Butler’s Ethan Morton latest WPIAL basketball recruit headed out of state

By: Chris Harlan
Thursday, May 9, 2019 | 11:00 PM

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The WPIAL doesn’t produce an abundance of major-college men’s basketball recruits, but it has seen its share of three- and four-star prospects in recent years.

The latest to pick a college, Butler junior Ethan Morton, committed Thursday night to Purdue. Rivals ranks the 6-foot-5 guard as a four-star recruit. He chose the Big 10 contender from a list of offers that included Pitt.

Here’s a look at where recent WPIAL three- or four-star recruits committed.

2020 | Ethan Morton | Butler

Four-star recruit

College choice: Purdue

Morton had nearly two dozen scholarship offers, including Pitt, Indiana, Iowa, Ohio State, Michigan, Marquette, Stanford, Virginia and others.

2018 | Robby Carmody | Mars

Four-star recruit

College choice: Notre Dame

The 6-foot-4 guard chose Notre Dame from an offers list that included Pitt, Penn State, Duquesne, Purdue, Michigan, Syracuse, Stanford and others. He played a few games early last year as a Fighting Irish freshman before a shoulder injury ended his season.

2014 | Cameron Johnson | OLSH

Three-star recruit

College choice: Pitt

Johnson had a handful of offers late in his high school days, including Rice, Columbia, UMass-Lowell, Marist and a few others. But once he experienced a growth spurt and reached 6-8, Pitt became interested. He played two seasons at Pitt before transferring to North Carolina.

2014 | Ryan Luther | Hampton

Three-star recruit

College choice: Pitt

Luther chose Pitt from an offers list that included Iowa, George Washington, Dayton, Bucknell and a handful of others. The 6-8 forward played three seasons at Pitt before jumping to Arizona as a graduate transfer.

2013 | Geno Thorpe | Shaler

Three-star recruit

College choice: Penn State

The Nittany Lions signed Thorpe out of high school and he played there two seasons, but the 6-3 guard later transferred to South Florida and then Syracuse. He had Pitt, Wisconsin and Seton Hall among his offers while at Shaler.

2013 | Devin Wilson | Montour

Three-star recruit

College choice: Virginia Tech

The 6-4 guard drew interest from West Virginia and Villanova but the Hokies were the only major conference team that stuck with him throughout the recruiting process. Wilson ranks sixth all-time in assists at Va. Tech.

2012 | Devontae Watson | Lincoln Park

Three-star recruit

College choice: Temple

The 6-10 center had planned official visits to Florida State, Kent State, St. Joseph’s and Dayton, but committed to Temple after making a trip to Philadelphia. He played four seasons for the Owls and started 50 games.

2012 | Sheldon Jeter | Beaver Falls

Three-star recruit

College choice: Vanderbilt

Jeter chose Vanderbilt out of high school but later transferred to Pitt. The 6-7 forward didn’t have a Panthers offer while starring at Beaver Falls but did have Penn State, South Carolina and Wisconsin.

2010 | Tom Droney | Sewickley Academy

Three-star recruit

College choice: Davidson

The 6-5 guard listed offers from Pitt, Penn State, Duquesne, West Virginia and Notre Dame, among others, before committing to Davidson. Droney played in 132 games (89 starts) in four seasons.

2009 | Zeke Marshall | McKeesport

Four-star recruit

College choice: Akron

Pitt, Duquesne, Virginia and Virginia Tech were among the teams recruiting the 6-11 center, who ultimately chose Akron and coach Keith Dambrot, who’s now Duquesne’s coach. Marshall started 130 of 138 games in four years.

2008 | Brian Walsh | Moon

Three-star recruit

College choice: Xavier

As Xavier’s coach, Sean Miller used his WPIAL roots to recruit the 6-4 guard to the Musketeers. Walsh also had offers from Pitt, Penn State, West Virginia, Maryland and others. He later transferred to Akron and played for Dambrot.

Chris Harlan is a TribLive reporter covering sports. He joined the Trib in 2009 after seven years as a reporter at the Beaver County Times. He can be reached at charlan@triblive.com.

Tags: Beaver Falls, Butler, Hampton, Lincoln Park, Mars, McKeesport, Montour, Moon, Our Lady of the Sacred Heart, Sewickley Academy, Shaler