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Purdue point guard Braden Smith’s junior season ended on a sour note, albeit through no fault of his own. Smith, a first team All-American, had an assist on each of the 11 field goals the Boilermakers made in the second half of a Sweet 16 NCAA tournament game against Houston. Still, Smith’s 15 total assists and clutch play down the stretch weren’t enough, as the Cougars scored the game-winning shot on an inbounds pass with 0.9 seconds remaining, giving Houston a 62-60 victory. It was a bittersweet finish, but Smith will have a chance to avenge that loss and prolong his college career.
On Monday, Smith announced he will return to Purdue for his senior season, spurning the NBA, where he would have likely been a second round pick, and the transfer portal, where he would have been a highly sought after prospect.
Considering the market for high-end players these days, Smith is likely to earn multiple millions of dollars in revenue sharing and Name, Image and Likeness deals, more than he could have earned in the NBA next season.
The financial considerations always play a role in any decision. But even more than that, Smith has some unfinished business in college. And with Smith back, the Boilermakers could be No. 1 in the Associated Press preseason poll for the first time in school history. The Boilermakers were No. 2 in the preseason AP poll in the 1987-88 season and No. 3 in the 1969-70 and 2023-24 seasons.
How impressive was Smith last season? He joined former Murray State point guard and current Memphis Grizzlies star Ja Morant as the only NCAA Division 1 players to have 550 points, 300 assists and 150 rebounds in a season. Smith set career-highs with 15.8 points, 8.7 assists (second in the nation) and 2.2 steals per game.
Smith, the Big Ten Conference’s player of the year, is the only returning first team AP All-American, so he should be in contention for the national player of the year awards next season. Former Purdue center Zach Edey won the national awards in consecutive seasons in 2022-23 and 2023-24 before Duke freshman Cooper Flagg won most of those awards this past season. Texas Tech forward JT Toppin, a second team All-American who announced his return to the Red Raiders last week, is also among the favorites for the best player in college basketball player next season. There are also a few talented freshmen entering the sport such as BYU small forward AJ Dybantsa, Kansas guard Darryn Peterson and Duke forward Cameron Boozer who could make immediate impacts.
Besides Smith, Purdue should have several other returners barring any last minute entrants in the transfer portal. The Boilermakers are projected to have Smith and three other starters back from a team that finished 24-12 and 14th in the final AP poll. Those three are forward Trey Kaufman-Renn, who averaged 20.1 points and 6.5 rebounds and made 59.5% of his field goals last season; guard Fletcher Loyer, who averaged 13.8 points and shot 44.4% on 4.7 3-point attempts per game; and guard C.J. Cox, who averaged 6 points and in 18.6 minutes per game.
The Boilermakers also have 7-foot-4 center Daniel Jacobsen, who missed all but two games last season after he sustained a broken tibia in a November game against Northern Kentucky. In addition, they received a commitment from transfer Oscar Cluff, a 6-foot-11 center from Australia who averaged 17.6 points and 12.3 rebounds (second in D1) last season at South Dakota State.
Purdue is following the formula that national title winners in recent years have followed, relying on older players who have experience at the high major D1 level. The Boilermakers have the added benefit of three players in Smith, Loyer and Kaufman-Renn who are all Indiana natives, have played together for three seasons and experienced the ups and downs of college basketball. Smith and Loyer have started each of the 110 games they’ve played in college, while Kaufman-Renn has started the past two seasons.
In 2023, the trio were part of the Purdue team that lost to Fairleigh Dickinson in the first round of the NCAA tournament, becoming the second No. 1 seed to lose to a No. 16 seed in history. The next season, the Boilermakers made it to the national title game before losing to Connecticut. And this past season, following the departure of Edey, Purdue lost a heartbreaker to Houston, which ended up losing to Florida in the NCAA championship game.
The transfer portal is open for another week, with players having to enter by April 22, although they can sign with teams after that date. Players who enter the NBA draft have until June 15 to withdraw, too. As such, rosters throughout college basketball are still in flux. Still, however things shake out, Purdue with Smith and other veterans returning should again be in the mix among the nation’s best teams next season.
