College Basketball Analyst Shouts Out Braden Smith for Breaking Purdue Assist Record
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WEST LAFAYETTE, Ind. — John Fanta, one of the top voices in college basketball broadcasting today, provided a major shoutout to Purdue junior guard Braden Smith. The acknowledgement came after Smith became the all-time leading assist man in Boilermaker basketball history.
Friday night, Smith dished out eight assists in a 76-66 Purdue victory over UCLA. That gave him 696 assists for his career, passing Bruce Parkinson as the all-time leader in the category. Parkinson, who played from 1972-77, ended his career with 690 assists.
Saturday, Fanta took to social media to heap praise on the guard, who broke Purdue's all time record in just three seasons.
"Braden Smith has done a lot of special things with (Purdue basketball), but to become the program's all-time assists leader before March even begins in his JUNIOR season? That's extraordinary," Fanta wrote on social media. "Smith keeps adding to his legend at Purdue! Ridiculous career!"
Braden Smith has done a lot of special things with @BoilerBall, but to become the program’s all-time assists leader before March even begins in his JUNIOR season? That’s extraordinary.
— John Fanta (@John_Fanta) March 1, 2025
Smith keeps adding to his legend at Purdue! Ridiculous career!
Already, Smith is considered the best point guard in the history of Purdue basketball. He already owns the assist record and has a chance to hit 1,000 career assists by the time his career in West Lafayette concludes.
Smith is averaging 16.0 points, 8.7 assists, 4.5 rebounds and 2.4 steals per game. He's among the top contenders for the Big Ten Player of the Year and is in the running to be the winner of the Bob Cousy Award, presented to the top point guard in college basketball.
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UCLA MOVIE RELEASED: Purdue picked up a big win on Friday night at Mackey Arena, defeating UCLA 76-66. This weekend, the program's social media team released "The UCLA Movie." CLICK HERE
MATT PAINTER'S AWESOME ANSWER: Purdue coach Matt Painter provided the most in-depth response to a defensive scheming question you might ever hear after Friday's game against UCLA. CLICK HERE
WHAT PAINTER SAID: Purdue snapped its four-game losing streak on Friday night, defeating UCLA 76-66. Here's everything coach Matt Painter said after the game. CLICK HERE
SMITH CREDITS TEAMMATES: After breaking Purdue's all-time assist record on Friday night, Braden Smith gave a lot of credit to his teammates for helping him make history. 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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