Michigan State Basketball: Gabe Brown can be serious scoring threat

Michigan State basketball needs to find more scoring options off the bench and Moneyball has proved that Gabe Brown can be just that.

Gabe Brown came to Michigan State per his late father’s wishes and it surprised some recruiting experts who believed he would be headed to in-state rival Michigan.

Tom Izzo knew what he got in Brown: a shooter with impressive athleticism. But he didn’t expect much in year one. The Spartans brought back a solid starting lineup and Brown was looked at as a depth piece, there in case of injuries. He played in 32 games and averaged 7.9 minutes per game, but got stronger as the season progressed.

The offseason, though, would be the most telling for the slim forward from Belleville. Would he add some weight? Would he work on his defense? Would he become that scorer that MSU needs?

A couple of those questions have been answered — at least for now. Brown looks like he’s been hitting the weight room hard and during the Moneyball Pro-Am, he’s been one of the best scorers out there. In fact, he dropped a Moneyball-high 59 points on Tuesday.

Brown was scoring from everywhere on the court, but this bucket caught just about everyone’s eye:

We all knew Brown could shoot, but if he adds a driving and dunking element to his game, opposing defenses can just wave the white flag now.

Michigan State will have Cassius Winston, Josh Langford, Aaron Henry and Rocket Watts all tackling “scoring” roles but don’t sleep on Brown. He can shoot it, drive it and finish strong at the rim. He has shown his all-around game at Moneyball, even if the defense is relaxed — and this is being generous.

Brown should see more minutes in 2019 and he expects great things out of himself — and we should, too.