Mitchell Robert Norton (born 1 April 1993) is an Australian professional

basketball Basketball is a team sport in which two teams, most commonly of five players each, opposing one another on a rectangular court, compete with the primary objective of shooting a basketball (approximately in diameter) through the defender's h ...

player for the

Perth Wildcats The Perth Wildcats are an Australian professional basketball team based in Perth, Western Australia. The Wildcats compete in the National Basketball League (Australia), National Basketball League (NBL) and play their home games at Perth Arena, ...

of the National Basketball League (NBL). He began his career in 2011 with the Townsville Crocodiles before joining the Illawarra Hawks in 2016 following the collapse of his hometown team. After two seasons with the Hawks, he joined the Wildcats in 2018 where he won two consecutive championships. He has also played for the Townsville Heat in the Queensland Basketball League and the Southland Sharks in the New Zealand NBL.

Early life and junior career

Norton was born and raised in

Townsville Townsville is a city on the north-eastern coast of Queensland, Australia. With a population of 180,820 as of June 2018, it is the largest settlement in North Queensland; it is unofficially considered its capital. Estimated resident population, 30 ...

Queensland ) , nickname = Sunshine State , image_map = Queensland in Australia.svg , map_caption = Location of Queensland in Australia , subdivision_type = Country , subdivision_name = Australia , established_title = Before federation , established_ ...

, where he attended Currajong State School and Pimlico State High School. He played junior basketball for Blackstars Basketball Club. He represented Queensland North at the Australian Under 16 Championships in 2007 and 2008, and the Under 18 Championships in 2009. In 2010, he was selected for Australia to compete at the

FIBA Under-17 World Championship The FIBA Under-17 Basketball World Cup (formerly FIBA Under-17 World Championship) is the under-17 men's world basketball championship organised by the International Basketball Federation (FIBA). The event was held for the first time in July 201 ...

, averaging 11.3 points per game. Norton again suited up for Queensland in 2010 for the Australian Under 20 Championships, and again in 2011 where Queensland collected a silver medal. In 2011, he was selected for the

Australian Institute of Sport The Australian Institute of Sport (AIS) is a high performance sports training institution in Australia. The Institute's headquarters were opened in 1981 and are situated in the northern suburb of Bruce, Canberra. The AIS is a division of th ...

(AIS) touring team after securing a scholarship at the AIS, and travelled to Latvia for the

FIBA Under-19 World Championship The FIBA Under-19 Basketball World Cup (formerly FIBA Under-19 World Championship) is the under-19 men's world basketball championship organised by the International Basketball Federation ( FIBA). From its inauguration in 1979, until 2007, it wa ...

, but was forced to miss the tournament after sustaining a broken foot.

Professional career

Australian NBL

Townsville Crocodiles (2011–2016)

Norton made his debut in the National Basketball League (NBL) for the Townsville Crocodiles during the 2011–12 season. A foot injury limited him to five games. In his second season in

2012–13 1 (one, unit, unity) is a number representing a single or the only entity. 1 is also a numerical digit and represents a single unit of counting or measurement. For example, a line segment of ''unit length'' is a line segment of length 1. I ...

, Norton appeared in all 28 games for the Crocodiles. For the 2013–14 season, Norton was named the Crocodiles' Defensive Player of the Year and earned the Players' Player award. He earned the Players' Player award again in 2014–15. In November 2015, Norton played his 100th NBL game.

Illawarra Hawks (2016–2018)

As a result of the demise of the Townsville Crocodiles following the 2015–16 season, Norton signed a two-year deal with the Illawarra Hawks in April 2016. He helped the Hawks reach the 2017 NBL Grand Final series, where they lost 3–0 to the

. He missed six weeks during the 2017–18 season after undergoing surgery on a fractured thumb.

Perth Wildcats (2018–present)

On 23 April 2018, Norton signed a three-year deal with the

. On 28 January 2019, he was ruled out for the rest of the 2018–19 regular season with a tear to his left calf muscle. In March 2019, he was a member of the Wildcats' championship-winning team. In March 2020, he was crowned an NBL champion for the second straight year. Following the retirement of Damian Martin, Norton moved into the starting point guard position for the Wildcats in

2020–21 The dash is a punctuation mark consisting of a long horizontal line. It is similar in appearance to the hyphen but is longer and sometimes higher from the baseline. The most common versions are the endash , generally longer than the hyphen ...

, resulting in a career-best year. He averaged 8.3 points, 3.7 rebounds, and 3.9 assists per game. In April 2021, he played his 250th NBL game. Norton was inspirational during the NBL finals as the Wildcats finished runners-up, refusing to allow a hip injury to stop him from playing despite being in obvious pain. For the season, he was a finalist for the NBL Best Defensive Player Award. On 1 July 2021, Norton re-signed with the Wildcats on a three-year deal. He was ruled out for the first month of the 2021–22 NBL season with a knee injury. On 10 March 2022, he scored a career-high 26 points in a 97–87 win over Melbourne United. Later that month, he was ruled out for two to three weeks with a low grade hamstring strain.

QBL and New Zealand NBL

Norton played for the Townsville Heat in the Queensland Basketball League (QBL) every year between 2012 and 2015, where he won the QBL U23 Youth Player of the Year award in 2015. In 2016, Norton moved to New Zealand to play for the Southland Sharks in the New Zealand NBL. He returned to the Sharks for the 2017 season.

National team career

In July 2012, Norton helped Australia earn the silver medal at the Stanković Cup in China. In June 2013, Norton was named in the Australian squad for the Stanković Cup and

World University Games The Universiade is an international multi-sport event, organized for university athletes by the International University Sports Federation (FISU). The name is a portmanteau of the words "University" and " Olympiad". The Universiade is referred ...

. Australia went on to win gold and silver respectively. Norton won gold with the Australian national team at the

2017 FIBA Asia Cup The 2017 FIBA Asia Cup (formerly known as the FIBA Asia Championship) was the 29th continental basketball championship in Asia. The tournament was organised by FIBA Asia. It took place from 8 to 20 August 2017, a week earlier from the initial sch ...

in Lebanon and the

2018 Commonwealth Games The 2018 Commonwealth Games, officially known as the XXI Commonwealth Games and also known as Gold Coast 2018, was an international multi-sport event for members of the Commonwealth of Nations, Commonwealth that were held on the Gold Coast, ...

on the Gold Coast. In February 2021, Norton was named in the Boomers' Olympic squad. In August 2022, Norton was named in the Boomers' World Cup Qualifiers team.

Personal

Norton is the son of Paul and Anita Norton, and has a younger brother named Max. While playing for the Townsville Crocodiles, Norton was studying a business degree at

James Cook University James Cook University (JCU) is a public university in North Queensland, Australia. The second oldest university in Queensland, JCU is a teaching and research institution. The university's main campuses are located in the tropical cities of Cairn ...

References

External links

FIBA profileIllawarra Hawks player profileTownsville Crocodiles player profile"Mitch Norton: Living the Dream"
at nbl.com.au
"Mitch Norton stepping up"
at wildcats.com.au
"Perth Wildcats entitled to ask for NBL import after Mitch Norton injury"
at thewest.com.au {{DEFAULTSORT:Norton, Mitch 1993 births Living people Australian expatriate sportspeople in New Zealand Australian men's basketball players Australian Institute of Sport basketball players Illawarra Hawks players Perth Wildcats players Point guards Southland Sharks players Sportspeople from Townsville Townsville Crocodiles players Universiade medalists in basketball Basketball players at the 2018 Commonwealth Games Commonwealth Games gold medallists for Australia Commonwealth Games medallists in basketball Universiade silver medalists for Australia Medalists at the 2013 Summer Universiade