Braden Smith equals Johnny Football, shooting in a dome and more: Friday Purdue notebook

GLENDALE, Arizona—Who had the nickname “Johnny Football?” Shooting in a football stadium, Trey Kaufman-Renn’s connection to palm trees and the Mario Party video game rolls on.

Friday’s trip around Purdue’s locker room:

“JOHNNY FOOTBALL”

When Braden Smith returned from his breakout room interview period, he was wearing a T-shirt with a picture of Dennis Rodman on it. It was an odd choice.

But it’s not when you consider Smith said earlier this season he was going to break Zach Edey’s career rebounding record. Rodman was a stud rebounder, and 6-foot Smith was drawing on his powers to move up the school’s record book. For the record, Smith is 937 rebounds shy of Edey’s mark at Purdue with two seasons remaining.

Smith received a couple of the shirts for Christmas. Why is Rodman appealing to one of the nation’s top point guards?

“I watch basketball every single day, I play basketball, I enjoy basketball, and I like how he is as a person,” Smith said. “He likes to be out there and likes to be different. You’ve seen the shoes that I wear. They’re all different and colorful. I like different things.”

Speaking of different, football would’ve been Smith’s choice if not for basketball. He played quarterback and safety through the sixth grade. His nickname was “Johnny Football” in honor of former Texas A&M quarterback Johnny Manziel.

It’s unclear if Purdue coach Ryan Walters will be trying to lure Smith to his program.

“I’d rather play defense but at this stage, I could probably help out offensively, throwing no-look passes and doing some crazy stuff here and there,” Smith said. “I always ran as a quarterback, so I could use my speed.”

SHOOTING BACKGROUND

The Boilermakers have had two practices inside the State Farm Stadium. The shooting background narrative always surfaces when the Final Four is held in a dome.

“It wasn’t as bad as I thought it was going to be,” freshman Myles Colvin said. “Playing in a football stadium, the depth perception is going to be a little off, but I think I adjusted to it pretty well. I hit my first two shots.”

Purdue’s 50-minute practice Friday consisted of plenty of shooting drills as players attempted to get up as many attempts as possible. Fletcher Loyer made six straight jumpers during one stretch.

“The first few shots felt weird,” redshirt freshman Camden Heide said. “Didn’t warm up. It’s a lot different when you spend so much time in a place like Mackey and then you play in NBA arenas for three straight weeks. You get used to that. Now, we’re going to a bigger stage.”

The Boilermakers don’t anticipate any shooting issues with nearly 65,000 inside the stadium for the national semifinals. Purdue ranks second nationally in 3-point field goal percentage (40.6) and made 39% during the four-game NCAA tournament stretch.

Playing in a dome and the shooting environment has been discussed among the Boilermakers.

“A couple of us had been to the Final Four games and a couple of us hadn’t,” said Mason Gillis, who is shooting 47.5% from 3-point range. “Some people had seen pictures, some people hadn’t. We all kind of had a different perspective on the court and how the atmosphere was going to be.

“(Thursday), we were able to practice on the court, shoot a little bit, and get a feel for the surroundings. We all said that it was better than we thought.”

PALM TREES

When Kaufman-Renn is around palm trees, the world is right.

“Anytime you see palm trees it’s nice,” Kaufman-Renn said.

Kaufman-Renn grew up in southern Indiana and attended Silver Creek. It is not a place you would think is littered with palm trees, but the sophomore recalls taking family trips to Florida and waking up to see palm trees.

“Every time I’d to go bed in the car, and we would drive to Florida, and once I saw the palm trees, I knew we were close,” Kaufman-Renn said.

Purdue won three games in Hawaii, surrounded by palm trees. If you’re looking for a Kaufman-Renn/palm tree trend, there’s not one defining moment. Kaufman-Renn scored 20 points in the three games in Hawaii if that helps.

“I don’t think I’ve lost when there’s a palm tree around,” Kaufman-Renn said. “Maybe the media can run with that. Maybe you can say, ‘Trey’s never lost when he’s seen palm trees. Purdue’s never lost.’ There has to be some type of connection there.”

Kaufman-Renn started watching the movie The Princess Bride to escape the daily basketball routine.

“It’s really cool,” he said. “I’ve been chillin’ and relaxing.”

MARIO PARTY

Members of the scout team were at it again Friday.

They were playing video games at one end of the locker room. On Thursday, walk-on Josh Furst was the winner playing Mario Party. Before the open media session ended Friday, Furst was going for a two-day sweep.

HAPPY BIRTHDAY

Friday was Ethan Morton’s birthday.

Adding to his special day was Purdue’s practice at the Final Four and it was also opening day for the Pittsburgh Pirates, his favorite baseball team. Morton was wearing a Pirates jersey.

“You can’t ask for much more than this,” Morton said. “Obviously, getting to spend it in this environment is super special, sort of a once-in-a-lifetime deal and I’m excited to take it in and be with these guys.”

Morton was expected to watch the baseball game since it started 20 minutes after the open practice ended.  

“Perfect,” he said. “Got it all timed up. I’m all ready to go.”