What Braden Smith's decision to return to Purdue means for the Boilermakers
Life continues to be swell inside Mackey Arena in West Lafayette. Purdue will once again have a national player of the year front-runner and the best returning guard in the sport as Braden Smith announced that he will be back for his senior season.
The winner of the Bob Cousy Award and the Big Ten Player of the Year, the 6-foot Smith has gone from a three-star recruit out of high school to a consensus first-team All-American. While many wondered what the first year without Zach Edey would look like for Matt Painter and crew, Smith helped lead the Boilers to a 24-win season and a trip to the Sweet 16, the sixth in the last eight NCAA Tournaments.
Smith broke the Big Ten record for assists in conference play this season, dishing out 175 of them, which smashed the previous record set by Michigan State's Cassius Winston (157). The Boilermakers' standout guard also became the second player in NCAA history to record at least 550 points, 300 assists and 150 rebounds in a season, joining Murray State's Ja Morant as the only other player that can say that.
Despite getting bounced by Houston in the Sweet 16 of this year's Big Dance, Smith had a historic performance against the best defense in America. The do-it-all guard dished out 15 assists against the Cougars, becoming the first player in the history of the NCAA Tournament to have two games with at least 15 assists (2024 – Gonzaga; 2025 – Houston).
Smith has already shattered the program assists record, recording 758 in just 110 career games. In three seasons, he already ranks fourth all-time in Big Ten history in assists.
What does Smith's return to West Lafeyette mean?
First off, it's great for college basketball to have stars stay at a place and return, with Smith getting a hefty NIL package to agree to stay. Second, if you couple Smith's return with Fletcher Loyer and Trey Kaufman-Renn being back, and then add in a terrific transfer pickup in Oscar Cluff and returning guard C.J. Cox, there's a lot to like about this Purdue team entering next season. That's why the Boilermakers are the No. 2-ranked team in my way-to--early top 25 rankings.
Purdue is currently listed at +1200 to win next year's national championship, tied with Houston for the second-best odds and only trailing Duke (+1000).
John Fanta is a national college basketball broadcaster and writer for FOX Sports. He covers the sport in a variety of capacities, from calling games on FS1 to serving as lead host on the BIG EAST Digital Network to providing commentary on The Field of 68 Media Network. Follow him at @John_Fanta .
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