The Indiana basketball program has officially confirmed the hiring of Nick Norton as an assistant coach.
Norton joins from West Virginia, where he served as assistant coach and director of player development for one season.
“We are thrilled to have Nick join our staff,” said DeVries. “He brings a wealth of knowledge and a great understanding of the direction we want our program to take. He connects excellently with the players on the court and brings tremendous energy every day to practice.”
Originally from Bloomington, Ill., Norton moved to Bloomington, Ind., after spending a season as assistant coach and director of player development at West Virginia under DeVries. During that season, the Mountaineers improved their win total by 10 games, finishing with a 19-13 record and a 10-10 mark in Big XII play. They secured six Quad 1 victories, 13 wins against NET Top 100 teams, and four victories over ranked opponents.
West Virginia played its final 24 games without two-time Larry Bird Missouri Valley Conference Player of the Year, Tucker DeVries, who was sidelined for the season due to injury. At the time of his injury, the Mountaineers were 6-2, with notable wins over No. 3 Gonzaga and No. 24 Arizona in the Battle 4 Atlantis. WVU even rose as high as No. 21 in the AP Top 25 during Week 10.
Under the coaching staff’s leadership, senior guard Javon Small became just the fourth Mountaineer in history to earn All-Big 12 First Team honors. The Fort Wayne, Ind., native led the league with 18.5 points per game, ranking third in free throw percentage (88.1%), third in assists (5.6 per game), fourth in 3-point percentage (35.3%), fourth in 3-pointers made (2.5 per game), ninth in assist-to-turnover ratio (+2.1), and 12th in steals per game (1.6).
Norton joined the Mountaineer basketball staff after spending three seasons (2021-2024) on DeVries’ staff at Drake, where he helped the Bulldogs achieve an impressive 80-26 record (.755), including two NCAA Tournament appearances and two Missouri Valley Conference championships.
He began at Drake during the 2021-22 season as assistant director of operations and was promoted to director of operations before the 2022-23 season. In the 2023-24 season, he was elevated to assistant coach and director of player development.
Norton started his collegiate career at UAB (2014-2018), where he made 97 starts for the Blazers. He earned All-Conference USA Third Team honors as a sophomore, averaging 8.9 points per game and leading the league in assist-to-turnover ratio. Norton was also named the 2016 Conference USA Men’s Basketball Scholar-Athlete of the Year. As a freshman, he was one of 21 finalists for the Kyle Macy National Freshman of the Year Award and earned a spot on the Conference USA All-Freshman Team.
He transferred to Drake in 2018, where he averaged 14.0 points, 5.9 assists, and 4.1 rebounds per game before an injury ended his collegiate career. During his time at Drake, he set the school’s single-game assists record with 17 against North Dakota State, a record that lasted 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, playing in two games before being sidelined by injuries.
His father, Randy, serves as the head women’s basketball coach at UAB. Nick and his wife, Caraline, have one son named Campton.
