Nick Norton was named assistant coach/director of player development for the Mountaineers on April 3, 2024.
A native of Bloomington, Illinois, Norton spent the last three seasons on DeVries’ staff at Drake, helping the Bulldogs to an 80-26 (.755) record with two NCAA Tournament appearances and two Missouri Valley Conference titles.
“Nick is a hard worker who brings great enthusiasm and tremendous energy to our basketball program,” DeVries said. “He always has a great rapport with our players and has a strong basketball IQ. Nick fits our basketball staff and our program extremely well.”
Norton joined the Drake staff during the 2021-22 season as assistant director of operations and was elevated to director of operations prior to the 2022-23 season. Last season, he was promoted to assistant coach/director of player development.
Norton began his collegiate career at UAB (2014-18), making 97 starts for the Blazers. He was named All-Conference USA Third Team as a sophomore, averaging 8.9 points per game and leading the league in assist-to-turnover ratio. Norton was named the Conference USA Men’s Basketball Scholar-Athlete of the Year. As a freshman, he was one of 21 Kyle Macy National Freshman of the Year Award finalists and named to the Conference USA All-Freshman Team.
He transferred to Drake in 2018 and averaged 14.0 points, 5.9 assists and 4.1 rebounds per game before an injury ended his collegiate career. Norton set Drake’s single-game assists record (17) against North Dakota State, a record that stood until the 2022-23 season. He scored a career-high 31 points against San Diego and recorded the second triple-double in team history with 18 points, 17 assists and 13 rebounds against North Dakota State. Norton was named MVC Newcomer of the Week three times and Player of the Week once.
In 2019, Norton signed with the South Bay Lakers of the NBA G League, appearing in two games before stepping away due to injuries.
His father, Randy, is the head women’s basketball coach at UAB.
Nick and his wife, Caraline, have one son, Campton.
