Purdue's Braden Smith named Big Ten Preseason Player-of-the-Year
As expected, Purdue’s Braden Smith has been voted the Big Ten’s preseason player of the year, as voted on by media members.
Smith, a consensus All-American last season and the Big Ten’s reigning player of the year, was also the preseason favorite a year ago at this time. He won the award at the end of the year after averaging 15.8 points and 8.7 assists, his closest competition in the POY race coming from teammate Trey Kaufman-Renn, who now joins Smith as preseason All-Big Ten pick on the 10-man list.
The two Boilermaker seniors are joined as preseason all-conference picks by the following:
Bennett Stirtz Iowa
Yaxel Lendeborg Michigan
Nick Martinelli Northwestern
Bruce Thornton Ohio State
Nate Bittle Oregon
Jackson Shelstad, Jr., G, Oregon
Donovan Dent UCLA
John Blackwell, Wisconsin
