What Purdue Guard Braden Smith Said After Winning Big Ten Player of the Year Award

Braden Smith lived up to the hype. On Tuesday, the Purdue junior guard was named the Big Ten Player of the Year for the 2024-25 college basketball season, bringing the honor back to West Lafayette for a third consecutive season. Zach Edey won it in 2023 and 2024.

Smith finished the 2024-25 regular season averaging 16.3 points, 18.8 assists, 4.7 rebounds and 2.3 steals per game. The Boilers finished with a 21-10 record and 13-7 in Big Ten play. Smith also became a 1,000-point scorer, reached 500 career rebounds and became the program's all-time assist leader during the year.

So, yeah, Smith had a pretty good year in West Lafayette.

After the junior was named the Big Ten Player of the Year, he joined Big Ten Network's Rick Pizzo to talk about the award, the season, his coach and his teammates. Here's everything he had to say.

On when he found out he was receiving Big Ten Player of the Year honors ...

Smith: "I was told by Chris Forman, one of our guys — he texted me and let me know, 'You've got media tomorrow.' I was like, 'For what?' He told me the reason. So, I heard it yesterday and awesome to hear."

On his reaction to winning the award ...

Smith: "Obviously, it's an amazing accomplishment, amazing award, but at the end of the day, we all want to win. We still have March Madness and the Big Ten Tournament left. That's where our focus is right now. That's where mine is."

On taking on a bigger role with Zach Edey gone ...

Smith: "I think I was ready for it, I was prepared for it, I put in a lot of time and work to do so. It's my job at the end of the day. That's why (coach Matt Painter) recruited me to be here, that's what I think a true point guard is and what the job is. To me, I just feel like that's what I'm required to do. I feel like, overall, it's worked out. When you're put around a lot of great players and a great staff, it makes my job that much easier."

On becoming a better scoring weapon ...

Smith: "Just being more aggressive offensively. I get yelled at all the time by Paint for not shooting, so I think that's the biggest thing. I always want to include everybody and get them the ball and put them in spots to be successful. I believe that's my job. As a point guard, that's what we're supposed to do.

"I think just understanding when to score and when not to score, when it's time to take over a game or when it's time not to."

On his relationship with Matt Painter ...

Smith: "Just having a coach that truly trusts in his players. He's never lied to me, he's always told me the truth and he's stuck to his word. I think having somebody like that, it builds trust from me. Obviously, it goes a long way. He threw us in the fire at a very young age. A lot of people could have went other ways, but he trusted us. We gained that trust and I think that truly is the main factor that has gotten me to where I'm at today."

On Trey Kaufman-Renn's biggest area of growth ...

Smith: "I saw him develop on the court, but I think the biggest thing was off the court. He's just a quiet dude, just goes off and does his own thing. We'll see him at practice and games, but he's been out more, he's doing more stuff with the team. He's made a huge stride, a huge effort to do so. I think that shows more to us, because we saw him my freshman and sophomore year where he was kind of quiet and just to himself — and where he is now. You can kind of see that on the court with his confidence and all the stuff he's doing for us."

On his favorite part of the 2024-25 season ...

Smith: "Just spending time with these guys. It's an unbelievable group. A lot of people counted us out early and I think we've taken that to heart. We put in a lot of work, a lot of time — obviously the season isn't over so we've still got a lot left to accomplish. At the end of the day, just spending time with these guys. The younger guys that are coming in, showing them the way and showing them the ropes of things. For me, just trying to improve as a leader. I think I've done a better job than my first two years. Those would be the big things, for sure."

On how Purdue can make a run in the Big Ten and NCAA tournaments ...

Smith: "Just playing with fun and passion. Having fun is the biggest thing. Understanding these games, obviously there's meaning behind them now, but just letting that go. Playing loose. Getting out there and enjoying every moment with these guys. The season goes by so quick, it went by quick. I think just understanding that, and my job to tell these other guys that. Like, it does go by quick — in the blink of an eye it's gone. Really just focusing on these next couple of games and enjoying the moment."

On if his mindset has changed entering March after not winning a Big Ten title ...

Smith: "Honestly, no. For me, it's another game. We have to win games either way. At the end of the day, if we do our job, we'll be where we should be. Whether we look at that, the six seed, the one seed, we still have to go out there and beat teams to win the whole thing. That's our goal, that's our mindset going into this weekend."