NCAA Basketball: Top 10 players to wear jersey No. 3 in 2023-24 season
By Joey Loose
2. Braden Smith (Purdue)
No one can deny that Zach Edey was the catalyst for Purdue these last few seasons. However, the play of that young backcourt around him was immensely important and Smith was a big part of that equation. Still just an underclassman, he really stood out as a true freshman before taking a giant leap forward this past season in year two under Matt Painter.
The Boilermakers benefited greatly from Smith’s impressive sophomore campaign as he averaged 12.0 points, 5.8 rebounds, and 7.0 assists per game, all while shooting 43% from beyond the arc. Smith would lead the entire nation in total assists and earned First Team All-Big Ten honors. He was the perfect point guard to pair with Edey and the rest of this lineup, able not only to run the offense but hit outside shots when it mattered most.
As a result, Purdue excelled all season long, advancing all the way to the national title game. Long before that, Smith was getting things done in the regular season, with a 16-assist effort against Northwestern or his onslaught in December, scoring 27 against Alabama and 26 against Arizona. During Purdue’s Tourney run Smith averaged nearly 9 assists per game and shot the ball decently as the Boilermakers made history. All of this came as a sophomore after a remarkable two years of growth in this system.