Braden Smith Downplays Importance of Another Impressive NCAA Achievement
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If you follow me on social media, you know that I frequently post about history being made every time I cover a Purdue basketball game. Well, it happened again on Saturday at Mackey Arena. Early in the Boilermakers' win over Marquette, Braden Smith reached another impressive milestone.
Smith became just the second player in NCAA history with a stat line of 1,500 points, 850 assists, and 550 rebounds in his college career. The only other person reach those milestones was Ohio's DJ Cooper, who totaled 2,075 points, 934 assists, and 621 rebounds (2009-13).
After the game, Smith was asked what these individual accomplishments mean to him. He provided an honest answer.
"You're not going to like it, but nothing," Smith said.
Smith could choose to focus on the individual accolades, of which he's collected many. In addition to his ridiculous career stat line, he's also received Big Ten Player of the Year honors, been named a first-team All-American, and was the winner of the Bob Cousy Award. Last year, he became Purdue's all-time assist leader.
The senior Purdue guard is also chasing Bobby Hurley's NCAA assist record. But, for right now, none of that matters to Smith. His primary goal is to bring a title to West Lafayette.
"I was on a couple of calls with some buddies, some friends, and Lance [Jones], and they're like, 'That's crazy stuff, crazy accomplishments.' We have bigger goals that we want to achieve," Smith said. "That's the reason we came back, because those are the goals ... My main goal is to win it all. If that happens, then all these smaller things will add up and mean something when I'm older and done playing basketball."
Smith finished Saturday's game against Marquette with seven points, 10 assists, and five rebounds, leading the Boilermakers to a 79-59 victory. As a result, Purdue is now 10-1 on the season.
Purdue focused on winning the Big Ten, national title
Nobody in West Lafayette is focused on individual accolades. When the 2025-26 season tipped off, the Boilermakers had just two goals in mind: winning a Big Ten championship and a national title.
Earlier this season, Purdue was ranked No. 1 in the Associated Press poll, something that has become common over the last five years. The Boilers dropped from that top spot following last week's loss to Iowa State in Mackey Arena.
But coach Matt Painter stressed that Purdue's status in the Associated Press poll doesn't matter. Purdue's primary focus is putting itself in a good position to make a deep run in the NCAA Tournament.
"Being No. 1 really isn't that important, to be honest with you. Being a No. 1 seed in the tournament is, I don't think there's anything wrong with that being a goal," Painter said. "But it's also about having a No. 1 next to your name in March. No. 1 next to your name in October, November, December, who really cares? It's not that big of a deal."
Yes, being ranked No. 1 is quite a compliment. Smith's individual accomplishments are unbelievably impressive. Right now, none of that matters to anyone in Purdue's locker room.
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Dustin Schutte is the publisher of Purdue Boilermakers on SI and has spent more than a decade working in sports journalism. His career began in 2013, when he covered Big Ten football. He remained in that role for eight years before working at On SI to cover the Boilermakers. Dustin graduated from Manchester University in Indiana in 2010, where he played for the men's tennis team.
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