The reigning B1G Player of the Year and 1st Team All American still has room to grow in his final season in West Lafayette
The final offseason for Braden Smith will feature as much preseason hype for a Purdue player outside of Zach Edey. It would seem that a player who holds the single season B1G record for assists, the program record for assists in a career, and who owns a Bob Cousy Award, and was a finalist for the National Player of the Year wouldn’t have much to prove but you’d be betting against a player who has had something to prove his entire career. That kind of attitude and approach, similar to Carsen Edwards’ ‘Kill Everything,’ is what gives him the edge and leadership to be the favorite for next season’s Player of the Year in the B1G and nationally. So what can he do to improve?
“I think proving people wrong is kind of my life story.”
Braden Smith has quieted more than his share of doubters this season.@BTNJourney profiles No. 2 @BoilerBall PG’s sophomore jump. ⤵️ pic.twitter.com/fyf3Qoa9aq
— Big Ten Men’s Basketball (@B1GMBBall) January 30, 2024
Last season, Smith set the single season assists record for the program and the B1G with 313. That is the 14th best season in NCAA history and that followed up the 292 he had in his sophomore season. Flat out, Smith sets the table for scoring as good as any other player in B1G history and has a legitimate chance at catching Bobby Hurley’s career record of 1,076. What Smith needs to do is look to improve on his assists to turnover ratio as he has continued to show a propensity for turning the ball over. That is especially true as he sometimes leaves his feet and gets stuck with no place to go.
Last season, Smith had 109 turnovers with eleven games where he had four or more. He is, as Matt Painter has said, capable of playing with zero turnovers every game and drew a comparison to Tyrese Haliburton in how he can control a game in that regard. Smith continuing his ability to set up his teammates and limiting himself to one or two turnovers a game by simply not putting himself into bad spots is crucial. There isn’t going to be any more pressure placed on him than there has been the previous three seasons and Purdue can obviously afford to have some turnovers from him given how much he has the ball in his hands, but the silly ones that can kill momentum or allow a team to suddenly get itself back into a game have to go (see at Indiana last season to start the second half).
NEW: You cannot put a price tag on roster continuity and the return of a superstar to a program. Braden Smith running it back for his senior year at Purdue is awesome for the Boilermakers, the Big Ten & CBB. Column on what it means for Matt Painter’s team: https://t.co/CuIq80AmBj
— John Fanta (@John_Fanta) April 14, 2025
The other major aspect that Smith needs to work on this offseason is, quite literally, what makes him such a potent point guard: scoring. When Smith is attacking as the primary scorer in the offense, Purdue becomes an elite level offensive team. When Smith is scoring and pulls more weight and focus of the defense to him to prevent him from scoring, it opens up the shooting for guys like Loyer, Cox, Harris, and Murphy from behind the arc. Smith, simply put, is also one of the most talented scorers in the country when he chooses to be that kind of player.
His improvement off the court may be just as important for Smith heading into his final season. That isn’t to say that Smith has ever been an issue as he has engrained himself into the community as much as any other player in recent Purdue history, but handling a spotlight that will burn brighter on him than before is going to be key. Having the experience to be right there alongside Edey for two seasons and then being handed the car keys last year helps, but Smith will enter his senior year as the face of college basketball. That’s a level of pressure that can break a player, even one as talented and prepared as Smith has been up to this point (see Oscar Tshiebwe when he came back after being the National Player of the Year).
I’m still thinking about Braden Smith’s tourney game against Houston. It was one of the greatest displays of floor generalship at the college level I’ve ever seen. It sucks his scoring is lagging a bit. Made Houston’s ball pressure look pathetic with pure skill.
— Coach Fox (@FoxScoutingNBA) May 8, 2025
Smith’s improvements are key to pushing Purdue into another Final Four, one that they very well could have made last year had it not been for a last second loss to Houston in the Sweet 16. He will be the likely Preseason National Player of the Year, B1G Preseason Player of the Year, and a Preseason All American by every publication. The step from Purdue great to All Time NCAA great is right in front of Smith in his final season and those kinds of players always find a little more from themselves when it appears as though the juice has all been squeezed. Smith can be that and this offseason is the most important one for him and may be one of the most important for Purdue as they look to maintain their position at the absolute elite level of college basketball following his departure.