BRADEN SMITH IS SHORT.

Not while he walks around Purdue 's campus, of course -- he's listed, perhaps generously, at 6 feet. But as a potential NBA prospect? Purdue's leading point guard is short. He knows it, his opponents know it and NBA scouts know it.

He was undersized as an unranked high school recruit whose most likely destination until the Boilermakers extended a scholarship offer was Belmont.

"That's all it's ever been for me, is doubt and people saying I can't," Smith told ESPN. "Well, look where I'm at now compared to where I was when I got here."

On the heels of a consensus first-team All-America season, Smith is the national Player of the Year favorite on the No. 2 team looking to win its first national title. He also has the chance to become the NCAA's all-time assists l

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