Gehrig Normand: MSU Basketball's Chemistry's 'A Lot Different Than Last Year'

Michigan State men's basketball is quickly establishing chemistry despite all the offseason turnover.

Michigan State's Gehrig Normand looks on wearing a protective boot on his right foot before the game against Oakland on Monday, Dec. 18, 2023, at the Breslin Center in East Lansing. / Nick King/Lansing State Journal / USA

Michigan State men's basketball players have constantly reiterated this summer how close this current roster has become.

Even with a handful of newcomers in freshmen Jase Richardson, Kur Teng and Jesse McCulloch and transfers Frankie Fidler and Szymon Zapala, this new-look Michigan State team has formed quite the bond.

Michigan State guard Gehrig Normand discussed the team unity when he joined "The Drive with Jack" on Friday.

"I believe it's a close group already," Normand said. "I mean, we've just been hanging out all summer and just meshing groups -- I mean, everybody's been hanging out with everybody. That's the best part is there's not really groups. There's not two, three guys hanging together. I mean, we all hang out with everybody.

"And so, it's a really fun group to be around. It couldn't be better. I mean, it was a lot different than last year, for sure. Just based off the Spain trip and everything that's been scheduled, I think we're really excited and pumped to get this thing going."

Multiple players have used the word "family" to describe this group. That was a big reason newcomers like Teng decided to join the Spartans.

“It was really like a family-oriented program," Teng told me at the 2024 Moneyball Pro-Am this week. "Like coaches, everybody is close. When I went on my visits, the team took me in, it was just perfect."

Fidler expressed the same feeling when he appeared on "The Drive with Jack" back in the spring, not long after he had committed to the program.

"It was really family-like, and I know that my mom really appreciated that, too," the transfer wing said. "And it’s going to be my first time living outside of Omaha. She really fell in love with the coaches, the players, the city, so I think those two things are a big reason why I committed to Michigan State.”

It seems Michigan State is already ahead of schedule in terms of developing team chemistry, which will only benefit the Spartans in the long run. That chemistry should only grow stronger when the team travels to Spain next month.

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