Gehrig Normand's breakout performance at Moneyball is encouraging
After another year of mediocrity, Michigan State basketball is being judged harshly nationally.
The Spartans head into the 2024-25 season with minimal expectations and most of the "way-too-early Top 25" projections are avoiding them. Simply put, Tom Izzo has to prove he still has it in order to earn some respect on a national level.
In order for the Spartans to turn things around and get that respect back, some under-the-radar guys will have to step up and become rising stars this season.
One of those guys is Gehrig Normand.
The former four-star recruit from Texas redshirted this past season so he still has four years of eligibility left, but it feels like he could be one of those sparks off the bench that MSU needs.
On Tuesday during Moneyball, he led his team to a big win thanks to a go-ahead 4-point play in the final minute and he finished the game with 36 points.
#MichiganState’s Gehrig Normand with a 4-point play to break a tie with :35 seconds remaining in an eventual victory for Team Tri-Star Trust at Moneyball Pro-Am. Normand scored 36. pic.twitter.com/HtDDN3R5Ii
— Jim Comparoni (@JimComparoni) July 10, 2024
Normand had just 12 points in his first Moneyball game back in late-June before scoring 20 in his second game and 36 on Tuesday night. He's only getting better and his confidence is on the rise. If he continues to play like this, even scoring 7-8 points per game off the bench would be a massive boost for this team following departures from guys like Malik Hall, AJ Hoggard, and Tyson Walker.
Granted, everything during Moneyball needs to be taken with a grain of salt, but seeing Normand dominate and shoot lights out is an encouraging sign.
Maybe he can be the Spartans' next Matt McQuaid. That worked out pretty well.