What Everyone Said About Braden Smith Breaking the NCAA Assist Record
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ST. LOUIS — History was made in the NCAA Tournament on Friday night in St. Louis. Purdue All-American guard Braden Smith broke Bobby Hurley's assist record, becoming the most prolific passer in the history of college basketball.
Smith's 1,077th assist came in the first half in Friday's 104-71 win over Queens. He dished the ball to Trey Kaufman-Renn, who scored a bucket and was fouled on the play. It was a fitting way for Smith to break the record, as Kaufman-Renn was also responsible for the guard's first assist in a Purdue uniform during the 2022-23 season.
"I don't think it's really set in, because to me, again, it's my job," Smith said following Purdue's first-round win. "It's what I'm supposed to do. It's why I came here. As a point guard, that's what you're supposed to do. You're supposed to get guys the ball to go score, and obviously, I have a lot of great people around me who can do that. For me, it's my job to put them in positions to go score."
Smith may not have had the words to describe the moment, but his teammates and others had plenty to say about it. Here's what they all said about the record-breaking night for the All-American guard.
Purdue senior forward Trey Kaufman-Renn
"I think it's just been really cool over the years, us kind of growing together. Me modeling my game around I'm going to have the best ball handler in college basketball history on my team. So how am I going to develop my game around that?
"It's the same thing we had Zach on our team and that's the advice Coach gave me. You know he's going to play. He's such a great player. So you have to be able to fit with those guys. So when you have such special players, just being able to model your game around them.
"As a player, I'm thankful. Like you said, he's not only the first and last, but he's accounted for a lot of my scoring throughout my career. So it's been great."
Purdue senior guard Fletcher Loyer
"He's a special talent, I love playing with him. He spends a lot of time. For him to accomplish something that will probably never get broken, at least for a really long time, it's really special, and really cool to see."
Purdue head coach Matt Painter
"Congratulations also to Braden to break that record to have the most assists in the history of college basketball. It's an unbelievable feat. When Zach Edey started to put up numbers, to have the most points and rebounds ever at Purdue, now to coach somebody that has the most assists ever in the history of Division I basketball is an unbelievable accomplishment. Especially from the great Bobby Hurley, who we were in the same grade and he was just the quintessential point guard and winner at Duke University when he played and has had a fabulous coaching career.
"But for him to have that honor for 33 years just speaks to how great Bobby Hurley was. And you look at the other guys that are right behind him with Chris Corchiani and Ed Cota. It's a big-time achievement. Happy for him and excited about advancing in this tournament and having some fun."
Queens head coach Grant Leonard
"It's probably his decision-making while being under control. I really mean this. I think he probably has the highest basketball IQ in the country. And to go along with the toughness, you're not even talking about the skill yet.
"He's a fantastic player. And you saw, I mean obviously we all saw it on film and have known what his career has been about."
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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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