A little more than a dozen hours passed when Houston coach Kelvin Sampson, when asked about the point guards in the Elite Eight, made a point to compliment Braden Smith.

Purdue star guard Braden Smith's parents both played college basketball at Arkansas Tech, meeting for the first time in the training room. Ginny and Dustin Smith spent countless hours in the gym shooting baskets there,

Bruce Parkinson knows good point guard play when he sees it, and from the stands at Westfield High School in the suburbs of Indianapolis, Purdue’s all-time assists leader — at least at the time — could see Braden Smith had the goods.