Norris Cole Class: Senior Hometown: Dayton, OH High School: Dunbar Height / Weight: 6-2 / 170 Position: G

Nobody outworks Norris Cole, who is a preason first team All-Horizon League choice this year.Thousands upon thousands of jump shots during the off-season helped him to make a quantum leap on the basketball court last year. His wide array of skills fits the Gary Waters system perfectly, but more importantly, his will to win is an example for his teammates to follow. He has the ability to penetrate defenses to make plays for both himself and teammates. He is a consistent scoring threat and is also one of CSU's top defensive players along the perimeter.

2008-09 Season.
•Started every game at off-guard, averaging 32.8 minutes to earn team Most Improved Player honors.
•Was second on the team (& 6th in the league) in scoring (13.3), owning 24 double figure and eight 20-point games.
•Led CSU in scoring in the NCAA Tournament, averaging19.5 points a game.
•Averaged 17.3 points in the six games against BCS schools.
•Exploded for 22 points with four assists in NCAA tourney win over Wake Forest (3/20/09).
•Led CSU with 17 points vs. Arizona, including 11 in the second half (3/22/09).
•Named to the Horizon League All-Tournament Team after averaging 16.5 points and shooting .479 (23-48) from the field and .942 from the line (16-17) in four tourney games.
•Horizon League Player of the Week on Feb. 16 after averaging 17.5 points in wins over Milwaukee & Green Bay.
•Scored a game-high 23 points in the semi-final win over Green Bay, going 7-for-15 from the floor and 9-for-9 from the line (3/7/09).
•Chosen as Army Player of the Game after scoring a career-high 26 points in league second round win over UIC, going 9-for-14 from the field and 6-for-6 from the line (3/6/09).
•Scored 20 points in win over Wright State, going 8-for-15 from the field (1/31/09).
•Scored all 18 of his points in the second half at Wright State, including 12 straight at one point in the second half (12/30/08).
•Tallied 16 points with five rebounds and six assists in win at Syracuse (12/15/08).
•Traveled to New Zealand as part of an Athletes In Action tour in August, 2009.

CSU CAREER
•One of six players who played in every game in 2007-08, he was the only one to not start a game, averaging 14.4 minutes.
•Led the team, shooting .817 from the line (49-60).
•Averaged 10.2 points over his last six games, shooting 22-for-44 from the field (.500) and .857 from the line (12-14).
•Scored nine points with six rebounds in Horizon League Championship game at Butler (3/11/08).
•Came off the bench to score 10 points at YSU (3/1/08).
•Scored 10 points in BracketBuster win over Marist (2/23/08).
•Set a season-high with 14 points vs. Milwaukee (2/20/08), going five-for-nine from the field.
•Had 12 points with three rebounds and four steals in 22 minutes against Geneva (12/1/07).

High School
•Special mention all-state selection by the Associated Press as a senior at Dunbar High, playing for coach Peter Pullen.
•Led the team in scoring (15.5 ppg) as a senior, averaging 4.3 assists and 2.8 steals a game while shooting .490 from the field (164-335), .308 from three-point (20-65) and .775 from the line (86-111), helping Dunbar to a 24-4 record and its second straight state title.
•Starting point guard on Dunbar teams that went 50-6 during his final two seasons, including a 26-2 mark as a junior.
•Rated as the fifth best point guard and 22nd best player in the state by PrepSpotlight.com. HoopScoop tabbed him as the 18th-best player in the state.
•Two-time all-league choice as a quarterback on the football team. He completed 148-of-267 passes for 2,267 yards and 19 touchdowns with five 300-yard games as a senior to earn a spot on the 2006 Elite Quarterbacks To Watch list.
•Lettered once in both baseball and track, finishing 2nd in the district in the long jump (21'9").

Personal
Born Oct. 13, 1988 in Dayton, Ohio. . . son of Norris, Sr. and Diane Cole. . . has two older sisters, Javalyn (26) and Deonna (22). . . cousin, Trent Cole, is a starting defensive lineman for the Philadelphia Eagles. . . served as Salutatorian of his senior class. . . member of the National Honor Society...health sciences major.