Michigan State Basketball: Tom Izzo remains red-hot, lands 4-star SF Gehrig Normand

Tom Izzo landed five-star Xavier Booker over the weekend and on Tuesday night, he picked up another Michigan State basketball pledge from Gehrig Normand.

And then there were three.

Just two weeks after receiving a Michigan State basketball offer, four-star wing Gehrig Normand from North Richland Hills, Texas, committed to the Spartans. He becomes the third pledge in the class, joining five-star big man Xavier Booker and four-star point guard Jeremy Fears.

A day before Devin Royal likely makes his commitment to Ohio State official, all eyes were all Normand as he would be that perfect ‘Plan B’ option — if you can even call him that.

In years past, Tom Izzo would miss out on a ‘Plan A’ target and he wouldn’t have a backup option. This is a deviation from the recent norm and fans should be ecstatic. This goes to show that Izzo isn’t “washed” and his fastball on the recruiting trail has plenty of velocity.

Normand is the perfect third addition to the class who complements Booker and Fears awfully well as a bouncy wing with the ability to drain it from anywhere.

Many MSU people compare him to Matt McQuaid because he had the ability to shoot but he was also athletic enough to finish at the rim later in his career. He’s a much more athletic version of McQuaid, and that should be music to every MSU fan’s ears.

Normand is the No. 89 player in the country on the composite but my money would be on him rising quite a bit before signing day.

If Izzo can land Coen Carr, too, this may go down as his best class since 2016 and potentially his most complete group ever.