Fatherhood, family illness top priorities for MSU's Forbes

EAST LANSING — The thought of every new day brings a big smile across Bryn Forbes' face.

Sure, basketball has a good bit to do with it. But the former Sexton High star returned to mid-Michigan from Cleveland State for more than just a game.

It means being closer to his son, Carter. It means being around to lend support for his sister, Erin Warmels, during her battle with Lyme disease.

Coming home has meant growing up.

"It's been a roller-coaster," the 21-year-old Forbes said Tuesday. "I've had some difficult times with my sister being sick, but also I've had some great times – getting to see my son every day, getting to be home, getting to play for Michigan State."

Forbes continues to embrace the changes in his life, both on and off the court, while cloaking himself in the familiarity of family and friends. And his continually improving defense has become a major reason why the Spartans moved on to Friday's Sweet 16 matchup against Oklahoma in the NCAA tournament.

"I just think it humbled him a lot. I think it makes him work harder, too," longtime friend Denzel Valentine said of Forbes. "At the back of his mind, you always realize you have a son and you want him to live a good life."

TRYING YEAR

Forbes and Denzel Valentine were part of back-to-back championships at Sexton High in 2011 and '12. While versatile Valentine chose MSU and fellow Big Red guard Anthony Clemmons said yes to Iowa, the 6-foot-3 Forbes committed early to Cleveland State. He averaged 19 points, five rebounds and three assists for Sexton as a senior, and MSU coach Tom Izzo has said Forbes would have drawn more interest from major Division I schools if he had waited to sign.

His numbers for the Vikings were strong over his first two seasons – 12.7 points and the Horizon League Newcomer of the Year as a freshman in 2012-2013, then a second-team all-leaguer as a sophomore after scoring 15.6 points a game.

Things changed rapidly. And Forbes' basketball success became secondary.

His sister's Lyme disease flared up again – Erin, who is now 30 and lives in Lansing, was diagnosed with the disease in her early 20s.

"It takes a toll on you in reality. It's exhausting," Forbes said of his sister. "She can't really work. She's gone through a lot of surgeries and things like that to try and help her. She goes through some spurts where she's doing really good, and then she struggles a little bit. It just changes."

Then during the latter portion of his freshman year, Forbes learned his girlfriend, Raelynn Taylor, was pregnant and back in Lansing. Their son, Carter, was born in the summer of 2013.

"That was probably one of the most difficult years of my life," Forbes said of his sophomore season. "I'd get to see him maybe once or twice a month, at most. My mom would bring him down or something like that. And I couldn't see my sister, and she was in and out of the hospital at the time.

"My life was really hectic at the time."

It was time to reassess things.

COMING HOME

After the 2013-14 season, Forbes decided to leave Cleveland State. He quickly agreed to fulfill a lifelong dream of becoming a Spartan in June and reunited with Valentine in East Lansing. MSU petitioned for him to avoid sitting out a season as typically mandatory with transfers, and the NCAA granted the waiver in late August.

"I tell you, it was more of a relief than anything," he said. "Being away from my family stuff was tough for me."

Every morning now, Forbes brings his son to daycare. And every afternoon, he's listened as his defensive and rebounding abilities were brought into question. One day, Forbes said, Izzo made him go up against every one of the Spartans' big men and box them out.

Assistant coach Dane Fife said calling Forbes a poor defender isn't necessarily true, but pointed out that many of his breakdowns were "glaring" mistakes. He called him one of MSU's most reliable at rotating, getting to the right spot away from the ball and boxing out his man.

"But he took it to another level (last weekend)," Fife said. "He really did a good job of guarding the basketball against Virginia and Georgia."

And he played a vital role on the offensive end as well, averaging 8.8 points and coming off the bench after starting 24 games. Forbes scored 14 on Friday against Georgia, then adding a critical second-half 3-pointer among his seven points in Sunday's win over Virginia.

"He's more concentrated and focused toward playing a complete game," said MSU graduate assistant Drew Valentine, a former high school teammate whose father, Carlton, coached them all at Sexton. "Even when he was younger, my dad made him play defense and got after him. But it's not on this level. And even if he wasn't necessarily playing the best defense, my dad was going to keep him on the floor, because nobody scores like Bryn does."

Forbes said the first two NCAA games "might be my best experience in basketball." The Spartans will need both sides of Forbes' game against Oklahoma to make the homecoming last a little longer, scoring points and preventing them at the other end of the court.

He's even started to change his coach's opinion of his defense.

"Just like I was critical of him," Izzo said, "I am very proud of what he's, as you say, grown into here. … Boy, he's made some giant strides."