Westfield guard, Purdue recruit Braden Smith will miss at least 3-4 weeks with foot injury
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Braden Smith will likely miss at least three to four weeks with a Jones fracture in his left foot, but the Westfield senior star could potentially return before the end of the season.
The 6-foot Purdue recruit injured his foot in the second quarter of Westfield’s 53-44 loss to Brownsburg on Friday night. It is the same foot he broke in July that kept him out for three months. But a visit to the doctor Monday showed the most recent injury was not as severe it first appeared on Friday night.
“We could see the X-ray from all four sides and you could see the hairline fracture,” Smith’s father, Dustin Smith, said Monday afternoon. “But the doctor thinks with the way that Braden heals that he could possibly come back in three or four weeks.”
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Smith, a potential IndyStar Mr. Basketball candidate, is averaging 19.1 points, 5.9 rebounds and 5.5 assists per game for Westfield and was named the most valuable player of the Hall of Fame Classic in New Castle a month ago. He is Westfield’s all-time leading scorer with 1,512 career points.
Dustin Smith said Braden will visit the doctor again on Feb. 9 to check the progress.
“On the other side, the main thing is to be ready for Purdue in June,” Dustin Smith said. “Unless he’s 100%, he won’t be able to play. But if it’s healing like it should and we go back on Feb. 9 and see that, there’s still at least a chance.”
A Jones fracture is a fracture of the fifth metatarsal bone of the foot. The concern on Friday was that Smith would have to undergo surgery and possibly be sidelined and unable to play for three months. “Even if he can’t play, this is better than the alternative,” Dustin Smith said.
Westfield is 11-4 and ranked sixth in Class 4A, but takes a big hit without Smith in the lineup. The Shamrocks have nine regular-season games remaining, including three this week – at Noblesville on Tuesday and home against Avon on Friday and Liberty Christian on Saturday.
Other key players for Westfield are seniors Cam Haffner (14.6 ppg, 3.4 rebounds) and Nic Depasquale (7.0 ppg, 2.4 assists), junior Alex Romack (9.7 ppg, 6.1 rebounds), sophomore Trey Buchanan (5.9 ppg) and senior Kai Butterworth (4.9 ppg).
The regular season wraps up for Westfield on Feb. 22 against Frankfort. Westfield’s loaded sectional at Noblesville (includes Class 4A No. 2 Carmel, No. 3 Fishers, No. 4 Zionsville) is March 1-5.
Call Star reporter Kyle Neddenriep at 317-444-6649.
This article originally appeared on Indianapolis Star: Westfield star, Purdue recruit Braden Smith to miss at least 3-4 weeks
