camden Heide have gotten more opportunities to shine during Purdue's run from the NCAA Tournament's first round all the way to their matchup against UConn.
In total, Ethan Morton has only played 10 minutes per game for Purdue. His production also went down by a lot. In 2022-23, he managed to knock down 32% of his shots from all three levels of scoring. This year, that number went down to a horrid 23.5% field goal shooting percentage. Coach Matt Painter's system might no longer be working for him which is why he chose to leave Purdue.
Nonetheless, his peak back in 2021-22 saw him shoot 44.1% of his three-pointers which could be good enough for a team that is scouring for an elite bench presence through the NCAA Transfer Portal. Hopefully, he gets to shine outside of the Purdue basketball system and even get a shot to make a bigger impact with another squad.
Purdue loses its sixth-man
A lot of fans thought that Zach Edey, Lance Jones, and Mason Gillis played their last game against UConn for the same reason. But, it seems like the Big Ten's Sixth Man of the Year was going to use his last year of playing eligibility. It just so happened that it will not be with Purdue. He will also be entering the NCAA Transfer Portal and looking for a better role in another program.
Gillis was a huge asset for Coach Painter in Purdue's last four runs in the Big Ten and NCAA Tournament. He was entrusted with an average playing time of 21.8 minutes and made the most out of it. His stint with the Boilermakers may have started rough because of being redshirted but he immediately got the hang of the system. This saw him record an insane 47.5% shooting percentage on all three levels of scoring for 6.3 points.
The most impressive part is his three-point shooting. He has a college career average of 40.7% when shooting from way out. In his last season with Purdue, Gillis shot the lights out by knocking down an unbelievable 46.8% of his shots from outside the arc. Any team who snags him in the NCAA Transfer Portal will be lucky. They will get an effective scorer on all cylinders.
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