Purdue basketball coach Matt Painter previews Iowa
Hear what Purdue basketball coach Matt Painter said ahead of the Boilers’ home game against Iowa.
WEST LAFAYETTE — Nine hundred plus assists and counting now for Braden Smith.
Purdue basketball’s senior point guard has seen just about every defensive strategy aimed to disrupt him.
Few have been successful, evidenced by his quest to break the NCAA record for career assists and by Smith leading Purdue (15-1) to matching its best start in program history.
One who has caused Smith more problems than most isn’t an All-American or a Defensive Player of the Year candidate.
It’s a walk-on who has played just 19 minutes this season.
It’s Smith’s teammate, redshirt freshman guard Aaron Fine.
“There were days where Braden would just do something silly like push him off because he’s hounding him,” Purdue assistant coach PJ Thompson said. “Braden may have thought it was going to be easier.”
Against Fine, nothing comes easy.
It’s one of the reasons he passed on potentially going somewhere he could play immediately to come to Purdue as a walk-on. Fine wanted the daily challenge of facing the player he calls the best in college basketball currently.
“Once I was given the opportunity to come here, it was very enticing to me to know I can battle with Braden Smith for two years,” Fine said. “He’s the best player in the country, let alone the best point guard. Being able to go against the best player in the country for two years, I am going to get better from that.”
He already has.
“When I got here, I wouldn’t say that I was awful, but it’s a big change now from then,” said Fine, who averaged 17.9 points and 3.4 assists as a high school senior at Noblesville. “I feel a lot more comfortable with the ball in my hands. The game is slower. I am making better reads, better passes. I was a decent passer in high school but I was more of a scorer. I’ve become a lot better passer.”
Fine elected to redshirt last season, citing specifically Grady Eifert going from walk-on to starter for Purdue’s Elite Eight team in 2018-19.
Having the wherewithal that Smith being on the roster meant likely no playing time for a walk-on true freshman last season, Fine saw an opportunity to earn a role later in his career by opting not to use a year of eligibility.
“Sometimes he doesn’t take reps off and just stays out there the whole time. He’s gotten better and really improved being out there and getting a lot of reps,” Boilermaker coach Matt Painter said. “Being a coach’s son (Fine’s dad spent 13 seasons as a head coach at Muncie Central and Winchester and is now an assistant at Noblesville), he’s been around it his whole life.
“He understands what’s going on. That’s the way any of those guys look at it. We’ve started a walk-on on an Elite Eight team. Those guys know that. If the situation aligns perfectly, they want to put themselves in position to help us.”
Fine has played in seven games this season. He has nine points and two assists.
Unless Purdue can put some distance between itself and an opponent late in the next two months, Fine might not get into a game this season.
He’s well aware of that.
And OK with it.
“Aaron’s a stud. He helps us win every day,” Thompson said. “Whether he becomes Purdue’s next Grady or not, I don’t know. But there’s no doubt in my mind we don’t get where we want to go from an organizational standpoint without guys like him.”
Sam King covers sports for the Journal & Courier. Email him at [email protected] and follow him on X and Instagram @samueltking.
