Plus, a rough patch.
Welcome to the Fast Break, where I discuss some Purdue centric things that I can’t quite get a full article out of, or just don’t have time for, and so I throw them all together into one article. Enjoy!
Braden Smith on the Brink of History
It’s incredible to think that Braden Smith is still in just his junior season with the Boilermakers. The point guard burst onto the scene as a true freshman and has never looked back. After that FDU game he helped lead the team to the National Championship game in his second season. Now, he’s been tearing up teams left and right. He’s far surpassed what anyone could have reasonably expected of him with over a year left in college.
Right now, Braden Smith sits in second place overall in total assists by a Purdue Boilermaker. Right now the list is this:
Bruce Parkinson – 690
Braden Smith – 683
Just seven assists Braden Smith from tying the first place spot with eight assists landing him in the top spot. For reference, Bruce Parkinson played in 112 games for the Boilermakers that means he averaged 6.16 assists per game. Braden Smith, as of today the day before the IU game, has played in 101 games for an average of 6.83 assists per game. Smith very well could break the record against the Hoosiers. We truly are witnessing history here.
Matt Painter Makes Coach of the Year List
It is of course awards watchlist season. These lists come out multiple times a season and slowly whittle down the candidates for the major awards. Matt Painter saw his name added to a list this week.
Coach Painter named to @NaismithTrophy Midseason Coach of the Year watch list. pic.twitter.com/aR10wCQpLR
— Purdue Men’s Basketball (@BoilerBall) February 21, 2025
With just four games left in the Big Ten season I’m not sure why they still call it the midseason list, but that’s not important right now. Instead, I just want to focus on how incredible it is that Painter is back in this spot this season of all seasons despite all the obstacles that the team has faced. Any discussion of this has to begin with losing the two time National Player of the Year Zach Edey. Yes, it was expected but losing that type of player and still having your team fighting for a Big Ten title is extraordinary. Then, Purdue lost their starting center during the second game of the season. Before that though, they lost a blue-chip recruit just about the week before students were to come onto campus. And somehow, despite all of that, Painter finds himself leading a top 25 ranked team, mostly top-15 all year, and looking to make some damage in the NCAA Tournament.
Three Losses in a Row
Losing is never fan. It’s not what we like to see as sports fans. However, if you’re any kind of sports fan at all you know that your team is going to lose more than they’re going to win. I’m a Cincinnati Reds fans, a Tampa Bay Bucs fan (Thanks to Mike Alstott of course), and a Purdue sports fan. There have been far more losing seasons than winning ones in my fandom. Right now Purdue is in the midst of a losing streak. A three game slide in which they lost to three teams that they desperately needed to beat in order to win the conference. That’s looking more like a pipe dream right now, but that doesn’t mean this season can’t be special. That doesn’t mean that there aren’t players and moments that stand out that we will remember for years to come.
There’s a great scene in Ted Lasso where Ted and Coach Beard are at the pub trying to figure out if they should bench Roy Kent the over the hill, but beloved, former darling of the Premier League as they try to avoid being relegated. Beard knows that it’s tough for Ted to bench a player like Roy, but he knows, that Ted knows, it’s for the best. However, Ted decides to start him because, as Ted says, all this ain’t about winning to him. Coach Beard freaks out and says that it is all about winning. It’s okay to want to win.
As a viewer I think you’re supposed to agree with Beard here. And like most sports fans, I do see his point, and if it were my team I would want Roy benched. But Ted reminds us all that these players are human beings, whether professionals or not, and that life for them will go on long after the game is over. Of course because this is a sitcom it all comes to naught because Kent benches himself and then finds a way to impact the game in his short time on the field, erm sorry pitch.
The point I’m trying to make here is that yes, losing stinks, but it’s truly not all about wins and losses. The players on this team make me proud to be a Boilermaker and I hope they do the same for you. They’ll turn this losing streak around and still have a chance to make a lot of noise in the NCAA Tournament. This season may only have four regular season games left, but we just don’t know how anything will turn out just yet and isn’t that the beauty of sports?