Trash talker? Purdue basketball's Fletcher Loyer prefers label as a winner
DETROIT − Walking down a hallway lined with a decorative homage to Detroit Pistons history is Purdue's trash talking basketball savant.
This was once Fletcher Loyer's city.
His father, John, coached the Detroit Pistons back when they were in Auburn Hills. Those Pistons teams were no longer the biggest, baddest and best team in the NBA like the ones a couple decades earlier.
Those championship-winning Bad Boys teams probably would've resonated more with Loyer.
"When I first came in, Fletch is kind of quiet," transfer guard Lance Jones said. "He didn’t do too much talking. Obviously there is some here and there. Seeing him in season form, he lets a lot of people have it."
King of trash talk
It's a long walk from the NCAA's press conference stage to the Detroit Pistons locker room, where Purdue is designated to dress for its games at Little Caesars Arena.
Loyer makes it just moments before the Boilermakers are scheduled to take the court for their March Madness practice ahead of Friday's Sweet 16 games against Gonzaga.
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But he does have time for a few questions before reporters are removed from the locker room.
So here goes: Where did your knack for trash talking come from?
"Me?" Loyer asks. "I wouldn't say I'm a trash talker."
At this moment, Jones shoots a look of disbelief to his left, directly at Loyer.
Loyer can be low key about it, like when he torched Tennessee for 27 points back in November and made sure the Volunteers knew they couldn't stop him. Sometimes it's a little more obvious, like when ran down the court two weeks ago in Minneapolis after silencing a vocal Michigan State fanbase with a dagger 3, then raised his finger over his lips to let them know the younger brother of a former MSU guard Foster Loyer had, yet again, done in the Spartans.
"In practice he doesn’t really say much," Purdue senior Carson Barrett said. "Going against the scout team, he keeps his mouth quiet, but when he is out on the court, he has that different personality to him. If someone starts it, he’s most likely going to finish it."
Fletcher Loyer or Luka Doncic?
Josh Furst is a freshman walk-on with Purdue's basketball team.
His first encounters with Loyer were four years ago when Furst, his older brother and current Purdue junior center Caleb, Loyer and current Illinois junior Luke Goode all worked out together at Optimum Performance Sports, a training facility in Fort Wayne.
Furst thought he knew Loyer. Then his Fort Wayne Blackhawk team faced Loyer's Homestead squad. That wasn't the Fletcher Loyer that Furst thought he knew.
"I do remember watching him play in high school," Furst said. "He didn’t score the first three quarters. In the fourth quarter, he just kept shooting and was confident. He hit four or five 3s in the fourth quarter and that is what ended up leading them to beat us."
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Sound familiar?
Just a month ago, Loyer was in a slump and the noise from fans wanting his minutes shifted to other players became evident.
In the last seven games, Loyer is 13 of 18 from 3-point range (72.2%) and 27-for-49 from the field using an offensive flurry that defies logic.
"This is a far off comparison, but when he goes out there and gets where he wants to go, because obviously he is not the most athletic guy out there, he reminds me of (Dallas Mavericks star) Luka (Doncic) a little bit how he is able to maneuver and get by guys," Purdue senior Ethan Morton said. "It’s not like he’s faster or bigger or stronger than these guys, but he is still able to get to his spots. It’s something I always ask myself when I guard him at practice; how did he get there? He is elusive and slippery and he knows his spots."
Son of a coach
Sasha Stefanovic is still learning the transition from college basketball player to coach.
The former Purdue guard is in his first season on the Boilermaker bench after a year playing professionally. If Loyer goes the same route, it'll likely be seamless.
"He is a very, very highly intelligent basketball player," Stefanovic said of Loyer. "His father and his family being basketball minds has really helped him. He understands the game. You can give him something and he tells you a lot of things going on the floor that coaches may not see. The communication aspect and understanding what coaches are trying to see, it’s really, really good stuff.
"He’s going to play as long as he can, but he can be a really great coach someday as well."
Loyer's ability to absorb information, or see it in live play and relay it to his own coaches, has kept him on the floor, even in those moments where shots aren't going in.
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Purdue is better with Loyer on the floor.
"Fletcher is just a learner of the game. He has that coach’s mind instilled in him," Barrett said. "Fletch plays a lot of minutes because he knows what he’s doing at all times. He might lack a little bit of athleticism or speed or whatever it may be. But he’s out there because he knows what he’s doing and he keeps us glued together."
All about winning
Tommy Lloyd sat at the podium in Gainbridge Fieldhouse in December.
Loyer had just toasted Lloyd's top-ranked Arizona Wildcats for 27 points, prompting Lloyd to label Loyer a winner.
Loyer once lived near Detroit, rooting for a Pistons team that rarely won.
Now he's walking the halls where the current day Pistons play, hoping to continue his recent hot streak and help lead the Boilermakers to college basketball's final week.
If Loyer has to be brash to get there, so be it.
"You want to win. You’ll do whatever it takes to win," Loyer said. "Now we’re here and it’s win or go home and you’re going to do what you can."
Sam King covers sports for the Journal & Courier. Email him at sking@jconline.com and follow him on Twitter and Instagram @samueltking.
This article originally appeared on Indianapolis Star: Purdue basketball Fletcher Loyer returns to Detroit
