Purdue’s Braden Smith Makes History with Big Ten Assist Record

In a recent game that highlighted his exceptional talent, Purdue guard Braden Smith made history by becoming the Big Ten’s career assists leader. However, rather than celebrating this achievement as a final destination, Smith viewed it as just another step in his journey.

The 6-foot senior has always maintained a clear vision of his goals beyond individual accolades. After scoring 14 points and breaking the conference assists record during No. 5 Purdue’s 89-73 victory over Wisconsin, Smith expressed his focus on something greater: winning a national championship.

“Obviously, it’s something cool to see and be a part of,” Smith said. “But at the end of the day, I’m here for something bigger than that, and that’s to win a national championship. That’s really our main focus.”

Smith recorded 12 assists against Wisconsin, bringing his career total to 893. This surpassed the previous Big Ten record held by Cassius Winston, who had accumulated 890 assists for Michigan State from 2017 to 2020. For a player who wasn’t ranked among the nation’s top 150 recruits coming out of high school, this accomplishment is nothing short of remarkable.

“He’s special,” said Purdue coach Matt Painter. “He’s elite. A lot of people who want to go past college and be a professional, it’s like, ‘What do you do great on a professional level?’ He passes better than anybody in college basketball. We sit there and watch. It’s amazing he didn’t have another high-major offer because he’s a winner.”

Despite achieving this milestone, Smith still has another personal goal in mind. He mentioned that his reference to “the bigger one” was the Division I career assists record, which has stood for three decades.

Bobby Hurley holds the record with 1,076 assists for Duke from 1990 to 1993. Smith is currently 183 assists away from surpassing this mark, with 17 games left in the regular season and potentially more in the postseason.

This season, Smith averages 9.6 assists per game, leading all Division I players in that category heading into Saturday’s action. His assist numbers have steadily increased over the years: 4.4 as a freshman, 7.5 as a sophomore, and 8.7 as a junior.

Smith’s experience as a floor leader was evident during the game when Coach Painter kept him in the game even after he picked up a third foul with 16:38 remaining. Painter joked about reminding Smith about his fouls, noting that the senior responded by complaining about the calls against him.

“I turned around and saw his parents right away (and) I said, `He must have been hell to get to bed when he was a little kid,’” Painter quipped.

Smith remained in the game and contributed to a 10-0 run that extended Purdue’s lead to 63-44. He secured the record-breaking assist with 9:22 remaining when he drove to the basket before passing to Oscar Cluff for a three-point play.

The enthusiastic section of Purdue fans at Kohl Center gave Smith a standing ovation and began chanting “Braden Smith” as soon as he broke the Big Ten record. However, Smith focused more on the spectators who weren’t cheering him on.

“Some people were talking a lot in that front row over there,” he said. “I was just like, ’Are you not listening to what’s going on out here?’ You’re talking to me, calling me too small. That doesn’t make sense. Too small, but the whole opposing arena is chanting my name? That doesn’t look very good on you.”