With Crowd Chanting His Name, Braden Smith Silences Heckling Wisconsin Fans
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For a few moments on Saturday night, Braden Smith probably felt like he was playing a game in Mackey Arena. Inside the Kohl Center, the Purdue fans who made the journey to Madison began chanting his name as he broke the Big Ten's all-time assist record.
Playing in an opposing arena and hearing your name chanted like it's a home game is pretty special. But something — or someone — reminded Smith that this wasn't a game being played in West Lafayette. A few Badger fans decided to chirp to the All-American guard during the game, a decision they likely regretted.
"Something frustrated me — some people talking a lot in that front row," Smith said after the game. "I was like, 'Are you not listening to what's going on out here?' You're talking to me, calling me too small, that doesn't make sense. Too small, but the whole opposing arena is chanting my name; it doesn't look very good on you."
Smith silenced those hecklers throughout Saturday's game. He ended the night with 14 points and 12 assists, breaking Cassius Winston's Big Ten career assist record. More importantly, he helped the fifth-ranked Boilermakers get an 89-73 win over the Badgers at the Kohl Center.
A word to the wise — maybe it's not the best idea to pick a fight with the best point guard in college basketball.
Not a first for Smith this season
Hearing commentary from the opposing fans isn't anything new to Smith. In fact, earlier this season, a few Alabama students gave the Purdue guard a hard time during pregame warmups back in November.
How did Smith handle that situation? He scored 29 points, grabbed seven rebounds, and dished out four assists, leading the Boilermakers to an 87-80 win over thhe Crimson Tide in Tuscaloosa.
"I mean, there's an energy, but I'm not giving anybody anything. They did nothing," Smith said after that game. "I think it's more just how I play with that chip on my shoulder, that competitive fight that I'm always going to have. Obviously, some games it's not there or not as much as it was tonight, but that's what I always try to do. I try to go out there and find some way to have that competitive edge."
Taunting Smith has been a bad idea, a lesson multiple fanbases have now learned. Will others learn from those mistakes, or will the Purdue guard continue to catch heat in opposing venues?
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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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