Couch: Gehrig Normand is ‘itching to play’, convinced his redshirt year prepared him to help this year’s MSU basketball team

HOLT – If you want to see Gehrig Normand’s face light up, ask the Michigan State redshirt freshman about getting to play in the Champions Classic this November or in the Maui Invitational a few weeks after that. Frankly, just ask him about getting to play.

“I’m ready to go out there and play now,” he said Tuesday night after his game at the Moneyball Pro-Am. “I mean, I’ve been itching to play for a while now, and for (Tom Izzo) to say, ‘Hey, let’s put Gehrig in, maybe.’ It’s pretty nice now to have that.”

Normand made a wise decision last fall — to accept a redshirt season, rather than battle for a few minutes here and there on a veteran team. Even as the Spartans struggled shooting the ball early in the season — an area he might have been able to help — there was never much conversation about pulling Normand’s redshirt and playing him.

So the 6-foot-5 wing from suburban Fort Worth, Texas, enters his second year at MSU with four years of eligibility remaining, feeling a whole lot more ready for — and aware of — what’s to come.

“I mean, all the strength I put on last year was huge, tremendous,” Normand said. “Extra days in the weight room when all the guys aren’t lifting on that day because I’m on scout team (and not preparing for games). All the workouts before games. I mean, workouts add up. You feel the difference. I just feel more confident on the court. I feel it everywhere, man.

“I’m a freshman and I’ve already had a year of college basketball. I’ve got to take advantage of this year now and really take a big step.”

Team Tri-Star Trust and Michigan State’s Gehrig Normand celebrates after making a 3-pointer and drawing a foul against Team Faygo in the game on Tuesday, July 9, 2024, during the Moneyball Pro-Am at Holt High School.

The pressure on Normand to produce this season was lessened when MSU added senior wing Frankie Fidler from the transfer portal. Fidler is a more seasoned and sizable small forward who’s expected to…

Source link : https://sports.yahoo.com/couch-gehrig-normand-itching-play-060816148.html

Author : Lansing State Journal

Publish date : 2024-07-17 06:08:16

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