Signature athletes often have signature tattoos. Some have flaming basketballs, others have ink with more personal meaning.

Sophomore guard Lorenzo Brown has his infamous tricep tattoos. Junior forward Richard Howell has so many it’s impossible to decypher them from a distance.

But what do all these tattoos mean? There are significant meanings to these works of art.

Lorenzo Brown

Brown’s tricep Z-O tattoo is arguably the most distinguishable tattoo on the team, if not the country. It’s easy to understand where the two-letter tattoo came from. Brown is known by many students and fans by the nickname “Zo.”

The idea for Brown’s first tattoo came during his high school career when his classmates referred to him as “Zo.” They chanted this nickname during games and it stuck with Brown. Literally. When Brown turned 18, he solidified the nickname, getting one letter permanently stamped on each arm. For his fans.

“When I was in high school people would chant ‘Zo, Zo, Zo,’ so I got it for them,” Brown said.

Brown has one more tattoo that is often overlooked and has deeper meaning than the Z-O tattoo. “Only God can judge me,” can be seen on his left shoulder inside of a cross. To Brown, the quote on the cross applies to everyday life.

“It relates to a lot of people,” Brown said. “Everybody is judged everyday by what they do, but only Jesus can judge me.”

Richard Howell

Howell has more ink than any other player on State’s basketball team. So many that Howell can’t even keep track of them all.

“I don’t even know how many tattoos I have,” Howell said. “I’ve never really counted.”

Howell’s tattoos aren’t just flashy pieces of artwork he thought would look cool. Rather, every one of Howell’s tattoos has some personal meaning, whether it is his faith or his personal life.

Each one of Howell’s forearms is coated in ink. The significance of family to Howell can be seen in his right arm. His right forearm has turned into a canvas dedicated to his family. The most noticeable on this arm are the tattoos of his daughter’s name as well as her actual footprint. Above these are the names of his grandmother and his mother. Howell dedicated a tattoo in remembrance of his younger sister who passed away. Her name and the date she passed away can be seen on his left arm.

Faith is also a big part of Howell’s life and can be seen in many of his tattoos. Howell, like Zo, also has an “Only God can judge me,” tattoo as well as the words “Faith” and “God’s Child.” Howell is currently working on having another tattoo, “Eyes of God,” but hasn’t finished it yet.