For the first time in recent memory—maybe ever, though don’t hold me to that—Michigan State basketball has seen three players enter the transfer portal in a single offseason.
Last year, the departures of AJ Hoggard (to Vanderbilt) and Mady Sissoko (to Cal) already felt like a significant loss of starting talent for Tom Izzo’s squad. But this cycle, the Spartans have seen Tre Holloman, Xavier Booker, and Gehrig Normand all move on.
As of Saturday, two had already found new destinations: Booker committed to Mick Cronin’s UCLA squad, and Holloman joined Will Wade at NC State. Later that night, Normand also announced his next move—he’s heading to the West Coast as well.
Normand, a redshirt freshman known for his shooting ability, was widely expected to return to his home state of Texas to continue his college career. Instead, he chose to head west and join Herb Sendek at Santa Clara, a program that Sendek has transformed into a consistent winner.
Under Sendek, the Broncos have posted seven consecutive winning seasons and made three NIT appearances in the last four years, though they’re still chasing their first NCAA Tournament berth during his tenure.
Normand is arriving with hopes of helping change that narrative.
As Graham Couch pointed out, Santa Clara—Steve Nash’s alma mater—has produced success stories before. It would be great to see Normand emerge as the team’s primary scoring option and fulfill the promise he showed coming out of high school.
While Tom Izzo is disappointed that things didn’t pan out for Normand at Michigan State as part of the 2023 class, the door isn’t closed for him. With three years of eligibility remaining, he has plenty of time to make his mark at Santa Clara—or potentially somewhere else.