Purdue's Braden Smith Tabbed Big Ten Basketball Preseason Player of the Year
Zach Edey may be gone but the Big Ten Preseason Player of the Year still resides in West Lafayette. Junior guard Braden Smith was the preseason pick to win the conference's prestigious individual honor.
Smith is coming off a stellar sophomore campaign with the Boilermakers, averaging 12.0 points, 7.5 assists and 5.8 rebounds per game while starting in all 39 contests. He helped lead Purdue to a 34-5 record, a Big Ten regular season championship and a trip to the National Championship Game.
The unanimous choice. pic.twitter.com/VvBf3d5gjq
— Purdue Men's Basketball (@BoilerBall) October 1, 2024
Smith showed significant improvement in his 3-point shooting as a sophomore, knocking down more than 43% of his shots from long range. He also shot 44% from the floor and 79% from the free throw line.
In his first two seasons at Purdue, Smith has started in all 74 games the Boilermakers have played. He's been a member of a program that has won back-to-back regular season conference titles, a Big Ten Tournament championship and reached the Final Four.
If Smith did win the Big Ten Player of the Year award, it would mark the third straight season a Boilermaker claimed the honor. Edey was named Big Ten Player of the Year in 2023 and 2024 after a pair of dominant seasons.
Smith has already totaled 808 points, 292 assists and 226 rebounds across two seasons at Purdue. He's also shooting better than 44% from the floor and 40% from 3-point range for his career.
Smith will accompany Purdue coach Matt Painter and junior guard Fletcher Loyer to Big Ten Media Days in Chicago this week.
Related stories on Purdue basketball
LANCE JONES SCORES 31 IN PRO DEBUT: Lance Jones earned MVP honors in his debut with Grupo Urta Tizona Burgos, scoring 31 points and recording four steals. CLICK HERE
PURDUE A NO. 4 SEED IN ESPN BRACKETOLOGY: It's never too early to start looking ahead to the NCAA Tournament, is it? ESPN's Joe Lunardi released his preseason Bracketology, which has Purdue as a 4 seed. CLICK HERE
PURDUE BREAKOUT PLAYER: Purdue is going to rely on different players for success in 2024-25. College basketball expert Jon Rothstein expects sophomore Cam Heide to make a major jump. CLICK HERE
