Purdue's Braden Smith "super excited" for homecoming game at Arkansas

In what is expected to be a sold-out crowd at Bud Walton Arena on Saturday, several members of Braden Smith’s family will be in attendance.

“I don’t know the exact number, but it’s a lot,” Purdue’s point guard said Friday.

It’s just a charity exhibition game between the third-ranked Boilermakers and No. 14 Arkansas, but it carries more weight for the sophomore. Smith has deep Arkansas roots since his mom, Ginny, and his dad, Dustin, played at Arkansas Tech, which is about two hours from the Razorbacks’ campus.

Braden was born in Arkansas and spent five years in the state.

“I haven’t been back in a couple of years, at least,” Smith said. “I’m super excited for it. Just good to see family.”

Ginny was the state’s Miss Basketball in 1997, a resume-stuffing achievement to highlight her skills on the court. Braden was Indiana’s Mr. Basketball in 2022 after a stellar career at Westfield. Dustin, who attended Northwestern High School near Kokomo, played at Joliet Junior College and Arkansas Tech.

“She doesn’t talk much about her basketball career other than she won Miss Basketball,” Braden said. “You hear that every once in a while when we’re arguing with my dad.”

There’s no argument Braden had a solid freshman season, but improvement is needed to see the Boilermakers and the talented guard take the next step. Expect Smith to showcase more on-the-court leadership and maintain an aggressive approach on the offensive end.

His family is well-versed in how Smith plays the game but will likely see an improved version on Saturday.

“They’ve seen me play, and they understand what I can do,” Smith said.

CHARITY GAME AT MACKEY?

Proceeds from Saturday’s game will help raise money for United Way Arkansas to assist victims of last spring’s devastating tornadoes in the state.

Purdue coach Matt Painter wants to stage a charity exhibition game at Mackey Arena to benefit a community organization.

“Hopefully, we can host one,” Painter said. “That would be great. Anytime you can do that and for whatever cause you’re playing for, because there’s a lot of causes out there. I would like to be able to do something like that and do that in this community.

“You think about 15,000 here, and everybody pays $50 to get in. You’re raising a lot of money.”

Arkansas is a good matchup for the Boilermakers since they play a different style.

“We try to search our teams that are different and teams that are talented and have been very successful,” Painter said. “Their talent level is really high; they produce a lot of NBA players.”

Painter said Saturday will be a “real game” with no stoppages for instruction or to focus on specific situations.

“We know it will be a difficult game, and rightfully so. That’s what you want,” Painter said. “You want to see some things like, ‘Oh, OK – this was a strength of ours last year, and early in the season it’s not, but maybe it is.

“You want a fair assessment of where you are, and sometimes with the opponents you have in exhibition and scrimmages, you don’t get to that. When you play Cincinnati, Providence, West Virginia, and Dayton or Arkansas, we’ll walk out of there, whether we win or lose, we’re a better team, and we have a better assessment of where we are.”

HOSTILE CROWD

The early season road game should provide a test, and the Boilermakers welcome the challenge. They should be able to handle the challenging environment based on their experience.

“It will be cool for us to get in a hostile environment this early,” senior Ethan Morton said. “I think it will be a cool challenge because we don’t see one until the ACC Challenge, Gavitt games, or the Thanksgiving tournament.”

STARTING FIVE

The Boilermakers are expected to start Smith, Fletcher Loyer, Lance Jones, Trey Kaufman-Renn and Zach Edey.

“I know the last one shocked you guys,” Painter joked, referring to Edey, the reigning National Player of the Year. “He had a good practice yesterday. We’ll see how he does.”

Four of the five played prominent roles last season, and the addition of Jones, a transfer from Southern Illinois, brings more speed and quickness to the roster.

“The guys that will start have put themselves in a good position,” Painter said. “I don’t think it’s concrete, or it could be where they stay. It depends on how they play and how they play together. But we’ll see how things go.”