Hoops season is officially upon us and that means Michigan State basketball is now trying to defend its Big Ten title. But it'll have to do so without some key players from the 2024-25 team.
Guys like Jase Richardson, Tre Holloman, Jaden Akins, Frankie Fidler, and Xavier Booker have moved on, but one role player who came to Michigan State with high expectations has also found a new home, hoping for a fresh start.
That player is Gehrig Normand, and he transferred to Santa Clara for some extended playing time and a chance to prove that he belongs in a Division 1 starting lineup.
Unfortunately, he's going to have to wait a little longer to prove that.
According to a report from Rocco Miller, Normand is expected to miss at least the first month and a half of the season with an undisclosed injury.
WCC News: Santa Clara's Gehrig Normand (undisclosed) will be sidelined until at least Mid-December, transfer from Michigan State.
— Rocco Miller (@RoccoMiller8) October 23, 2025
Additionally, big man Chris Tadjo (undisclosed), is Out indefinitely and will not be back by the season opener.#SantaClara
Normand was expecting to have a big season with Santa Clara after transferring this offseason, and he must have really liked his chances to break out since he picked a school that was far from home instead of heading back to Texas like everyone expected.
The former four-star shooting guard from Texas was lauded as a sharpshooter in high school and he joined a loaded class with Booker, Jeremy Fears Jr., and Coen Carr, but he just never panned out. He never became the shooter that everyone was hoping he'd be, and a lot had to do with an injury he suffered as a true freshman.
The timetable given was mid-December at the earliest, but let's hope he comes back healthy and takes the WCC by storm.