Nobody outworks Norris Cole. Thousands upon thousands of jump shots during the off-season helped him to make a quantum leap on the basketball court from the time he enrolled at CSU three years ago. His emergence as one of the top players in the Horizon League a year ago gave the Vikings a player who was capable of taking over a game during crunch time. 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. A wing player during his early career, he converted to a point guard last year and quickly developed into a skilled floor general. With a year at that position under his belt, expect his assist average to continue to rise this season as he distributes the ball to many Viking offensive threats.
2009-10 Season
• First team All-Horizon League selection after being a preseason first team all league choice as well.
• Spent a week during the summer of 2010 by attending the Deron Williams Skills Academy in Chicago, an elite camp open to only the top 10 collegiate point guards.
• Ranks ninth in CSU history playing in 104 consecutive games in his career and seventh with 70 straight starts, seeing time at both guard spots.
• Ranks 13th in school history in career scoring with 1,198 points. Needs 122 points to reach 12th place.
• Has 57 career double-figure scoring games and 19, 20-point efforts, including 11 in 2009-10.
• Is a career .806 shooter from the foul line (254-315) and has currently made 41 of his last 45 attempts (.911).
• Was third in the league in scoring (16.3), assists (4.4), steals (1.8) and minutes played (34.0), fourth in assist-to-turnover ratio (1.7), and 10th in free throw percentage (.804).
• Named the U.S. Army Player of the game after scoring 15 points and hnding out a career high 11 assists in win over Loyola (3/2/10) in the first round of the Horizon League Tournament, his third career double-double.
• Scored 20 points in the loss to Detroit (2/25/10), going three-for-three fron three-point.
• Had a game high 22 points at MIlwaukee (2/18/10), scoring 12 straight CSU points late in the game, and was also eight-for-eight from the line.
• Scored 22 points in win over Valparaiso (2/11/10) with 16 coming in the second half and was perfect from the line going eight-for-eight with seven assists.
• Had 13 points and 10 assists at UIC (2/4/10).
• Scored 19 points, 17 in the second half, in win over Youngstown State (1/30/10), going 10-for-12 from the line.
• Named the Horizon League Player of the Week on Jan. 25 after averaging 22.0 points and 6.5 assits in wins over Green Bay & Milwaukee.
• Hit the game-winning three-pointer with 6.9 seconds left vs. Milwaukee (1/24/10), finishing with 22 points to pass the 1,000 point mark for his career.
• Had 22 points and eight assists in win over Green Bay (1/22/10), going eight-for-13 from the field.
• Posted back-to-back 20 point efforts vs. Youngstown State (1/2/10) and Loyola (1/7/10), going 17-for-32 from the field (.531) and five-for-eight from three-point (.625).
• Poured in 29 points vs. West Virginia, going 11-for-21 from the field.
• Tallied 22 points vs. Robert Morris (12/15/09).
• Scored 18 points at Wright State (12/3/09), going seven-for-10 from the line.
• Tallied 24 points with a career-high matching six assists vs. Sam Houston State (11/21/09).
• Scored a career-high 38 points vs. Florida A&M, the eigth-highest single game total in school history. He was 11-for-16 from the field in scoring 27 second-half points.
• Tied school record for free throw percentage vs. Florida A&M (11/19/09), going 13-for-13, the fourth-highest free throws made total in a perfect shooting night from the line.
• Set a career high with seven steals vs. Wilmington (11/16/09), the seventh-highest single game total in CSU history.
CSU CAREER
• Started every game at off-guard as a sophomore (2008-09), 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 two 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.
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 (27) and Deonna (23)...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 science major.
