For more than 15 years, Matt Painter assembled Purdue teams where players of all shapes and sizes could win.
From the exceptionally tall Zach Edey to the mighty-mouse scoring sparkplug Carsen Edwards. From a bulldozer like Caleb Swanigan to lithe and agile Jaden Ivey.
Painter's Boilermakers have had it all — except an elite point guard.
Postseason awards: Check out All-Big Ten teams, 2026 Player, Coach of the Year
Turns out, all he had to do was look about 50 miles southeast to find the one to change it all.
Westfield, Indiana's Braden Smith has gone from under-the-radar three-star recruit with offers from Montana and Appalachian State to Purdue's transcendent floor general. The All-American and 2025 Big Ten Player of the Year, Smith is in his final weeks with the Boilermakers. As the end approaches, he’s far from done.
NCAA history is in sight. So is that elusive national championship. Why not go for both?
Smith enters March within striking distance of Bobby Hurley's Division I assists record. To get there, he will need a few extra games. And that might mean guiding Purdue down a short drive south on I-65 to Indianapolis for the Final Four.
“We've had good point guards,” Painter told USA TODAY Sports. “But we haven't had that elite player at that position like him.”
There wasn’t much time for the 2022 Indiana Mr. Basketball to settle, thrust into the starting lineup out of the gate. It helped having Edey as the star, able to dish it to the 7-5 behemoth to dominate games.
It molded Smith as a premier passer, with assistant coach and former Purdue guard P.J. Thompson serving as a mentor. In his sophomore season, Smith's 7.5 assists per game were the second-most in the country for the eventual national runner-up.
But with Edey gone, Purdue needed more from Smith his junior year. He didn’t really prioritize scoring, but he would have to, all while continuing to be one of the best passers in the game.
He stepped it up. Last season, he averaged 15.8 points with 8.7 assists per game, leading to a crowded trophy case.
“You add something to your game every year. You add more maturity to your game, more polish to your game,” Painter said. “We needed him to score, we needed him each year to grow. Every year, he got better.”
This season, Smith is Purdue's leading scorer at 14.9 points per game while averaging 8.7 assists a game, second-most in the nation. It’s been a remarkable offensive season for Purdue, on pace to be one of Painter’s best-scoring team of his tenure.
Smith can dissect things in multiple ways. Painter described his approach as “take what the game presents.” If teams are taking away passing lanes, then go score. If they are defending hard, make those passes for easy buckets.
“Just instinctively play the game. That's when he's at his best,” Painter said.
There will be nights where he scores 29 points, like he did against Alabama, or others when he’s reaching double-digit assists. When he’s getting double-doubles (he has eight this season), the Boilermakers are 6-2.
“I'm going to continue to shoot,” Smith said. “You still got to produce and do what you're going to do."
Braden Smith nearing Bobby Hurley's NCAA assist record
With 141 career games played, Smith is on the cusp of NCAA history, recently becoming the fifth men’s player to reach 1,000 career assists. At 1,029 total dimes, he is just 47 away from Hurley’s all-time record of 1,076 assists set in 1990-93.
Fans in black and gold have been following that chase all season, knowing there’s a realistic chance it could be broken. There’s even a website, bradenassists.com, dedicated to tracking it.
Now in his 11th season coaching Arizona State, Hurley was made aware of the possibility before the year. He doesn't get to follow Smith heavily, but Hurley's appreciated what he's seen of him, including against his brother, Dan, and UConn in the 2024 title game.
"I've always admired how he plays and his vision and how he makes people better," Hurley told USA TODAY Sports. "Braden seems to be more of a throwback type of guard; just really unique vision and creativity with his passing and takes a lot of pride in it."
The record has stood for more than 30 years, with no real threat. North Carolina's Ed Cota (1996-2000) came closest with 1,030. Even though it hasn't really been challenged, Hurley figured "this moment would eventually happen," and "it might have happened sooner, actually."
He said he can't judge who is worthy of breaking the record, but Smith has all the traits to deserve it.
"To have someone that would take it down, he would be the type of person that I would really respect having the record," Hurley said.
Smith knows about the record. But does he care? Well, it depends, because there’s only one way it gets broken: Purdue keeps winning.
With the regular season complete, Smith and the Boilermakers are guaranteed at least two more games — one Big Ten tournament and one NCAA Tournament. Survive and advance to get 10 more games, the more chances to add assists. Hurley mentioned how playing those extra games en route to winning two national championships with Duke helped him reach his mark.
If Purdue plays the maximum 10 games left with a Big Ten final and national championship game appearance, he’ll just need to average 4.7 assists per game to break the record. The fewer amount of games played, the more assists needed per contest.
Already a guy that despises being taken out of games, don’t be surprised to see Smith play all 40 minutes, like he just did against Northwestern.
“The more he plays the game to win, the better chance he'll have to get the records,” Painter said. “The record is going to come because you get to the championship game of the Big Ten tournament, you get to the Final Four. That's when the record is gonna play out.”
Purdue needs deep March Madness run
That, of course, has been the conundrum for Purdue. Smith was a freshman on the team that became just the second No. 1 seed to lose to a No. 16 seed. He got to the championship game as a sophomore. Last season, the Boilermakers lost to Houston in the Sweet 16 on a last-second backdoor basket.
With Smith back for one last run, Purdue entered the season as national title favorites, the No. 1 in USA TODAY Sports preseason men's basketball poll. For much of the season, it played the part with a 17-1 start.
However, things have gotten off track. The Boilermakers are 6-7 since then, suddenly looking like ghosts of March past are creeping up again.
Smith has still been producing for his team, but he believes any and all struggles “starts with me.”
“Personally, that's how I am as a competitor and a person,” Smith said after Purdue lost to UCLA on Jan. 20. “I got to be better, and I got to learn from it.”
It’s made for frustrating times, and it only is heightened with the bumps and bruises Smith takes almost routinely in games, visibly upset with it. “I'm just so used to it at this point,” he said, feeling like he gets a different treatment of physicality.
Painter understands it, but knows it’s the result of a high usage level. The more you handle the ball — and be a difference-maker with it — teams are going to hound you. That’s just the way it is.
Luckily, it gets the guard in a mindset his coach loves to see him in.
“A lot of it is that competitiveness comes out. You see him getting upset, you see him getting fiery, call it frustration,” Painter said. “But to me, I know he's dialed in. He wants to win. I'd rather calm somebody down like him than try to raise somebody else.”
That fire is what Purdue is going to need if Smith wants to end his decorated career on top. His name and number are bound to be displayed inside Mackey Arena permanently, but a championship banner is the top priority.
It pays to have experience in March, especially when that player has such high court IQ like Smith. That could be the difference from surviving and advancing or going home.
"I've seen some of his assists this year where he's able to look the defense off in such a creative way and someone's laying the ball in and the defense looks foolish," Hurley said. "That's what really great passers are able to do, just manipulate the defense and get the ball to someone where the defense or the casual fan watching goes, 'How did he see that?'
"Well, it's because he probably reads the game one or two seconds ahead of everybody else."
Record and title or not, Painter doesn’t think this is the end of the road for Smith; he believes a bright professional future is ahead for his star guard.
“Braden is a pro. I think he'll play 10 to 12 years in the NBA. I really believe that wholeheartedly,” he said.
But that’s something to look forward to in mid-April.
In an era of unrestricted player movement, Smith spent all four years with the Boilermakers, developing into a premier guard. He wants to bring glory to Purdue.
“Our guys staying, really also had to do with unfinished business,” Painter said. “They want to win a national championship.”
The all-time assist record would just be the cherry on top.
NCAA career assists leaders
- Bobby Hurley, Duke (1990-93): 1,076
- Chris Corchiani, NC State (1988-91): 1,038
- Ed Cota, North Carolina (1997-2000): 1,030
- Braden Smith, Purdue (2023-26): 1,029
- Jason Brickman, Long Island (2011-2014): 1,007
This article originally appeared on USA TODAY: Will Braden Smith break Bobby Hurley assists record? He wants more
