Today, Braden Smith.
OUTLOOK FOR THE SEASON
Whether anyone says it out loud this preseason or not, I don't know, but the freshman is Purdue's No. 1 point guard and a player the Boilermakers will need on the floor playing robust minutes, and not only producing during those minutes, but rapidly developing, because he's a critically important player not only long-term for Purdue, but especially this season.
There haven't been a ton of freshmen over the years Purdue's had to rely on as much as they will have to rely on Smith.
KEYS TO SUCCESS
First off, learning and playing with poise and control that would belie his experience levels. Smith could do things at the high school and AAU levels that may not work at this level. Whereas he could dribble into traffic and kind of figure things out in the air sometimes before college, that sort of stuff gets preyed upon now. His decision-making will be pivotal for Purdue. A bunch of Matt Painter-trademarked messages may earn new life this season: "Be simple," "Play off two feet" and "patiently aggressive." Get ready, folks.
Second, and this is sort of adjacent to the topic above: Being appropriately aggressive. Smith will back down from no one and play extremely aggressive and with distinct fearlessness, almost a certain kind of arrogance. Keeping in mind how much Purdue may need him on the floor, that ill-fated charge, or that cheap reach-in trying to take the ball from someone, those won't be helpful.
Third, and this is fairly obvious, with no real red flags, but bears mentioning: He has to be healthy. He has dealt with a few injuries the past few years and no one will want to see that repeated. Purdue held him out this summer longer than it had to just to err on the side of caution. But the history aside, Smith's still a smaller guard about to play in the Big Ten, so wear and tear can be a thing.
BIGGEST QUESTION(S)
Without repeating ourselves here.
• How quickly can Smith get up to speed from an experience perspective. He's advanced as a basketball mind — a "savant," as one person put it — but that just means his learning curve is a little flatter. It doesn't mean there isn't one.
• No issue here based on every account thus far, but Smith will have to be ready to shoot when the ball comes his way as Option 4 or 5. His role as a scorer at least to begin his career may be more along the lines of the PJ Thompson niche, and Thompson was built for that. Smith can be unselfish to a fault, but he has to make people guard him.
• How well can Smith keep the ball in front of him defensively? His tenacity is tailor-made for on-ball defense, but his lateral movement and decision-making when it comes to fishing for steals will be put to the test. If there's one thing Purdue needs more than anything from anyone, it's just everybody on their floor doing their best to keep the dribble contained, and that always starts with the 1.
BOTTOM LINE
Smith is going to make Purdue a better offensive team and may be one of the league's highest-impact rookies this season, out of sheer opportunity as much as anything else, but not solely for that reason. But the lack of experience has to be something that you take into account, because Purdue loves its freshman guards but frets over their experience and those two realities fly in the face of one another.
Make no mistake, though: Smith could be a great player at Purdue in time and could be a big part of the solution right away to the Boilermakers' greatest personnel concern.
OUTLOOK FOR THE SEASON
Whether anyone says it out loud this preseason or not, I don't know, but the freshman is Purdue's No. 1 point guard and a player the Boilermakers will need on the floor playing robust minutes, and not only producing during those minutes, but rapidly developing, because he's a critically important player not only long-term for Purdue, but especially this season.
There haven't been a ton of freshmen over the years Purdue's had to rely on as much as they will have to rely on Smith.
KEYS TO SUCCESS
First off, learning and playing with poise and control that would belie his experience levels. Smith could do things at the high school and AAU levels that may not work at this level. Whereas he could dribble into traffic and kind of figure things out in the air sometimes before college, that sort of stuff gets preyed upon now. His decision-making will be pivotal for Purdue. A bunch of Matt Painter-trademarked messages may earn new life this season: "Be simple," "Play off two feet" and "patiently aggressive." Get ready, folks.
Second, and this is sort of adjacent to the topic above: Being appropriately aggressive. Smith will back down from no one and play extremely aggressive and with distinct fearlessness, almost a certain kind of arrogance. Keeping in mind how much Purdue may need him on the floor, that ill-fated charge, or that cheap reach-in trying to take the ball from someone, those won't be helpful.
Third, and this is fairly obvious, with no real red flags, but bears mentioning: He has to be healthy. He has dealt with a few injuries the past few years and no one will want to see that repeated. Purdue held him out this summer longer than it had to just to err on the side of caution. But the history aside, Smith's still a smaller guard about to play in the Big Ten, so wear and tear can be a thing.
BIGGEST QUESTION(S)
Without repeating ourselves here.
• How quickly can Smith get up to speed from an experience perspective. He's advanced as a basketball mind — a "savant," as one person put it — but that just means his learning curve is a little flatter. It doesn't mean there isn't one.
• No issue here based on every account thus far, but Smith will have to be ready to shoot when the ball comes his way as Option 4 or 5. His role as a scorer at least to begin his career may be more along the lines of the PJ Thompson niche, and Thompson was built for that. Smith can be unselfish to a fault, but he has to make people guard him.
• How well can Smith keep the ball in front of him defensively? His tenacity is tailor-made for on-ball defense, but his lateral movement and decision-making when it comes to fishing for steals will be put to the test. If there's one thing Purdue needs more than anything from anyone, it's just everybody on their floor doing their best to keep the dribble contained, and that always starts with the 1.
BOTTOM LINE
Smith is going to make Purdue a better offensive team and may be one of the league's highest-impact rookies this season, out of sheer opportunity as much as anything else, but not solely for that reason. But the lack of experience has to be something that you take into account, because Purdue loves its freshman guards but frets over their experience and those two realities fly in the face of one another.
Make no mistake, though: Smith could be a great player at Purdue in time and could be a big part of the solution right away to the Boilermakers' greatest personnel concern.
