Braden Smith Named AP 1st Team All American

The B1G Player of the Year will likely become Purdue’s 28th Consensus All American, second ever to only Kansas.

Braden Smith has been named an AP First Team All American following a season where he was named a First Team All B1G and the conference’s Player of the Year. He becomes the seventh First Team All American and the thirteenth overall player to be honored as either a first, second, third, or honorable mention under Head Coach Matt Painter. This is also the ninth year in the last ten seasons that Purdue has had a player make the All American first, second, third, or honorable mention lists.

Following the departure of back to back National Player of the Year Zach Edey, Smith had his best season of his college career and one of the best ever for a point guard. Smith currently stands at 287 season assists, just 5 shy of his B1G record he set last year of 292. Smith could very well break the 300 mark if Purdue is able to make the Round of 32 or Sweet 16 which would make him just the 22nd player in college basketball history to break 300 assists in a single season. He would also become the only player in any of the major conferences to do so while averaging double figures. Overall, Smith has averaged 16.1 points, 4.6 rebounds, 8.8 assists, and 2.2 steals per game.

Smith is joined by Auburn wing Johni Broome, Duke forward Cooper Flagg, Alabama point guard Mark Sears, and Florida guard Walter Clayton, Jr. Purdue has faced two of those All Americans in non-conference matchups earlier in the season in Broome and Sears.

Smith will lead the Boilers into the NCAA Tourney in their first round game against 13th seeded High Point in Providence, Rhode Island. That game will tip off at 12:40 on Thursday, March 20th on Tru TV but can also be watched online at NCAA March Madness Live.