Having basketball amnesia makes freshman Fletcher Loyer Purdue's most clutch player

WEST LAFAYETTE − Fletcher Loyer once had an AAU basketball coach tell him that he needed to have amnesia.

At the time, Loyer didn't know what that meant, so he looked it up.

No one on Purdue's roster this season has been better at bouncing back when things aren't going well than the freshman guard.

"That's essential for a shooter, especially a shooter of his caliber," said Purdue center Zach Edey, who called Loyer one of the best shooters he's ever been around.

"We can't have him passing up open shots. He could be 0-for-10 and we not want him to pass up an open shot just because he's that type of shooter."

The ability to forget the bad has become a Loyer specialty.

And though he'd prefer not to have off nights, it comes with the territory.

No one shakes off a bad shooting night quite like Fletcher Loyer.

So poised for a freshman.

Loyer is not fazed by any of it.

Not by the stage.

Not by the competition.

And certainly not by the moment to be the hero.

In his short college basketball career, Loyer has shown no one has more short-term memory when things aren't going well and perhaps no one is more clutch when the game is on the line.

There's several examples to support those statements.

Twenty minutes into his college career, Loyer was 1 of 7.

That's problematic, right?

Maybe so if you're not Fletcher Loyer, who finished 6 of 15, including 5 of 12 from 3, and scored 17 points against Milwaukee that night in Mackey Arena.

And maybe getting up just five shots in your first game away from home, scoring five points against West Virginia in the Phil Knight Legacy tournament in Portland, Oregon, said something about Loyer's role.

Only he promptly went 10-for-22 and shot 50 percent from 3, scoring a combined 32 points in wins over Gonzaga and Duke the next two games.

"Who cares? You have to keep moving on. You know the work you put in," Loyer said about his ability to shake off moments where the ball doesn't go through the hoop. "Whether you've had a good game so far or not, you've got to just keep going forward."

Purdue found itself trailing big in first halves against Rutgers and at Ohio State last week.

In the waning moments of both games, Loyer hit the go-ahead 3-pointer. Though Rutgers responded with a game-winning 3 of its own, Loyer knocked down the same shot just three days later, which that time held up against the Buckeyes.

That night, he was 0 of 6 in the first half and had four turnovers, resulting in Loyer starting the second half on the bench. He finished with 11 second-half points, knocking down three 3s.

More:Matt Painter's gamble gives Purdue basketball rare 'double positive'

"He's got that edge to him," freshman point guard Braden Smith said. "That's just how he thinks as a basketball player, which it's good to have that. Just kind of let that last shot go, it's in the past."

Maybe there'd be a welcome to the Big Ten moment?

Loyer scored 20 in his Big Ten conference debut against Minnesota and 22 in his next conference game against Nebraska. He's averaging 13.3 points in six Big Ten games.

On Sunday against Penn State, despite not getting in the flow of the offense during the first 20 minutes, Loyer came up huge in the final 20 at the Palestra, scoring 17 points and making 4 of 7 3-pointers.

"He's been really aggressive in those seconds halves," Purdue coach Matt Painter said. "That's what we need him to be."

If there is a freshman wall that so many speak of when those rookies adapt to Big Ten basketball, Loyer hasn't found it yet.

Or, he found it in the first half against Ohio State and just as quickly shrugged it off.

That seems more apropos for Loyer.

His sharpshooting abilities, one of the major reasons Loyer was brought to Purdue, are coming to form.

While 35 percent (35 of 100) from 3-point range isn't to Loyer's satisfaction or expectation, he's 9-for-18 from 3 in the last three games and 7 of 13 in the last two, both away from Mackey Arena.

"Ultimately it comes down to you have to trust yourself and you've got to have confidence," Loyer said.

Sam King covers sports for the Journal & Courier. Email him at sking@jconline.com and follow him on Twitter and Instagram @samueltking.

Nebraska (9-8, 2-4) at No. 3 Purdue (15-1, 4-1)

Friday, 7 p.m.

TV: BTN

This article originally appeared on Lafayette Journal & Courier: Basketball amnesia makes Fletcher Loyer Purdue's most clutch player