Michigan State Basketball: Gabe Brown needs to regain his confidence

Gabe Brown has been struggling greatly as of late and if Michigan State basketball wants to win the Big Ten, he’s going to have to regain his confidence.

Forward Gabe Brown started the 2021-22 Michigan State basketball season on a very high note. But as of late, it seems his confidence has been down due to a recent slump and is proving to be a huge factor when it comes to the team’s success.

Brown is a cornerstone to this year’s Michigan State roster and though the Spartans continue to win, it has proven to be more difficult for them to win convincingly without his help.

In Brown’s last five games, he has not been great for the standards fans and coaches have for him, averaging only 7.4 points, 0.4 assists, and shooting 33 percent from the field and only 21 percent from deep. This compared to his season stats are very poor and it is evident on the court that he is not as confident as he was earlier in the year.

Earlier this year, Brown was seemingly automatic from everywhere. Whether it was a deep three or a mid-range jumper, layup, dunk, or whatever it was, everyone was confident that he was going to make it with ease and it was obvious he was, too. But, if you watch the way he’s been playing as of late, you can tell he just doesn’t have the same confidence he once had and he’s starting to force a lot more shots.

It’s not just that fans are saying this, it’s obvious Tom Izzo is aware, too.

In fact, in the Spartans’ latest win over Maryland, Brown only played 22 minutes which is about eight fewer than what he gets normally. It’s evident Izzo also sees that Brown is trying to get his confidence back and find his shot but it’s causing him to put up poor shots and it’s costing the Spartans points.

This problem is not just something as simple as benching him and letting him figure it out, Brown is a key player to the Spartans’ success and if MSU wants to win the Big Ten and make a deep run in the NCAA tournament, he and the Spartans have to find a way to get him back to his early-season self. It’s not like it’s impossible to do, look at Joey Hauser. He was struggling a lot early in the year and as of late it is starting to look like he is finding his rhythm. So if Hauser can do it. I’m confident in Brown and Izzo’s ability to get him back on track.

Gabe brings so much passion, energy, heart, and soul to the team, so when he is struggling it is probably difficult for his teammates around him to see him like this. So once Brown gets back on track, I expect to see a jump in play from the whole team. Especially, when their No. 1 hype man is back.