4-star Belleville forward Brown commits to MSU hoops

Gabe Brown’s commitment to the Michigan State basketball team appears to have been a long time coming.

Brown, a 6-foot-6 forward from Belleville, announced on Twitter on Tuesday that he’ll play for the Spartans in 2018. But those seeds were planted, Brown said in his post, when he was 14 years old and his dad was watching MSU play on the television.

“He comes out (of) the room and comes in my room and says, ‘Son I want you to play for Michigan State, Tom Izzo is the greatest coach and he’s making pros,’” Brown tweeted. “I said, ‘OK!’”

Brown’s father passed away in May 2016.

“When I finally got back to playing basketball, I told myself in my mind that Ima get this Michigan State offer for him,” Brown tweeted.

Brown is a four-star prospect, according to Scout.com, which ranks him the top small forward in the state, fifth in the Midwest, and 29th in the country. He is ranked No. 7 overall in the state by 247Sports.

Brown had offers from programs such as DePaul, Rhode Island, Central Michigan and Duquesne, among others.

Brown is the third commitment in the 2018 class, joining guard Foster Loyer of Clarkston and forward Thomas Kithier of Macomb Dakota.

Brown is the second Belleville athlete to commit to MSU this week, following Davion Williams, who committed to the football team on Saturday.