Purdue Boilermakers’ basketball history is filled with highs and lows. Even though they’ve won 26 Big Ten regular-season titles, the Boilermakers haven’t been able to bring home the coveted NCAA Tournament championship. It’s yet another crucial year for Purdue, with them once again being in contention, but this time the attention is on one man. Braden Smith. There is heavy speculation that heading into March Madness, Smith, the Boilermakers’ star guard, is being overworked—is this year’s tournament run fated to fail before it even begins?
No one has been more dominant at Purdue this season than Braden Smith. With two-time Wooden Award winner Zach Edey off to the NBA, Smith has seen his role grow significantly. He’s gone from a 12-points-per-game scorer last season to a 15- to 16-point scorer this season. His clutch performances in tight games have earned him praise for his “ice-in-the-veins” approach to the game. But as we enter March Madness, there are more and more question marks about whether he is being asked to do too much.
Dan Dakich, a former coach of the Indiana Hoosiers, raised the issue of Smith’s usage rate in a broadcast for NBC Sports. “I’ve never seen a guy used more than Braden Smith is used at Purdue,” Dakich said.
“Like Dan, they don’t have a second ball handler. The kid’s a first-team All-American, and he’s asked to do every—and I mean everything. And I thought, you know, I’m one of those guys: ‘Hey, shut up! Put some dirt on it! Let’s go! I don’t want to hear about you being tired.’ But Dan, that dude legitimately should be worn out.” And frankly, you can’t really argue with him.
Braden Smith is basically the motor that makes Purdue go. Without Edey, the Boilermakers have relied heavily on him to score points, make plays, and take care of the ball. But here’s the thing: Purdue doesn’t have a second guy who can relieve pressure off Smith.
Sure, Fletcher Loyer and Myles Colvin have shown flashes, but neither has stepped up quite in the way that’s needed. Matt Painter’s system asks a lot out of a point guard and right now, everything’s on Smith’s shoulders.
Can Braden Smith sustain the heavy lifting through March Madness?
Yet, in Purdue’s first-round game on 21 March 2025, Braden Smith showed just how much he can handle. He had 20 points, 6 assists and 2 steals while playing all 40 minutes as Purdue surged to a 37-27 halftime lead. Smith scored Purdue’s first five points, and hit double digits by the break. It’s a spectacular outing, but at the same time, it’s a reminder that Smith is doing much more than almost any player possibly could.
Purdue Boilermakers guard Braden Smith (3) celebrates Friday, Nov. 15, 2024, during the NCAA men’s basketball game against the Alabama Crimson Tide at Mackey Arena in West Lafayette, Ind. Purdue Boilermakers won 87-78.
Matt Painter has long been forthcoming about his love for Smith’s well-rounded game. When Smith nearly hit a triple-double during Purdue’s win over Illinois, Painter dubbed him as the best player in the league. He further talked about how well the young guard grabs rebounds and dishes out assists while scoring every chance he gets. It’s more than just numbers. Those comments capture how pervasive Smith’s effect is on every phase of the game. He’s averaging 16.2 points, 8.6 assists, 4.6 rebounds and 2.2 steals per game thus far. Hence, he’s constantly proving himself to be one of the most complete players in college basketball thus far this season.
But Painter isn’t one to stay locked in on numbers. Painter has made clear that Braden Smith can still impact the game in unquantifiable ways. “He affects winning on both ends of the court. We get away from that, we look at different things, but he affects winning.”
Still, it’s hard to ignore just how extreme Smith’s presence on the court is. This isn’t the first time Matt Painter has leaned heavily on a star point guard. Remember Carsen Edwards during Purdue’s 2019 Elite Eight run?—but the difference this season is that Purdue’s roster isn’t nearly as deep back then. Above all, there are fewer players who can give Smith a breather when he needs it.
In the end, the length of Purdue’s tournament run may be contingent on whether Braden Smith can sustain this level of play. The Boilermakers’ ceiling in the NCAA Tournament—be it the Sweet 16, the Elite Eight or wherever—may boil down to whether someone else, anyone else on this Purdue team, can finally step up and help carry the weight. Until then, it’s on Smith. All of it. Can he keep carrying it? Or is he about the drop it on the floor?
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