WEST LAFAYETTE, Ind. — Braden Smith has joined elite company in college basketball. On Thursday night, Purdue's senior guard became just the fifth player in NCAA history to reach 1,000 career assists.Smith, who already broke the Big Ten assist record earlier this season, accomplished the feat as No. 8 Purdue hosted No. 13 Michigan State at Mackey Arena. He entered the game with 994 assists, needing just six to hit 1,000.Congrats to @BoilerBall's Braden Smith on reaching 1,000 career assists 👏 pic.twitter.com/sYj90Apt5h— Big Ten Network (@BigTenNetwork) February 27, 2026Smith recorded his 1,000th assist on a fastbreak pass to Trey Kaufman-Renn.…