9. Gabe Brown named Big Ten Sixth Man of the Year
A year ago, Xavier Tillman impressed and entered the starting lineup in the final month of the regular season for an injured Nick Ward. Even though he was technically a starter, he had spent enough time as a bench player to be named the Big Ten’s sixth man of the year. He will pass that award onto his teammate in 2019-20.
Gabe Brown averaged 2.3 points and 1.2 rebounds a season ago while shooting 39 percent from the floor and 37 percent from beyond the arc in 7.9 minutes. He’s going to at least triple those numbers.
Like Tillman, Brown was quiet during his freshman season with the Spartans, but also like Xavier, Gabe put in major work between his first and second seasons and has the look of a serious breakout candidate. He’s got a deadly 3-point jumper — we all knew that — but he’s also added the ability to drive and score.
During the exhibition opener, Brown flashed his ability to create for himself, passing up open shots to drive to the hole and dunk over defenders.
Brown is going to have a big year, capped off with a sixth man award.