Braden Smith Returned to Purdue to Accomplish One Goal
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Braden Smith enters his senior season as a favorite to win several individual awards and has the opportunity to break some college basketball records. But those things didn't influence his decision to return to Purdue. He has just one goal in his final year with the Boilermakers.
It's not all that surprising that Smith's mind isn't fixated on individual accolades or breaking records. Instead, he's focused on bringing a national championship to Purdue. That's the one goal he has for the 2025-26 season.
"Whatever happens at the end of the year doesn't really matter to me. I truly believe that, it doesn't matter," Smith said, when asked about potentially being named the preseason National Player of the Year by the Field of 68. "I just want to win."
Smith was last year's Big Ten Player of the Year and was named the winner of the Bob Cousy Award, presented to the top point guard in college basketball. He averaged 15.8 points, 8.7 assists, 4.5 rebounds, and 2.2 steals per contest.
The Westfield, Ind., native also became Purdue's all-time assist leader and has a chance to break Bobby Hurley's assist record this season. None of that really matters to Smith, though. It's all about winning basketball games.
"That's genuinely what I came back for, why I'm here, the group that we have — that's the main reason," Smith said. "All the other stuff, whatever it is, it's just part of it ... at the end of the day, I just want to win."
Purdue focused on winning national title
Smith isn't the only one in Purdue's locker room hoping to win a title. Trey Kaufman-Renn and Fletcher Loyer were also members of the 2023-24 squad that reached the National Championship Game, falling to UConn.
The mindset in West Lafayette is to return to the Final Four and bring an NCAA trophy back at the end of the year.
"We have 'National Champs' (written) on our whiteboard in our locker room," Kaufman-Renn told the Field of 68 last week. "After every practice, we look at that and say, 'Did we do our best to compete for that today?' It's a good thing that we're doing this year."
Purdue is one of the favorites to win the title this year, thanks in large part to the return of Smith, Kaufman-Renn, and Loyer. The Boilermakers certainly have the roster to accomplish that feat.
It's the primary focus of everyone in the locker room, too.
Related stories on Purdue basketball
TWO WORDS ON PURDUE'S WHITEBOARD: The expectations are as high as ever in West Lafayette ahead of the 2025-26 college basketball season. Purdue has written two words on its whiteboard for motivation. CLICK HERE
WHAT TO EXPECT FROM JACOBSEN, CLUFF: What do Daniel Jacobsen and Oscar Cluff bring to Purdue's frontcourt? Senior Trey Kaufman-Renn told fans what to watch for from those big guys this year. CLICK HERE
SCOTT SCHEDULES OFFICIAL VISIT: Purdue will host 2026 four-star forward Ralph Scott for an official visit. The 6-foot-7 small forward attends IMG Academy and recently picked up an offer. CLICK HERE
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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