Shannon Brown "I'm Staying" <div class="quote_poster">Quote:</div><div class="quote_post">EAST LANSING -- The questions began well before Shannon Brown set foot on the court for Michigan State at the start of the basketball season. Would he stay or would he go? Speculation abounded that this season might be the last for the 6-foot-4 junior shooting guard, particularly after Brown played a key role in the Spartans' Final Four run last season. Last month, Brown said he found all the talk about his future amusing because he never had given any indication he would leave school early. He said he planned to remain for his senior season, a pledge he reiterated after MSU's 75-68 loss to Illinois last Saturday. "It's funny, because people make that decision without asking me," Brown said. "I haven't told anybody anything. I just plan on playing basketball until the season is over. Whatever happens after that happens. "But I plan on staying for four years." His father gives a similar answer. "We don't speak about it because it's premature," said Chris Brown, a police sergeant in their hometown of Maywood, Ill. "We just talk about winning games for Michigan State." Winning games for Michigan State has been a problem lately. The Spartans have lost five of their last seven going into today's Big Ten tournament game against Purdue at Indianapolis. They're the No. 6 seed after being the preseason pick to win the regular-season title, and they haven't won the conference tournament in six years. But Brown has been the team's most consistent player during the Big Ten season, averaging 18.8 points in conference games, third-best in the league. He hasn't wilted down the stretch, either. The youngest member of MSU's Big Three, which also includes seniors Paul Davis and Maurice Ager, Brown has frequently carried the Spartans when his teammates have struggled. In the past seven games, he has scored fewer than 17 points only once and has averaged 6.1 rebounds. "Shannon Brown has probably been as steady as anybody on both ends of the court," coach Tom Izzo said. "He hasn't had the big ups and downs that some people have had. And he's the most vocal." Brown brings something special to the game, too. More than any other Spartan, he can electrify a crowd. His high-flying dunks make him a fixture on "SportsCenter." Even his lay-ups are highlight-worthy. The strength and natural instinct he brings to his dunks allow him to turn the simplest of shots into displays of athletic artistry. That power is one of the main characteristics analysts say would serve him best in the NBA, despite the criticism that he's undersized for his position and needs to improve his ball-handling skills. Without a Big Three next year, Brown would be the Spartans' only true star unless another player improves significantly or one of the incoming freshmen demonstrates the talent Brown showed in his first season. Brown said he would like to be in a position to lead, but the possibility that the Spartans will have even less depth than they do now could also give him incentive to go pro. "He's got a lot of options," Izzo said. Through his three seasons at MSU, Brown has been one of the team's hardest workers, Izzo said, a gym rat who consistently works to improve his game by living up to the conviction he has tattooed on his arm. The word D-E-S-I-R-E parades down his left forearm in prominent cursive letters, and the words "Thank You Jesus" adorn his right bicep. His parents' names, Chris and Sandra, are inked on each of his wrists. On his lower arms are Biblical verses -- Psalms 23 and Proverbs 3:6 -- the latter of which directs: "In all your ways acknowledge Him, and he will direct your paths."</div> Source
