How Michigan State Basketball's Gehrig Normand Feels He Has Transcended This Offseason
Gehrig Normand did not get to experience the fun the rest of his incoming recruiting class -- one of the best freshmen classes in the country -- did last year.
Normand was redshirted and did not see action in his first year with the program.
But the second-year Spartan guard feels he has taken a big leap this offseason and is ready to contribute this coming season.
"My body feels a lot different, I just feel a lot stronger, just feel a lot more balanced in every single aspect of my game -- defensively, offensively," Normand said at the 2024 Moneyball Pro-Am on Thursday. "And I feel like I'm more experienced. I feel like I've matured a lot in the past year, and the redshirt really helped me. So, I'm really excited to play for my second year."
Normand was a four-star recruit entering Michigan State. For a true hooper as talented as him, it's tough to have to sit out for a season.
"Just been itching all year to play," Normand said. "Just the fans, the atmosphere, everything about MSU is just so fun. The culture about it -- this is why I came here, is because of the [Tom] Izzo culture and everything that comes around with it. And all the fans -- they're so nice. There's no other fan base like MSU's; I wish people could understand it, but if you're not a Spartan, you don't understand it. So, it's hard to explain, but the love here is awesome, and it's just awesome to be here."
Normand was only able to appear in the Spartans' exhibition game against Hillsdale last season, a game in which he recorded 2 points and a steal.
"He's [Normand] a very good athlete," Coach Izzo said when he revealed last November that the Spartans would be redshirting Normand. "We're very high on Gehrig. We're very high, to the point I told his parents we may un-redshirt him."
Normand was a standout recruit from North Richland Hills, Texas. According to 247Sports, he was the No. 9 class of 2023 prospect in the state and the No. 29 small forward in the nation.
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