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Braden Smith (basketball)

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For the football player, see Braden Smith. For the Gonzaga basketball player, see Braeden Smith.
Braden Smith
No. 3 – Purdue Boilermakers
PositionPoint guard
LeagueBig Ten Conference
Personal information
Born (2003-07-25) July 25, 2003 (age 21)
Russellville, Arkansas, U.S.
Listed height6 ft 0 in (1.83 m)
Listed weight175 lb (79 kg)
Career information
High schoolWestfield
(Westfield, Indiana)
CollegePurdue (2022–present)
Career highlights and awards

Braden Smith (born July 25, 2003) is an American college basketball player for the Purdue Boilermakers of the Big Ten Conference.

Early life and high school career

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Smith was born in Russellville, Arkansas and moved with his family to Westfield, Indiana at age four.[1] He attended Westfield High School and made the varsity basketball team as a freshman. Smith was named first-team All-Hoosier Crossroads Conference (HCC) after he averaged 18.5 points, 5.4 rebounds, 4.7 assists, and 1.5 steals per game during his sophomore season.[2] As a junior, he averaged 22.1 points, 6.2 rebounds, 5.4 assists, and 2.7 steals per game and was named high-honorable mention All-State in addition to repeating as a first team All-HCC selection.[3] Smith was named Indiana Mr. Basketball after averaging 18.3 points, six rebounds, six assists, and 1.9 steals while leading Westfield to their first sectional championship.[4][5] He also missed several weeks due to a foot injury.[6]

Smith was rated a three-star recruit and committed to playing college basketball for Purdue over offers from Appalachian State, Belmont, Montana, North Texas, and Toledo.[7] At the time of his commitment Purdue was his only major-conference offer, but he had recently begun to receive interest from Indiana, Gonzaga, Xavier, Villanova, and Oregon.[8]

College career

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Freshman season

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Smith entered his freshman season at Purdue as a starter at guard.[9][10] In his college debut in the season opener against Milwaukee, he scored seven points with four rebounds, four assists and set a freshman record with seven steals in an 84–57 win.[11][12] Smith was named the Big Ten Conference Freshman of the Week after scoring 20 points with three assists and two rebounds in a 75–70 win over Marquette.[13] He started all 35 of the Boilermakers' games and was named to the Big Ten Conference All-Freshman team after averaging 9.7 points, 4.4 assists, 4.2 rebounds, and 1.2 steals per game.[14]

Sophomore season

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Smith returned as the starting Point Guard in his sophomore season. On March 5, in a win against Illinois, Smith broke the Purdue single season assist record with his 208th assist.[15] The previous record, set by Bruce Parkinson, had stood since 1975. On March 12, Smith was named First Team All-Big Ten.[16] By the end of the season Braden Smith led the nation in total assists and was named an Honorable Mention All-American. In the Sweet Sixteen vs Gonzaga, Braden Smith had 14 points and 15 assists in Purdue's victory. Smith's 15 assists were the most by one player in a tournament game in Purdue history as well as in Big Ten history. In the National Championship, Smith broke the Big Ten single season assist record with his 292nd assist narrowly passing the previous record holder, Cassius Winston, by one assist.

Career statistics

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Legend
  GP Games played   GS  Games started  MPG  Minutes per game
 FG%  Field goal percentage  3P%  3-point field goal percentage  FT%  Free throw percentage
 RPG  Rebounds per game  APG  Assists per game  SPG  Steals per game
 BPG  Blocks per game  PPG  Points per game  Bold  Career high

College

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Year Team GP GS MPG FG% 3P% FT% RPG APG SPG BPG PPG
2022–23 Purdue 35 35 30.3 .438 .376 .868 4.2 4.4 1.2 .2 9.7
2023–24 Purdue 39 39 34.0 .441 .431 .795 5.8 7.5 1.6 .1 12.0

Personal life

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Both of Smith's parents, Ginny and Dustin, played college basketball at Arkansas Tech University.[17][18] Ginny Smith currently serves as the assistant athletic director and girls' basketball coach at Westfield High School.[3]

References

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  1. ^ Hamilton, Brian (January 18, 2023). "Purdue's Braden Smith was the No. 196 freshman recruit. Now he's the Boilers' floor general". The Athletic. Retrieved January 18, 2023.
  2. ^ "Catching up with Braden Smith, Javon Small and Jalen Clark". Indianapolis Star. July 14, 2020. Retrieved November 10, 2022.
  3. ^ a b "Purdue recruit Braden Smith leads Westfield boys, mom coaches girls". Indianapolis Star. December 28, 2021. Retrieved November 10, 2022.
  4. ^ "Purdue basketball: Indiana Mr. Basketball Braden Smith sits idle with big picture in mind". Journal & Courier. June 11, 2022. Retrieved November 10, 2022.
  5. ^ Neddenriep, Kyle (April 2, 2022). "Too small? It only fueled fire within Braden Smith, who is 2022 Indiana Mr. Basketball". Indianapolis Star. Retrieved November 10, 2022.
  6. ^ "Westfield star, Purdue recruit Braden Smith to miss at least 3-4 weeks". Indianapolis Star. January 24, 2022. Retrieved November 10, 2022.
  7. ^ Carmin, Mike (April 29, 2021). "Purdue basketball recruiting: Westfield guard Braden Smith commits". Journal & Courier. Retrieved November 10, 2022.
  8. ^ "Westfield High's Braden Smith commits to play at Purdue". Indianapolis Star. April 29, 2021. Retrieved November 10, 2022.
  9. ^ Fezler, D.J. (November 3, 2022). "Quiet Showing for Purdue Freshmen Braden Smith, Fletcher Loyer Doesn't Paint Full Picture". SI.com. Retrieved November 10, 2022.
  10. ^ Bartley, Casey (November 11, 2022). "Braden Smith: The Next Purdue Point Guard". Rivals.com. Retrieved November 17, 2022.
  11. ^ "Milwaukee at Purdue: Braden Smith's debut impressive but not a surprise". Journal & Courier. November 9, 2022. Retrieved November 10, 2022.
  12. ^ "Purdue beats Marquette as 2022 Mr. Basketball Braden Smith takes over". Indianapolis Star. November 16, 2022. Retrieved November 16, 2022.
  13. ^ Fezler, D.J. (November 21, 2022). "Purdue guard Braden Smith scored 20 points in a 75-70 victory over Marquette last week inside Mackey Arena. His performance pushed the Boilermakers to 3-0 and earned him Big Ten Freshman of the Week honors". SI.com. Retrieved November 22, 2022.
  14. ^ Sweeney, Kevin (November 2, 2023). "Purdue Men's Basketball Is Ready for Redemption". SI.com. Retrieved November 21, 2023.
  15. ^ Rudolph, Justin (March 5, 2024). "Purdue guard Braden Smith sets program record for most assists in a season vs Illinois". on3. Retrieved March 19, 2024.
  16. ^ "Big Ten Announces 2024 Men's Basketball Postseason Honors". Big Ten Conference. March 12, 2024. Archived from the original on March 12, 2024. Retrieved March 19, 2024.
  17. ^ "IHSAA basketball: Westfield player excels despite small stature". Indianapolis Star. June 27, 2019. Retrieved November 10, 2022.
  18. ^ Ambrogi, Mark (May 26, 2021). "Smith making impact on Westfield High School basketball program". YouAreCurrent.com. Retrieved November 10, 2022.
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