Not a bad year for what many believed to be a rebuild.
The haters were loud this off-season for Matt Painter’s Boilermakers.
Many keyboard warriors, as well as media members believed the fall off post Zach Edey would be significant, and at times it was.
But it was not the apocalyptic disaster that many thought it to be.
Braden Smith heard the doubters all off-season, as he was called an Edey merchant by a lot of people that really shouldn’t have an opinion on anything Purdue related.
He turned that hate into motivation, becoming a consensus 1st Team All-B1G selection and being named thr B1G Ten Player of the Year, Purdue’s third year in a row winning the MVP of the league.
✌️ on the first team.
2nd straight year with two 1st-teamers.
Both unanimous selections.
Fletcher named Honorable Mention. pic.twitter.com/cPwlGjGu9U— Purdue Men’s Basketball (@BoilerBall) March 11, 2025
Smith steadied the Boilermakers, with his precise passing and opportunist buckets.
But, enter Purdue’s next great post player, Trey Kaufman-Renn.
Again, another player who heard doubt all off-season. The 4th year Junior would triple his point production from the previous season, averaging 19.7 ppg and 6.1 rpg this year.
Trey, while a little undersized for a true post, uses his speed on the low block, and strength to go up against and dominate other Big Ten post players.
Lastly, the dead eye from deep, Fletcher Loyer. Fletcher is shooting nearly 50% from deep on the season.
He also added the ability to get to the bucket at times, making him even more of a threat on offense.
Overall, these three have tuned out the haters, both from Twitter bots and media members.
Congratulations, Men!