PHOENIX – At the sight of Braden Smith sinking a 3-pointer, Matt Painter raised both fists above his head and let loose one of his biggest smiles in a game all season.
Smith hitting a 3 isn’t a particularly unusual sight – at 43% from deep, he’s one of the best shooters in the Big Ten – but the shot the Purdue point guard sank from the right wing late in the second half against North Carolina State in the Final Four on Saturday at State Farm Stadium came after he had missed seven consecutive field-goal attempts to open the game. His coach’s reaction was part of a game-long effort to keep Smith’s spirits up amid an uncharacteristically poor performance.
“I think our team, our staff did a good job of keeping him positive,” Painter said. “He’s a big piece of what we do. He runs the show for us. He’s a quintessential point guard.”
It helped that Purdue breezed past the Wolfpack 63-50 despite Smith’s 1-for-9 shooting performance and his five turnovers. At halftime, with the sophomore guard 0 for 6 from the field and already responsible for those five turnovers, PJ Thompson, Purdue director of player development and himself a former Boilermakers point guard, took Smith aside and reminded him to check the scoreboard.
“He said, ‘We’re up six and you’re playing the worst game of your life,’ ” Smith said of Thompson.
Thompson was trying to lighten the mood for a player he knows can be hard on himself. Thompson helped recruit the 2022 Indiana Mr. Basketball to Purdue out of Westfield and let the 6-foot guard know early on he thought the recruiting services that listed him barely inside the top 200 in his own class were far off the mark.
“I told him before he even played a college game, there’s no other point guard in the country I’d rather have running my show,” Thompson said. “When you have tough moments at times I know when I need to get on him just because of our relationship. I know when to say something funny and make him laugh. I wasn’t too worried about him, he’s responded his whole career.”
Smith responded against the Wolfpack, committing zero turnovers in the second half and finishing the game with eight rebounds, six assists and three steals.
His teammates and coaches were vocal in their support of him throughout. Painter and Thompson encouraged him to keep shooting while fellow sophomore Fletcher Loyer continually reminded him that Purdue was about to play for a national championship. Smith, who averages 12.0 points and 7.5 assists, was unhappy with his performance after the game but appreciative that the Boilermakers repeatedly reiterated their confidence in him.
“For me personally, I’m just super self-critical,” Smith said. “I hold myself to a high standard and coach Painter always gets on me for that. He’s like, ‘Braden, you’re impacting the game in so many different ways other than scoring. Just take care of the ball, yeah you’ve had some turnovers, but we trust you.’ They didn’t take me out and that shows me the confidence they have in me and just makes me feel a little bit better.”
Asked whether the Wolfpack did anything in particular to get him out of rhythm and cause his poor shooting night and the succession of careless turnovers he committed in the first half, Smith was blunt.
“I missed wide-open shots,” he said. “I don’t think they did anything to disrupt me. I shot wide-open shots and they didn’t fall.”
When Smith finally made his 3-pointer with 3:24 left Sunday to put the Boilermakers up 18 and all but seal Purdue’s victory, the point guard turned toward the crowd and shook his head, as if to say, “Finally.”
The victory against the Wolfpack advanced Purdue to tonight’s national championship game, where the Boilermakers will take on Connecticut. Smith will face his biggest test of the season in that contest, going head to head with 6-5 Tristen Newton, winner of the Bob Cousy Award as the nation’s best point guard.
Smith was also one of five finalists for the Cousy Award and those around Purdue believe his down game against N.C. State could set the stage for an All-American performance in the title game.
“I look forward to (tonight) because I know Braden on edge is a really good Braden and I expect him to be on edge,” Thompson said. “When you’re that good and talented, you’re different. It eats at you. When it can eat at you from Saturday night until Monday, I expect Braden to have a good Braden game.”
