Tom Izzo, Michigan State Are Suddenly Red-Hot On The Recruiting Trail
Tom Izzo and Michigan State men's basketball are suddenly red-hot on the recruiting trail, and talented reinforcements are on the way for the Spartans.
On Tuesday evening, Michigan State received a commitment from four-star small forward Gehrig Normand, a 6-foot-6, 175-pounder from North Richland Hills, Texas and Birdville High School. He chose the Spartans over offers from Missouri, Wisconsin, Oklahoma State and 18 others.
Normand is the third Top 100 recruit committed to the Spartans in the 2023 class, coming in ranked No. 89 overall by the 247Sports composite rankings. He is also considered the No. 17 small forward in his class, and the No. 5 player out of the state of Texas.
Recruiting reporter Justin Thind of SpartanTailgate.com, an affiliate of 247Sports', has compared Normand's game to that of former Spartan shooting guard Matt McQuaid.
In 2019, McQuaid averaged 9.8 points and shot 42 percent from three-point distance as a senior for MSU. Helping lead the Spartans to a Big Ten championship and Final Four, McQuaid was an honorable mention All-Big Ten selection by the conference's media and coaches, and was also selected to the Big Ten's All-Defensive team.
Izzo and Michigan State are on a roll now with the 2023 class. This past Saturday, the Spartans received a commitment from five-star power forward Xavier Booker, who is considered the No. 1 player in the country by Rivals.com, the No. 3 player nationally by 247Sports and No. 6 overall by On3 Sports.
Booker may be the highest-rated signee that Izzo has ever landed if his commitment holds through the November signing dates.
Michigan State's 2023 class also includes four-star point guard Jeremy Fears, who is ranked No. 42 in the country by 247Sports' composite rankings. The 6-foot-0, 180-pound point guard committed to MSU back in January.
With the addition of Normand, Michigan State's class of 2023 is now ranked No. 4 in the country by 247Sports, with an average player rankings of 97.37 per prospect.
Twitter: @mlounsberry_SI
