Mitch Norton

Mitch Norton
No. 8 – Illawarra Hawks
Position Point guard
League NBL
Personal information
Born (1993-04-01) 1 April 1993
Townsville, Queensland
Nationality Australian
Listed height 187 cm (6 ft 2 in)
Listed weight 91 kg (201 lb)
Career information
High school Pimlico State
(Townsville, Queensland)
Playing career 2011–present
Career history
2011–2016 Townsville Crocodiles
2016 Southland Sharks
2016–present Illawarra Hawks
Career highlights and awards
  • QBL U23 Youth Player of the Year (2015)

Mitchell Norton (born 1 April 1993) is an Australian professional basketball player for the Illawarra Hawks of the National Basketball League (NBL). He has previously played for the Townsville Crocodiles of the Australian NBL, the Southland Sharks of the New Zealand NBL, and the Townsville Heat of the Queensland Basketball League.

Early life

Born and raised in Townsville, Queensland, Norton attended Pimlico State High School and the Australian Institute of Sport as a youth, while also representing Queensland North at Under 16 and Under 18 Australian Basketball Championships between 2007 and 2009. In 2010, he represented Australia at the FIBA Under-17 World Championship.[1] He also represented Queensland in 2010 and 2011 at the Australian Under 20 Championships.[2]

Professional career

In 2011, Norton joined the Townsville Crocodiles as a development player for the 2011–12 NBL season. However, due to a foot injury, he managed just five games while averaging 2.2 points per game.[3]

In 2012, Norton joined the Crocodiles' full roster and subsequently averaged 4.1 points in 28 games during the 2012–13 NBL season. He improved dramatically in 2013–14 as he averaged 6.9 points and 2.6 assists in 27 games while leading the league in free throw percentage with 88.5%. He was awarded the Mark Bragg Medal at the end of season gala night for in honour of the Players’ Player Award. He also garnered the Mike Kelly Medal for the Best Defensive Player on the Crocodiles' 2013–14 team.[4][5]

In 2014–15, Norton again earned the Mark Bragg Medal after averaging 7.9 points and 2.9 assists in 28 games.[4][5]

On 7 April 2016, Norton signed with the Southland Sharks for the rest of the 2016 New Zealand NBL season as an injury replacement for his former Crocodiles teammate, Jordair Jett.[6] However, his stint with the Sharks lasted just two games, as he was brought into the All-Australian team for their China tour.[7][8] He later re-joined the squad in mid May.[9]

With the demise of the Townsville Crocodiles following the 2015–16 season, Norton immediately became a free agent and was heavily sort after by a number of rival NBL clubs. Despite receiving a number of higher financial offers, it was the prospect of playing under head coach Rob Beveridge that lured him to the Illawarra Hawks, signing a two-year deal with the club on 21 April 2016.[10][11]

On 13 October 2016, Norton suffered a hamstring injury in the Hawks' second game of the 2016–17 season.[12]

National team career

In July 2012, Norton was named in the 2012 Australian Stanković Cup squad.[13] The Boomers went on to finish in second place.[14]

In June 2013, Norton was named in the Australian squad for the 2013 Stanković Cup[15] and World University Games.[16] Australia went on to win gold and silver respectively.[17]

Personal

Norton is the son of Paul and Anita Norton, and has a brother named Max.[18]

References

This article is issued from Wikipedia - version of the 10/13/2016. The text is available under the Creative Commons Attribution/Share Alike but additional terms may apply for the media files.