Michigan State basketball: Gehrig Normand wows Breslin Center crowd

Michigan State basketball freshman Gehrig Normand may be redshirting this season, but that hasn’t stopped him from wowing fans.

If you weren’t at the Breslin Center early before the 63-54 Michigan State basketball win over Maryland, then you missed an exciting moment from a freshman. Three of the Spartans’ four freshmen are making plays on the court for the Spartans this season, but Gehrig Normand is not one of them.

Izzo decided to redshirt Normand this season after not playing in the first two games of the year. With that being the case, Gehrig is unable to play in any game for Michigan State this year. But that doesn’t mean he can’t be involved in other ways for this team.

Normand is still able to practice with the team and I’m sure you have seen him cheering on the team from the bench as well. But Normand is also out having fun with his teammates before the game during warmups long before most of the crowd arrives for games. However, some of you may have to plan to get to the Spartans’ next home game a little early.

Gehrig Normand hits a half-court shot in warmups

Long before MSU’s actual team warmup began on Saturday, some of the players were on the court doing individual warmups. Normand was also on the court and hit a wild half-court shot. You might not think that’s too impressive. Anyone can get lucky and hit a half-court shot, especially a D1 basketball player. But this was the second straight game that Normand did this.

Before MSU’s 81-62 win over Michigan, Gehrig hit another half-court shot during warmups. So even though he isn’t making any plays during a game this season, I’m glad to see him having some fun and hitting some wild shots in front of a crowd during warmups still.

Normand is regarded as the best 3-point shooter from Michigan State’s freshman class. So maybe these half-court shots are a sign of what’s to come in the future. Now, like I said, making a half-court shot takes some skill, but also some luck. There’s also zero chance he ever takes a shot that deep in a game as well — unless it’s a buzzer-beater. But this feat just speaks to the range and elite 3-point shooting he possesses, something we’ll all come to love from him in the coming years.

Michigan State’s next home game is against Illinois on Feb. 10. Will Gehrig make it three home games in a row? You’ll have to get to the game early to find out.