CLEVELAND, Ohio – To celebrate the past 10 years of men's basketball success in the Horizon League, the league will be holding a fan vote to name the Horizon League All-Decade Team. Cleveland State's Norris Cole is in consideration to be part of that team.
Fans can vote here: https://horizonleague.org/sb_output.aspx?form=1011
During Cole's sophomore season at Cleveland State, the Vikings won the 2009 Horizon League Championship, securing a spot in the NCAA Tournament for the first time since the 1985-86 season. On March 20, 2009, the 13th-seeded Cleveland State Vikings took down the fourth-seeded Wake Forest Deacons, 84-69. Cole finished that March Madness first round contest with a game-high tying 22 points, four assists and one steal.
The Dayton, Ohio native put together an impressive senior campaign (2010-11), averaging career bests in points per game (21.7), rebounds per game (5.8) and assists per game (5.3). That season, Cole had a monstrous outing against Youngstown State (Feb. 12, 2011), finishing with a near triple-double, notching 41 points on 11-22 (.500) shooting from the floor, including a 5-10 (.500) clip from three-point territory, 20 rebounds, nine assists and three steals in 40 minutes of action.
A two-time First-Team All-League selection, Cole set league history his senior year, becoming the first player in Horizon League history to win both Horizon League Player of the Year and Horizon League Defensive Player of the Year in the same season.
Cole, whose No. 30 jersey was retired by Cleveland State on Feb. 6, 2016, finished his Viking career with averages of 14.1 points, 3.2 rebounds and 3.3 assists. In his four years at CSU, Cole's teams compiled an overall record of 90-50 (.600), appearing in the NIT twice and NCAA Tournament once.
Following a decorated collegiate career, Cole was selected by the Chicago Bulls with the 28th-overall pick in the 2011 NBA Draft. He was traded to the Miami HEAT on draft night, where the former Viking won two NBA championships (2012, 2013). Cole set more league history, becoming the first Horizon League alumnus to win an NBA title.
"For the rest of his life, it's going to carry him", said HEAT teammate Ray Allen to USA TODAY (June 16, 2013). "He's already won one. For the rest of his life he's always going to have this in his repertoire. When he leaves the game of basketball, he'll always be able to talk about these moments and whatever moments he has after these. It's going to be forever engrained in his memory and in who he is as a basketball player."
Voting is free and all fans that cast a vote for their 10-member All-Decade Team will be entered into a contest to win two courtside seats to the Horizon League Men's Basketball Championship game in Indianapolis. The All-Decade Team will be recognized during the Horizon League Basketball Championships held March 9-10 at the Indiana Farmers Coliseum. Voting closes March 1.
