ROSEMONT, Ill. — Trey Kaufman-Renn had some jokes during Big Ten Basketball Media Days on Thursday. But sometimes the funniest jokes are founded in truth.
Kaufman-Renn accompanied teammate Braden Smith to Big Ten Media Days on Thursday. During the podium session, Smith was asked about his pursuit of Bobby Hurley’s all-time assist record, needing 319 assists this season to become the new No. 1 in college basketball history.
Although Kaufman-Renn wasn’t asked directly about Smith’s opportunity to break the record, he wanted to chime in on the matter.
“I love that it’s the assist record, because that means I’m going to get a lot more pocket passes,” Kaufman-Renn said, drawing a laugh from everyone around.
Purdue Boilermakers forward Trey Kaufman-Renn (4) shoots the ball / Alex Martin/Journal and Courier / USA TODAY NETWORK via Imagn Images
After making a joke about the assist record and how it could benefit in, Kaufman-Renn then provided a thoughtful response about Smith potentially making college basketball history. He says it’s something he and everyone else at Purdue wants to see the senior guard achieve.
“As a player who is playing with somebody who is going to accomplish something so incredible — he’s going to accomplish something that puts him in the top 10, top five players to play college basketball,” Kaufman-Renn said.
“In a way, it makes me want to go in and practice harder, make sure I’m hitting all my floaters, make sure I’m doing these things, because — we definitely want to win — we want one of our guys to hold such a prestigious [record] as well.”
Part of what made Kaufman-Renn’s joke so funny on Thursday was that it was founded in truth. There’s not been anyone in a Purdue uniform that has benefited more from Smith’s elite passing ability than the senior forward.
Per Cobra Stats on X, Smith has dished out 154 assists to Kaufman-Renn. That’s the second-most of any teammate Smith has played with, behind only Zach Edey. The guard dished out 155 assists to the 7-foot-4 center during their two years together.
Purdue Boilermakers guard Braden Smith (3) passes the ball Friday, / Alex Martin/Journal and Courier / USA TODAY NETWORK via Imagn Images
However, Kaufman-Renn has scored more points off of Smith’s assists than any other Boilermaker. He has already scored 315 points from Smith’s passes, while Edey finished his career with 311.
The duo of Smith and Kaufman-Renn worked extremely well together last season, especially in the short roll. We’ll undoubtedly see more of that this year.
Getting the assist record will be a tough task for Smith, but one he’s more than capable of achieving. Kaufman-Renn is going to do everything in his power to help his teammate accomplish that goal.
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