May 7, 2007
Contact: Brian McCann
CLEVELAND, Ohio -- Cleveland State bolstered its basketball lineup with the addition of Norris Cole (Dayton, OH/Dunbar) and Nick Weaver (Glendale, AZ/Glendale CC) for the 2007-08 season. Viking head coach Gary Waters made the announcement on Monday (May 7).
Cole, a freshman, and Weaver, who will be a junior, join D'Aundray Brown (Youngstown, OH/Ursuline), Daitwan Eppinger (Garfield Heights, OH) and Joe Latas (North Olmsted, OH/Bedford-Chanel), each of whom signed with Cleveland State during the early signing period last November.
"The addition of Norris Cole and Nick Weaver is another positive step forward by the Viking basketball program," Waters said. "They will immediately help us to solidify our backcourt for next season."
Cole, a 6-1, 165-pound guard, was a special mention all-state selection by the Associated Press after leading Dunbar to a 24-4 record and its second straight Ohio Division II championship. He led the team in scoring (15.5 ppg), and averaged 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).
Rated as the fifth best point guard and 22nd best player in the state by PrepSpotlight.com, Cole guided his team to a 50-6 mark over his final two seasons. He was named to the All-State Tournament team this past spring by Cleveland.com.
A standout as the quarterback on the Dunbar football team as well, Cole completed 148 of 267 passes for 2,267 yards with 19 touchdowns and five 300-yard games as a senior, earning him a spot on the 2006 Elite 11 Quarterback Watch List.
"Everything about Norris tells me that he is both a leader and a winner, and that is the type of player that we want in the Viking basketball program" Waters said. "I believe that he will make an immediate impact to our program because of his ability to run an offense and make everybody around him better."
Weaver, a 6-3, 205-pound guard, was named the league offensive player of the year after ranking sixth nationally and first in the league in scoring (23.1 ppg) in his only season at Glendale CC. He shot 47-percent from three-point and 84-percent from the foul line, setting school records for three-point field goals made in a season and triple-doubles in a season (3).
The league scoring leader, he missed the final nine games of the season with a rib injury. He played his freshman season at South Mountain Community College in Phoenix, AZ, averaging 12 points, four rebounds and two assists a game.
"Nick's experience and shooting ability should help to offset the perimeter scoring that we lost with the departure of our senior class," Waters said. "His skills should translate well into the system that we run, allowing him to come in this fall and help out immediately.
The addition of Weaver and Cole brings the number of Viking signees for the 2007-08 season to five (Cole, Weaver, Brown, Eppinger & Latas).
"I believe that our incoming class will allow us to make a quantam leap on the court next year and help us to meet our goals for the program in the years to come," Waters said. "These players will help us at every position on the floor and when you combine them with the returners and redshirts, they give us a much deeper lineup to work with."
