ROSEMONT, Ill. - Braden Smith’s trademark intensity begins building well before Purdue men’s basketball takes the court.

Trey Kaufman-Renn feels it across the table in the Boilermakers' allegedly friendly poker games. Fun way to kill time on a road trip? Not for Smith – even with nothing tangible at stake.

“He's a little bit more emotional than other players,” Kaufman-Renn said. “I'm just here for the card game -- like, it's not that big of a deal. But he's playing like we're playing for money.”

So Smith’s teammates express no concerns about their floor leader losing his edge simply because his name finally rose to the top of honors lists. As the most accomplished player on the most accomplished team, Smith earned unanimous preseason-All Big Ten honors and distinction as the preseason Player of the Year.

If Smith learned anything over his first two seasons, though, it is to stay focused on the finish. An underdog attitude played a big role in his climb to wide recognition as one of the nation’s best players. He’ll use the slightest slight as motivation even as he lets the biggest accolades roll off his back.

"It's just a preseason thing,” Smith said at Thursday's Big Ten Media Day. “That's not my goal. I don't want to be the preseason. I want to be that at the end of the year.”

Life kept stacking chips on Smith’s shoulder. The 33^rd-ranked point guard in the nation? A freshman season in which Purdue’s young guards were sometimes considered a liability?

Then the Westfield grad went out and, with one of the greatest point guard seasons in Purdue history, led the program to its first Final Four in 44 years. Suddenly, an avalanche of accolades rolled down. First team All-Big Ten. Honorable mention All-American, which led to preseason All-American honors in the past month.

And this week, preseason Big Ten Player of the Year. What does a competitor so fueled by disrespect, real or perceived, do with all of that validation?

He keeps chasing internal motivation. Smith also knows outside stimuli will never run dry. Despite his recently grown beard, fans around the Big Ten Conference will surely recognize him instantly as the sort of opposing nuisance they love to hate.

“That's just who I am,” Smith said. “I feel like I always have something to prove. I hold myself to perfection, and I like to be perfect in everything I do. When I miss a shot, when I turn it over, when I'm not a good teammate, when I'm not this and that, I like to hold myself to the highest standard possible.

“So I get on myself for that, and then it comes with the disrespect that people throw out there -- whatever they have to say. And that's just added motivation.”

Painter recruited Smith because he checked off both of the coach’s priorities – skill and competitive spirit. Listening to Smith talk about his preseason honors, you can hear Painter addressing the team’s status as the preseason Big Ten favorite.

Go ahead and focus on October if you want. These guys are already thinking March.

“He understands that we’ve got to earn it all over again, and he's got to earn it all over again,” Painter said. “But he definitely affects winning with his ability to pass and his ability to play and compete and know what's going on.

"He's a tough-minded guy, and he's an intelligent player.”

Purdue’s longest season in nearly two generations helped Smith accumulate in record numbers. Most assists (292) by a Big Ten player. First player in NCAA history with 450 points, 290 assists and 250 rebounds.

One of five players in NCAA history with at least 800 points, 440 assists and 370 rebounds after their sophomore seasons. That list includes Ja Morant and Magic Johnson.

That is the resume upon which voters declared Smith the league’s top player entering the season. Except he may need to be even better in 2024-25 for Purdue to make another NCAA Tournament run. Painter expects him to be the highest-volume player in this offense, redirecting from the approach which heavily ran through Zach Edey the past two seasons.

The Boilermakers want the ball in the hands of the guy whose poker face never breaks, even when there's nothing but a valueless hand on the line.

"Of all the people on our team, he's the most — whether it be cards or whatever it is -- he really wants to win,” Kaufman-Renn said. “I think he'll always have that chip on his shoulder.”

They’ll probably keep handing Smith more honors as this season unfolds. Smith wants to keep that edge sharp. It’s the only way he can take what he really wants.

This article originally appeared on Indianapolis Star: Purdue basketball's Braden Smith keeping his edge while gaining honors