18 hours ago
ST. LOUIS — Braden Smith’s dream came true Friday night at the Enterprise Center when he broke the NCAA’s all-time assists record during Purdue’s NCAA Tournament opener against Queens.
At 12:11 remaining in the first half, Smith received a ball screen from teammate Trey Kaufman-Renn and delivered a precise pocket pass to Kaufman-Renn, who scored an and-one basket that set the new record.
Smith now has 1,076 career assists, surpassing the previous record held by Duke great Bobby Hurley for 33 years.
NCAA March Madness tweeted: "CONGRATS TO BRADEN SMITH 👏 #MarchMadness"
Kaufman-Renn also scored on Smith’s very first assist, making the moment even more special.
As the record was announced to the crowd, Smith was visibly excited, shouting encouragement to his teammates on the bench. The Boilermakers started the game a bit tense, feeling the pressure of helping Smith break the record. Smith nearly set the record earlier with a behind-the-back pass to Oscar Cluff, but Cluff lost control of the ball. Another pick-and-roll attempt to Kaufman-Renn missed its mark as he missed his first two shots trying to be the record-breaker. Cluff missed a layup and Fletcher Loyer missed a three-pointer as well.
Finally, Kaufman-Renn converted the short roll basket, securing the assist that broke the record. While it wasn’t a floater, Smith was more than happy with the assist.
With 32 minutes still left in the game, maintaining focus could be a challenge. Last month, Smith told The Athletic that when he broke the Big Ten assists record earlier this season against Wisconsin, he lost focus in the final 10 minutes due to excitement.
NCAA March Madness also shared a video of Smith tying Bobby Hurley’s all-time assists record moments before breaking it.
About the author: C.J. Moore, a staff writer for The Athletic, has covered college basketball since 2011. He previously worked at Bleacher Report as the national college basketball writer and has also reported for CBSSports.com and Basketball Prospectus. He coauthored Beyond the Streak, a behind-the-scenes look at Kansas basketball’s record-setting Big 12 title run. Follow C.J. Moore on Twitter @cjmoorehoops.
