Matt Painter Details Unique Path to Recruiting Guard Braden Smith to Purdue
In this story:
Braden Smith is going to be remembered as one of the greatest players in the history of Purdue basketball when his career comes to a close following the 2025-26 campaign. His path to West Lafayette required a unique string of circumstances, though.
As a point guard at Westfield High School (Ind.), Smith was ranked as the No. 198 overall prospect and the No. 33 point guard in the 2022 class. He wasn't getting a ton of offers, and Purdue coach Matt Painter had already handed out his allotment of scholarship offers.
Following the 2022-23 season, then-Purdue assistant coach Micah Shrewsberry landed the head coaching job at Penn State. One player who had previously committed to the Boilermakers, Jameel Brown, followed Shrewberry to State College, opening a scholarship for Painter.
Because of the ongoing situation with the COVID-19 pandemic during that time, Painter never saw Smith play live before offering a scholarship. In an interview with Gary Parrish of Summer Shootaround on CBS, the Purdue coach detailed the story of recruiting the point guard to West Lafayette.
"I never saw him play in person. I had a kid decommit from me — I had an assistant, Micah Shrewsberry, leave our place to go to Penn State, and a player we had recruited also went to Penn State. That opened it up," Painter said.
"We had multiple people in that area telling us, 'Hey, this kid's for real. He's really, really good.' I didn't have a scholarship (to offer). When it came open, I jumped on about five or six guys and started watching film. All of them were ranked nationally except him. Then I came back to him and thought, 'Am I getting fooled by film?' Because (Smith) was better than all these ranked guys — this isn't even remotely close."
After seeing Smith's film, Painter decided to pick up the phone and start calling basketball experts who could provide more insight on the Westfield point guard. Obviously, the Boilermaker coach liked what he heard.
"So, I start calling people ... he has a couple of NBA guys in his community who work for the Pacers, so I felt comfortable with their ability to evaluate and understand, and they had seen him a lot. I had a college coach changing jobs ... he called him a basketball savant. That's when it registered with me right away," Painter said.
"He says, 'I'm telling you, he reads angles, he plays passing lanes, he sees things before they happen, he's the best passer you're ever going to have. Just take him. Just take him.' That's when I pumped the brakes and stopped calling people, because I didn't want anybody to be on the same scent. I got him on a Zoom (meeting) and two days later he committed."
Smith etches his name in Purdue record books
It's kind of crazy, isn't it? if Shrewsberry hadn't accepted the job at Penn State, Smith's career at Purdue may have never become a reality. Now, as he enters his senior season, he's already considered one of the all-time greats in program history.
Last season, Smith past Bruce Parkinson as Purdue's all-time assist leader. He currently has 758 assists, needing 319 to pass Bobby Hurley for most in the history of college basketball (1,076).
Smith is also a member of Purdue's 1,000-point club and has collected more than 500 rebounds. Last season, he was a first-team All-American and All-Big Ten selection. The Indiana native was the Big Ten Player of the Year and won the Bob Cousy Award, honoring the top point guard in college basketball.
This season, Smith has a chance to win the National Player of the Year award, win a third Big Ten title and potentially lead Purdue to a national championship.
It doesn't really matter how Smith got to Purdue, Painter, his staff, and everyone in West Lafayette is happy he's there.
Related stories on Purdue basketball
WHERE CLUFF CAN IMPROVE: Where does Oscar Cluff need to take the biggest strides in fall practice? Both he and coach Matt Painter agree it's his conditioning that needs some work. CLICK HERE
WHERE PURDUE STANDS IN POWER RANKINGS: Purdue is considered the best team in the Big Ten and one of the top teams in the country entering the 2025-26 season, with a chance to win a national title. CLICK HERE
DIANE KEEPS PURDUE IN TOP 12: Arafan Diane, the top-ranked center in the 2026 recruiting class, has narrowed his list of schools down to 12. Purdue is still in contention. 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.
Follow SchutteDustin