Braden Smith passes Bobby Hurley, sets NCAA record for most career assists

Heading into the NCAA Tournament, Braden Smith was closing in on history. He needed two assists to pass Bobby Hurley for the NCAA’s all-time career record, and he did so early in Purdue’s matchup against Queens.

Smith found Trey Kaufman-Renn for the dime with 12:11 left after tying Hurley quickly in Friday’s game. That gave him 1,077 for his career, putting him No. 1 atop the all-time list to move past Hurley, who had 1,066 during his time at Duke.

Smith already had the Big Ten’s all-time record for career assists, but had the NCAA’s mark in his sights. He didn’t waste much time getting there, making history less than eight minutes into the Round of 64 matchup against Queens.

Earlier this week, Smith spoke with On3 about what it would mean break the record in the NCAA Tournament. He admitted he was looking for a balance between focusing on the game and making history, but he hoped to get that 1,077th assist early so it was out of the way.

“I think for me, I obviously want to get it so I can get it over with and not have to worry about it because it’s an accomplishment I want to achieve for my personal goals,” Smith said via Zoom on behalf of Great Clips. “But at the end of the day, it’s really just a focus on winning. If it happens, it happens. If it doesn’t, it doesn’t. Obviously, I hope it does. I’m two away. Hopefully, next game, we can get it done.”

After Smith’s historic accomplishment, Purdue coach Matt Painter addressed it during his in-game interview with truTV’s Jon Rothstein. He acknowledged how much it means to coach the all-time career assists leader and said he hoped to also get a win in the process.

“It is surreal,” Painter said. “Happy for him. Really happy for him. He’s worked really hard. Just an unbelievable passer. Makes the game look easy at times. But as you said, let’s get back to work here and let’s try to get a victory.”

Braden Smith put together his second career All-American season at Purdue, where he has spent all four years of his career – a rarity in the current era of college basketball. He entered Friday’s game averaging 14 points to go with a career-high 9.1 assists per game this season.