Despite ESPN Blunder, Purdue’s Braden Smith Getting Deserved Attention
Today, the Bob Cousy Award. Tomorrow? Maybe the Wooden Award.
It’s heady times for former Indiana Mr. Basketball Braden Smith, who took home the award as the nation’s best point guard during Final Four Week in San Antonio.
Presuming Smith returns to Purdue for his senior season, some national media members think he could join former teammate Zach Edey as the national player of the year in 2025-26. More on that later.
Winning the Cousy Award marks the third player recruited by Matt Painter to win one of the five position awards. Carsen Edwards took home the Jerry West Award as the nation’s top shooting guard in 2018. Edey won two consecutive Kareem Abdul-Jabbar Awards given to the nation’s top center.
Purdue also should have had a Karl Malone Award winner in power forward Caleb Swanigan in 2017. Voters instead gave the honor to Baylor junior Johnathan Motley, even though Swanigan had better statistics. Swanigan averaged 18.5 points and 12.5 rebounds during his Big Ten Player of the Year season. Motley put up 17.3 points and 9.9 rebounds.
Maybe Trey Kaufman-Renn makes up for that slight in 2025-26.
Smith puts Purdue with Gonzaga, Duke and Kentucky as the only schools to have three different players win their respective positional trophy.
“To be included among the elite players that have won this award is very humbling and I am grateful to be selected to join that prestigious group,” Smith said.
Smith will enter his senior season needing just 125 points and 242 assists to become the first player in NCAA history with 1,500 points, 1,000 assists and 500 rebounds for his career. Bobby Hurley’s career assists record of 1,076 is within Smith’s reach as well. Smith needs 318 assists, five more than his school record total this season.
Unfortunately for Smith and Purdue fans, ESPN managed to screw up the Cousy Award announcement.
The supposed “Worldwide Leader in Sports” ran a video package of Creighton center Ryan Kalkbrenner, who at 7-1 will never be mistaken for a point guard, instead of Smith’s highlights.
Anchor Rece Davis immediately corrected the error. Later on social media, Davis said “a wrong tape rolled.” The correct tape never aired, though. Not a surprise coming from a network that ignores leagues whose rights it doesn’t own.
Great expectations
Now that the college basketball nation outside of ESPN believes in Braden Smith, Purdue is a national championship favorite in 2025-26.
The most confident forecast comes from The Athletic, where writer C.J. Moore picks the Boilermakers No. 1 in his way-too-early Top 25.
“Talent plus roster continuity is a winning formula, and no team has a better combination of that at this moment than Purdue,” Moore writes. “This will be the only team returning a first-team AP All-American in Braden Smith, not to mention an honorable mention in forward Trey Kaufman-Renn. When Houston prepped for Purdue in the Sweet 16, the Cougars’ coaches took to calling Smith, Kaufman-Renn and Fletcher Loyer “Stockton, Malone and Hornacek.”
John Stockton and Karl Malone of the Utah Jazz were members of the first Olympic Dream Team in 1992 and have been enshrined in the Naismith Memorial Basketball Hall of Fame. Jeff Hornacek was an NBA All-Star guard for Phoenix, Philadelphia and Utah and a two-time winner of the NBA Three-Point Contest. All three had their numbers retired by the Jazz.
Smith heads a projected starting lineup of fellow seniors Trey Kaufman-Renn and Fletcher Loyer, transfer center Oscar Cluff and sophomore C.J. Cox.
Cluff, a 6-11 center from Sunshine Coast, Australia, signed with Purdue last week. Cluff was ranked the No. 1 transfer in the nation by On3.com. Cluff averaged 17.6 points, 12.3 rebounds (second place nationally) and 2.8 assists for South Dakota State. Notably, Cluff shot 63.4 percent from the field and 77.8 percent at the free throw line.
One of Cluff’s best games last season saw him put up 21 points and 15 rebounds in a loss at Alabama.
“Coach Matt Painter added a veteran big who is an elite rebounder in South Dakota State transfer Oscar Cluff,” Moore writes. “Daniel Jacobsen could emerge as the next star Purdue big and could provide the rim protection this season’s group missed without Zach Edey. It’s also possible Purdue could add one perimeter player or more, which would strengthen the Boilers’ preseason No. 1 case.”
Florida, Houston, Louisville and Michigan round out Moore’s top five. Big Ten teams ranked by Moore are Michigan State (7th), UCLA (20th), Illinois (21st) and Ohio State (24th).
Jeff Borzello of ESPN.com has Houston ahead of Purdue based heavily on three freshmen rated in the top 20 by its recruiting rankings.
“There’s a chance Purdue has the preseason Wooden Award favorite and two All-Americans on its roster next season,” Borzello writes. “Braden Smith will be the best guard in the country after taking the next step in his development this past season, and Trey Kaufman-Renn is a dominant paint force. The addition of South Dakota State transfer Oscar Cluff should help inside, and a healthy Daniel Jacobsen could be poised for a breakout season.”
Borzello’s top five features Louisville at No. 3, followed by Connecticut and Michigan. Other Big Ten schools in the ESPN rankings are UCLA (10th), Wisconsin (14th), Michigan State (18th) and Ohio State (23rd).
Kevin Sweeney of SI.com also has Purdue second behind Houston.
“Purdue can essentially start on third base this offseason if it can retain its strong nucleus from 2024-25. Point guard Braden Smith and forward Trey Kaufman-Renn profile as likely All-Americans as seniors, while third option Fletcher Loyer is on track to score over 1,500 points as a Boilermaker. And while the Boilermakers have traditionally not been active in the portal, coach Matt Painter has already made one dynamite addition with double-double machine Oscar Cluff to help solidify a weak frontcourt. They could add another piece or two to boost their athleticism and size on the wings.”
Duke, Connecticut and Louisville complete Sweeney’s top five. Big Ten teams in Sweeney’s Top 25 are UCLA (9th), Michigan (12th), Wisconsin (13th), Michigan State (15th) and Oregon (18th).
John Fanta of Fox Sports concurred with his ESPN and Sports Illustrated peers, noting Purdue “should have as much returning experience and perimeter firepower as anybody in the sport next season.”
Fanta has UCLA ranked ninth, Michigan 15th, Michigan State 18th and Iowa 25th.
Did you know?
Since Memphis Grizzlies coach Taylor Jenkins was fired March 28, Purdue great Zach Edey has seen his playing time, and production, increase.
In a 124-100 victory against the Charlotte Hornets on Tuesday, Edey recorded his 12th double-double with 17 points and 19 rebounds in 31 minutes.
The previous game, a 109-103 victory against Detroit, saw Edey set the franchise rookie record with 21 rebounds. Edey is the first rookie since Shaquille O’Neal in 1993 to total 40 or more rebounds in a two-game span.
Over the last four games, during which Memphis went 3-1, Edey has averaged 10.3 points and 15.7 rebounds in 30 minutes a game.
This recent surge has increased Edey’s scoring average to 9.3 and his team-leading rebounding average to 8.2. As of Wednesday, Memphis was in a four-way tie for fourth place in the Western Conference at 47-32.
Kenny Thompson is the former sports editor for the Lafayette Journal & Courier and an award-winning journalist. He has covered Purdue athletics for many years.