Michigan State Basketball: 3 Spartans with the most to prove in 2020-21

After a quiet freshman season, Gabe Brown knew that his minutes and his role would increase as a sophomore with Matt McQuaid and Kenny Goins moving on.

In fact, he went from 2.3 points in 7.9 minutes per game to 6.8 points in 21.9 minutes and looked like a completely different player — at least for the first two-thirds of the season. Brown was a confident shooter and could come off the bench to provide some scoring for the Spartans.

And then he got sick before the Wisconsin game and never looked the same. His shooting percentage dropped and he went from approaching 40 percent from deep on the season to just about 34 percent and he made 44 percent of his field goals overall. He stopped driving to the rim and showing off that athleticism as much.

Brown’s confidence waned.

Now entering his junior season, he’ll need to prove that he’s capable of putting a full season together as well as scoring from all areas on the floor and not just the corner 3-ball.

Michigan State needs him to be a consistent all-around scorer and defender and he faces a big offseason to work on that.