Darian DeVries, the head coach of West Virginia men’s basketball, revealed on Wednesday that the program had signed Nick Norton, a former Drake assistant coach and NCAA Division I hooper, to join the team’s 2024-25 coaching staff. Norton has been named assistant coach and director of player development for the Mountaineers.
Norton is familiar with Coach DeVries and Drake transfer Tucker DeVries, having spent the previous three seasons with them in Des Moines. During his time with the Bulldogs, the team went 80-26 (.755), earning two NCAA Tournament bids and two Missouri Valley Conference championships.
Coach DeVries shared his delight about Norton joining the Mountaineers, noting the numerous qualities Norton offers that he believes gives an edge to the program.
“Nick is a hard worker who brings great enthusiasm and tremendous energy to our basketball program,” DeVries said in a statement. “He always has a good chemistry with our guys and a high basketball IQ. Nick is an excellent fit for our basketball staff and program.
Norton played for two programs: from 2014 to 2018, he started 97 games for UAB, and he spent the 2018-19 season with DeVries at Drake.
Norton received All-Conference USA Third Team accolades as a sophomore and was named Conference USA Men’s Basketball Scholar-Athlete of the Year while averaging 8.9 points per game and led the conference in assist-to-turnover ratios. He was also chosen to the Conference USA All-Freshman team during his first year of college.
Norton’s Bulldogs season and collegiate career were cut short by injury. However, he was able to post the program’s second-ever triple-double against North Dakota State, as well as set a program single-game mark for assists (17) that held until the 2022-2023 season. He was selected Missouri Valley Conference Newcomer of the Week three times this season.
Norton also briefly played in the NBA G League after graduating from college, joining with the South Bay Lakers in 2019 before retiring due to injury.
Norton hails from a basketball-oriented family, as his father Randy is the head women’s basketball coach at UAB.
