Brown was occupying the seat in front of Foster Loyer’s stall. And now Loyer, fresh out of the shower with a towel tied around his waist, had nowhere to get dressed – unless he wanted to do so in the middle of a little media scrum. He stood quietly off to the side as a Michigan State staff member popped his head into the gathering and told Brown to scooch.
“My fault, my fault,” Brown said. “My bad, Fos.”
"You're good, you're good," they both replied.
Of all the potential stars Friday night, Gabe Brown's name wasn’t even on the list. Hardly anyone stopped to chat with him when Michigan State's locker room was open to the media the day prior. Really, why would they have taken the time? This was a freshman who had scored in double digits once this season, way back in December against Green Bay, who had a total of five points in the prior eight games, who was known for his practice play and not much else. He wasn’t a story.
So there was Brown in the corner, and here was his moment.
“His man sagged off to the paint and then Gabe looked at him like, ‘Uhh, yeah, I gotta let this one go,’” said Xavier Tillman. "And then after he hit it, it was on from there.”
Brown splashed another one on the Spartans' next trip down the floor. The lead was up to nine five minutes into the game, and the bench was going bonkers. No one was loving it more than fellow freshman Marcus Bingham Jr., one of Brown’s closest friends on a uniquely close team and his partner on the sideline hype squad for most of this season. They’ve spent the whole year busting moves together on the bench. Now Bingham was dancing in Brown’s honor.
“When he hit the second one, I was like, ‘Yeah, this is him,'" Bingham said. ""This is his game.’”
Brown was subbed out a few minutes later, but with the feeling there was more to come. Sure enough, he checked back in after McQuaid picked up his third foul in the midst of an LSU surge early in the second half, and nailed another three the moment the ball touched his hands. It snuffed out the Tigers' threat and triggered an 11-0 Michigan State run that effectively decided the game. He added one more long ball for good measure.
Michigan State’s advantage on this night was supposed to be its experience. And that held true, in a way, with the Spartans racing out to an early lead and then coming up with a counterpunch for every LSU flurry. They looked undaunted. But when the dust settled on their 80-63 win, it was a pair of freshmen left shining: Brown and Aaron Henry. The latter assisted on Brown’s first three and his last, and made sure the world was aware afterward that the two of them are roomies.
It was more than a little, with Henry and Brown combining for 35 points. Henry has been a key piece for a while now, but it took Brown much longer to emerge – that is, to gain the trust of Tom Izzo. Of the five freshmen on the team, Henry says Brown has “probably gotten it the hardest” from the head coach, perhaps because Brown might be the most talented among them. Brown admits that it was difficult at times, that he had days where he couldn’t escape the self-doubt and self-disappointment. But then he gets a night like Friday, and all of it makes sense.
Brown can think of himself now in the same regard as Travis Trice, the player he pictures in what used to be his favorite March Madness memory. It took him a moment to come up with it when asked, but his eyes lit up when he did.
“When he made that run in the NCAA Tournament (in 2015),” said Brown, “that was epic.”
Brown followed through, alright, making a major statement on a major stage. One three after another, as if there was ever any doubt.
"Everybody on our bench knew it was going in, because it’s Gabe Brown," said Henry. "Ain’t nothing new."