GLENDALE, Ariz. — Braden Smith still remembers the last time he doubted himself on the basketball court.

Smith was playing with Team Teague in the AAU nationals. He was in third or fourth grade. Smith can't recall exactly.

"I didn't really play a whole lot and I didn't play well," Smith said. "I wanted to quit that weekend."

Instead, Smith channeled that internal doubt.

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"I didn't like that feeling," he said, "so I worked really hard ever since to not feel that way again."

Smith never doubted his basketball abilities again.

Now, just two wins from a national championship, Purdue basketball's sophomore point guard fuels himself by the skepticism of others.

"That's what makes him so good," fellow Boilermaker sophomore Fletcher Loyer said. "He wants to go play so hard and prove them wrong."

There's a lot less doubting Braden Smith now. In two seasons, he went from essentially unknown to Final Four.

But Smith still goes searching for ammo.

In today's world of social media, there's always something you can find. Painter alludes to people who thought Purdue's guards weren't good enough to win three games in the Maui Invitational, repeat as Big Ten champions or advance to the NCAA Final Four.

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In high school, it was that Westfield had never won a sectional championship and with Smith as the senior point guard, couldn't get through the Indiana gauntlet of Fishers, Hamilton Southeastern and Carmel. Smith put on a legendary series of performances to lead the Shamrocks to a title.

In four NCAA tournament games, Smith is averaging 9.8 points, 9.5 assists and six rebounds.

Purdue, the top seed from the Midwest Region is in the Final Four for the first time since 1980, largely because of its point guard who now seeks the next reason to have a chip on his shoulder.

The Boilers will battle 11th-seeded N.C. State out of the South in the first national semifinal at 6:09 p.m. (EDT) Saturday at State Farm Stadium in Glendale, Ariz. No. 1-overall seed UConn out of the East faces No. 4 Alabama from the west in the second game. Winners meet Monday night.

"He's got a pretty good career record. He's been pretty successful," Painter said. "If that's what he needs to get his engine going, so be it. I think you'll find a lot of competitive people that are that way. He's answered the bell this year in every challenge that he's had."

Zach Edey will receive all the recognition and accolades.

Smith is starting to get his shine, too, but in Edey's eyes, you can't value Smith's impact enough.

"He makes it known every game that he's really good. You see it every game," Edey said. "I don't think people realize the type of season that he's had and what he's meant to our program, meant to every game."

People are starting to realize, little by little. Doubters are disappearing with each victory. But they're still out there, and Braden Smith will find them.

He needs to.

Once driven by his own doubt, Smith now thrives when it comes from others.

"I love it. I genuinely do," he said. "I think it's the best thing in sports when people say you can't do something and you go out and do it. It's a big punch back in the face."

Sam King covers sports for the Journal & Courier. Email him at sking@jconline.com and follow him on Twitter and Instagram @samueltking.

This article originally appeared on Indianapolis Star: Purdue basketball's Braden Smith uses doubters to drive his success