Ken Thompson Takes Point With Best of Boilermaker Hoopsters
Today begins a five-week series where I rank the best point guards, shooting guards, small forwards, power forwards and centers in Purdue men’s basketball history.
I don’t want to pretend that I’m an expert on Boilermaker basketball before 1970, when I first saw Rick Mount play in Mackey Arena thanks to WLFI. But since I want to include a handful of former Purdue greats on my list, we’ll expand the list to the past 65 years. So no John Wooden or “Stretch” Murphy.
Readers may end up as surprised as I was when I researched these lists that the deepest position, in my opinion, is not center but power forward.
Today’s Top 10 list, point guards, was also deep enough that the man who directed three consecutive Big Ten outright championship teams – Porter Roberts – didn’t make my cut.
Let’s get started at No. 1, which should be no surprise.
- Braden Smith – After Sunday’s victory at Maryland, the Indiana Mr. Basketball from Westfield became the fifth player in NCAA history with 1,700 points (1,711) and 950 assists (954) in his career. The others are Bobby Hurley of Duke, Keith Jennings of East Tennessee State, Greg Anthony of UNLV and Sherman Douglas of Syracuse. Smith is the only one of the five with at least 500 rebounds, and he has 615.
With a minimum of 11 games left in his Purdue career, Smith seems assured to surpass 1,000 assists. Deep runs in the Big Ten and NCAA tournament could put him within reach of 2,000 career points. That’s a threshold only six Purdue players have reached: Zach Edey, Rick Mount, Joe Barry Carroll, E’Twaun Moore, Dave Schellhase and Troy Lewis.
- Bruce Parkinson – A member of the Indiana Basketball Hall of Fame (2004) and the Leroy Keyes Purdue Athletics Hall of Fame (2019), Parkinson was a four-year starter.
His accomplishments include leading Purdue to the 1974 National Invitation Tournament championship and its first NCAA tournament berth in eight years in 1977. Until Braden Smith came along, Parkinson held virtually every assists record.
For now, Parkinson remains the single-game assists record holder with 18 against Minnesota on March 8, 1975. He scored 1,224 points and recorded 14 double-doubles. Parkinson earned second-team All-Big Ten honors as a sophomore and was a first-team pick as a junior after averaging 12.9 points, 4.7 rebounds and 7.4 assists per game.
- Billy Keller – Like Braden Smith, the 5-9 Keller was described as “too slow and too short.” All Keller did was lead Indianapolis Washington to the 1965 state championship, win Indiana Mr. Basketball honors and help Purdue reach the 1969 NCAA championship game.
“I used the criticism as motivation to prove I could do the things people said I couldn’t do,” Keller said after he was inducted into the Leroy Keyes Purdue Hall of Fame in 2008.
With Keller directing an offense that had Rick Mount and Herman Gilliam, the Boilermakers went 53-23 in his three seasons. Keller could score too, finishing with 1,056 points. His 85.9 career free throw percentage is among the best in school history.
4. Everette Stephens – Easily the most athletic point guard in Purdue history, the 6-3 Stephens was a terrific defensive player who blossomed into a 3-point shooter and third scoring option alongside fellow “Amigos” Troy Lewis and Todd Mitchell. He was inducted into the Leroy Keyes Purdue Athletics Hall of Fame alongside Lewis and Mitchell in 2010.
Stephens helped Purdue go 96-28 during his four seasons, including back-to-back Big Ten championships in 1987 and 1988. He was the second Boilermaker to record at least 1,000 points, 300 assists and 150 steals. Stephens played briefly in the NBA for Indiana and Milwaukee.
- Brian Walker – The former Indiana All-Star from Lebanon began his college career at North Carolina State but transferred in time to help Purdue reach the 1979 NIT championship game and the 1980 Final Four.
He left Purdue as its career leader in steals and second to Bruce Parkinson in assists. He was elected to the Indiana Basketball Hall of Fame in 2010.
- Eugene Parker – The Fort Wayne native started all four seasons at Purdue from 1974-78. He scored 1,430 points and earned second-team All-Big Ten honors in 1976.
Parker was elected to the Indiana Basketball Hall of Fame in 2001. He was a prominent sports agent whose clients included Rod Woodson and Deion Sanders. Parker passed away on March 31, 2016 at age 60.
7. Lewis Jackson – A four-year starter, his Purdue teams went 104-37 from 2008-12. At the time, Jackson was the winningest starting point guard in Boilermaker history.
8. Ricky Hall – The Fort Wayne native was Purdue’s first Big Ten Defensive Player of the Year, winning in 1984 after helping the Boilermakers win an unexpected conference title.
9. PJ Thompson – A three-year starter for Matt Painter, Thompson ranks second in career assist/turnover ratio (2.94), 10th in career 3-point percentage (.404) and 15th in career 3-pointers made (161).
During his career, Thompson helped Purdue go 104-37 with the 2017 Big Ten championship. He currently is an assistant under Painter.
10. Carson Cunningham – The Andrean graduate started his collegiate career at Oregon State before returning home to help Purdue reach the Sweet 16 in 1999 and the Elite Eight in 2000.
Cunningham averaged 11 points and 4.1 assists a game for the 2000 Boilermakers. Including his freshman season at Oregon State, Cunningham scored 1,289 points.
Noteworthy
Former Purdue quarterback David Blough has been promoted to offensive coordinator of the Washington Commanders.
Blough has had a fast rise up the ranks, having spent the 2024 season as assistant quarterbacks coach and taking on increased responsibilities in 2025 following the departure of Washington’s QB coach Tavita Pritchard to Stanford.
Blough has been praised for his efforts in developing Jayden Daniels , who accounted for 4,459 yards and 31 touchdowns during his rookie season in 2024.
Blough played quarterback for four seasons with the Detroit Lions and one with the Arizona Cardinals. His coaching mentors include Chicago Bears coach Ben Johnson and Lions head coach Dan Campbell. …
Former Purdue All-American guard Jaden Ivey was traded to the Chicago Bulls on Tuesday as part of a three-team deal with the Detroit Pistons and Minnesota Timberwolves.
In the midst of his fourth NBA season, Ivey is averaging 14.9 points, 3.5 rebounds and 4.0 assists after being taken fifth overall by Detroit in the 2002 NBA Draft.
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.