TUSCALOOSA, AL — Purdue basketball’s point guard assisted on one of his senior forward’s patented hook shots, then followed up with a mid-range jumper of his own.
Merely another day at the office for Braden Smith? Typically, yes — except the Boilermakers’ four-year starter had taken a seat midway through the first half before Omer Mayer stepped up in his place.
Advertisement
Smith committing his first foul with 10:37 left in the first half provided a convenient excuse to give him a rest. Picking up a second with under two minutes to play before halftime mandated his removal, lest he stumble into a true foul crisis.
For that stretch of the game, coach Matt Painter turned to Mayer, the freshman from Israel brought in to succeed Smith as the Boilermakers’ lead guard next season. In the second half, when Smith quickly committed what he called a “stupid foul,” Painter stuck with his All-American.
Painter has more options in such conundrums than he did a year ago. Going to the bench and sticking with his guy both paid off in an 87-80 victory.
Mayer and Smith had played together for a few minutes when Smith first subbed out. He hit a 3-pointer on his first offensive possession — countering the Crimson Tide’s bombardment. On his second, he pulled up against Alabama’s drop coverage and scored from 15 feet.
Advertisement
In a four-minute span of the first half, Mayer scored three tying or go-ahead baskets. With Smith in bubble wrap at the end of the half, Mayer found Trey Kaufman-Renn for a floater in the lane to break a 41-41 tie. It was his second assist of the half to the forward, keeping alive the momentum on his 17-point half.
Smith wound up sitting for six first-half minutes — a rarity in games of this magnitude. He saw the same things he saw when he first began watching film of Mayer in the spring. He saw a bigger version of himself in so many ways.
“He’s had a great attitude,” Painter said. “He’s a very talented player. It’s one of those role-definition things. Only getting 17 minutes — I think last game he got 12 minutes — and he’s happy. He’s happy in that locker room.
“That’s what you need. You need some guys to sacrifice and keep showing up and helping our team.”
Advertisement
Only 96 seconds into the second half, Smith attempted to take a charge on a drive by Aiden Sherrell. Officials called it a block instead. Sherrell finished his and-one. Smith, regardless of Mayer’s fill-in duties, represented a critical element of a game which already felt as if it would remain back-and-forth into the final minute.
“I was like ‘Paint, please, I’m starting to get into a rhythm,’” Smith said. “’I’m starting to actually feel like I’m in the flow of the game. Keep me in here.’
“And he trusted me.”
Smith assisted on only one basket in the second half — a Daniel Jacobsen lob dunk with 14:23 to play. Instead, he became a different kind of catalyst. He hit a 3-pointer to finish a break started by a Fletcher Loyer steal. He drew four fouls in the final 12 minutes — crucial trips to the free throw line after Purdue put Alabama in the bonus with under 13 minutes to play and the double-bonus about three minutes later.
Advertisement
When Smith drove for a layup with 1:18 to play, it snapped an 80-80 tie and gave Purdue the lead for good. It helped Labaron Philon Jr. went to the free throw line seconds later and missed the front end of a one-and-one. Smith drew a late-shot clock foul with 47 seconds to play and knocked down both free throws for a four-point lead.
The Coleman Coliseum crowd began to spill out soon after. Smith scored 21 of his 29 in the second half – including a 10-for-10 effort at the line. Smith recognized a favorable matchup in the lane when the 6-foot-10, 240-pound Sherrell sat down and 6-10, 205-pound Taylor Bol Bowen became the biggest Alabama player on the floor.
“Offensively, that’s what we’re told to do,” Smith said. “As a smart basketball player you kind of go at their weakest defender. That’s obviously no shot at him, but on the floor at the time, that’s just how it was.
“… I knew I would get him in those shot fakes and be able to play off two feet and use my experience.”
Advertisement
Smith played all 20 second-half minutes and was never whistled for a fourth foul. Purdue turned to its lead guard understudy to close out the first half with a lead. It trusted its star to close out the game.
Nathan Baird and Sam King have the best Purdue sports coverage, and sign up for IndyStar’s Boilermakers newsletter.
This article originally appeared on Indianapolis Star: Omer Mayer fitting in with Purdue basketball, Braden Smith, he shows at Alabama
