Martyn Bernard "Moochie" Norris (born July 27, 1973) is an American former 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 who played several seasons in the

National Basketball Association The National Basketball Association (NBA) is a professional basketball sports league, league in North America. The league is composed of 30 teams (29 in the United States and 1 in Canada) and is one of the major professional sports leagues i ...

(NBA), as well as other leagues. He is the head coach of the

Houston Push The Houston Push are a professional basketball team in Houston, Texas, and members of The Basketball League (TBL). History On December 31, 2020, it was announced that Retired NBA All Star, Steve Francis, was awarded the ownership of a new franc ...

The Basketball League The Basketball League (TBL), formerly North America Premier Basketball (NAPB), is a minor league basketball organization. The league began operating in North America in 2018 with eight teams, and expanded to over 44 teams as of 2022. The Bask ...

(TBL).

Professional career

Norris, a journeyman, played collegiately at

Odessa College Odessa College is a public junior college in Odessa, Texas. The college serves the people of Ector County and the Permian Basin. It was established in 1946 and enrolle8,024 studentsin Fall 2021 and 7,679 students in Spring 2022 in its universi ...

( junior college) (1992–1994), at Auburn University (1994–1995) and at the

University of West Florida The University of West Florida (West Florida or UWF) is a public university in Pensacola, Florida. Established in 1963 as part of the State University System of Florida, the university sits on the third largest campus in the State University Sy ...

(1995–1996). He was drafted with 33rd overall pick (4th in second round) of the

1996 NBA draft The 1996 NBA draft was the 50th draft in the National Basketball Association (NBA). It was held on June 26, 1996 at Continental Airlines Arena in East Rutherford, New Jersey. In this draft, NBA teams took turns selecting college basketball play ...

by the

Milwaukee Bucks The Milwaukee Bucks are an American professional basketball team based in Milwaukee. The Bucks compete in the National Basketball Association (NBA) as a member of the league's Eastern Conference Central Division. The team was founded in 1968 ...

. He did not play for the Bucks and on November 22, 1996, was waived by them. On December 12, he signed as a free agent with the

Vancouver Grizzlies The Vancouver Grizzlies were a Canadian professional basketball team based in Vancouver. They were part of the Midwest Division of the Western Conference of the National Basketball Association (NBA). The team was established in 1995, along w ...

for whom he played until December, 30, when he was waived. Norris played the remainder of the season with the

Fort Wayne Fury The Fort Wayne Fury was a professional basketball team in the Continental Basketball Association (CBA) from 1991 through the cessation of the CBA on February 8, 2001. History The team played at the Allen County War Memorial Coliseum in Fort Wayne, ...

of the

Continental Basketball Association The Continental Basketball Association (CBA) (originally known as the Eastern Pennsylvania Basketball League, and later as the Eastern Professional Basketball League and the Eastern Basketball Association) was a men's professional basketball m ...

(CBA) and earned CBA All-Rookie Second Team honors. He returned to the Fury and was named to the All-CBA Second Team in 1998 and the First Team in 2000. Norris played in the NBA from 1999 until the 2005–06 season for the

Seattle SuperSonics The Seattle SuperSonics (commonly known as the Seattle Sonics) were an American professional basketball team based in Seattle. The SuperSonics competed in the National Basketball Association (NBA) as a member club of the league's Western Conf ...

Houston Rockets The Houston Rockets are an American professional basketball team based in Houston. The Rockets compete in the National Basketball Association (NBA) as a member team of the league's Western Conference (NBA), Western Conference Southwest Divisio ...

New York Knicks The New York Knickerbockers, shortened and more commonly referred to as the New York Knicks, are an American professional basketball team based in the New York City borough of Manhattan. The Knicks compete in the National Basketball Associa ...

and

New Orleans Hornets New is an adjective referring to something recently made, discovered, or created. New or NEW may refer to: Music * New, singer of K-pop group The Boyz Albums and EPs * ''New'' (album), by Paul McCartney, 2013 * ''New'' (EP), by Regurgitator ...

Yamika Sun Kings/ Climamio Bologna (2006–2008)

After the 2006 NBA season, Norris was placed on waivers by the

. He joined the

Yakama Sun Kings The Yakima SunKings are a basketball team located in Yakima, Washington, covering the central Washington sports market of Yakima, Tri-Cities, and Ellensburg and plays at the Yakima SunDome. The team competed in the Continental Basketball Associat ...

of the

briefly in January 2007, played for Italian club

Climamio Bologna Fortitudo Pallacanestro Bologna 103, commonly known as Fortitudo Bologna and currently known as Fortitudo Kiğılı Bologna for sponsorship reasons, is a basketball club based in Bologna, Italy and currently plays in the second division. Histor ...

from March to June of that year. In November returned to the Sun Kings, where he led the league in assists and earned All-CBA First Team honors.

Power/ Ball Hogs (2017–present)

In 2017, Moochie Norris was selected by

Power Power most often refers to: * Power (physics), meaning "rate of doing work" ** Engine power, the power put out by an engine ** Electric power * Power (social and political), the ability to influence people or events ** Abusive power Power may ...

with the twentieth overall pick of the 2017 Big3 draft, while later getting traded to the

Ball Hogs The Ball Hogs are an American men's 3-on-3 basketball team that plays in the BIG3 Big3 (stylized BIG3) is a 3-on-3 basketball league founded by hip hop musician and actor Ice Cube and entertainment executive Jeff Kwatinetz. The league cons ...

Coaching career

After his basketball career, Norris started giving back to the game of basketball by training and coaching the youth. He helped the basketball coaching staff at Victory Prep Academy in Houston, TX. Currently he can still be found in Houston-area training in which he calls his "Moochie" Norris Workouts.

Huston Push (2021–present)

Norris is currently coaching

(TBL).

Personal life

Norris was given his nickname by his grandfather, who loved the

Cab Calloway Cabell Calloway III (December 25, 1907 – November 18, 1994) was an American singer, songwriter, bandleader, conductor and dancer. He was associated with the Cotton Club in Harlem, where he was a regular performer and became a popular vocali ...

song "

Minnie the Moocher "Minnie the Moocher" is a jazz- scat song first recorded in 1931 by Cab Calloway and His Orchestra, selling over a million copies. "Minnie the Moocher" is most famous for its nonsensical ad libbed (" scat") lyrics (for example, "Hi De Hi De Hi ...

". Early on in his career, Norris dealt with

insomnia Insomnia, also known as sleeplessness, is a sleep disorder in which people have trouble sleeping. They may have difficulty falling asleep, or staying asleep as long as desired. Insomnia is typically followed by daytime sleepiness, low energy ...

, which he has suffered from for many years. He was also noticeable for his large

afro The afro is a hair type created by natural growth of Afro-textured hair, kinky hair, or specifically styled with chemical curling products by individuals with naturally Hair#Curly hair, curly or Hair#Classification systems, straight hair.Gar ...

: Norris became one of the lesser-known NBA players to have his own

bobblehead A bobblehead, also known by common silly nicknames such as nodder, wobbler, or wacky wobbler, is a type of small collectible action figure. Its head is often oversized compared to its body. Instead of a solid connection, its head is connected to ...

figurine (sporting a synthetic afro) made of him while he was with the

in 2002.ESPN.com – Page2 – Moochie Norris
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References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Norris, Moochie 1973 births Living people African-American basketball players American expatriate basketball people in Canada American expatriate basketball people in France American expatriate basketball people in Italy American men's basketball players Auburn Tigers men's basketball players Basketball players from Washington, D.C. Big3 players Élan Béarnais players Florida Beachdogs players Fortitudo Pallacanestro Bologna players Fort Wayne Fury players Houston Rockets players Odessa Wranglers men's basketball players Milwaukee Bucks draft picks New Orleans Hornets players New York Knicks players Point guards Seattle SuperSonics players United States Basketball League players Vancouver Grizzlies players West Florida Argonauts men's basketball players Yakama Sun Kings players 21st-century African-American sportspeople 20th-century African-American sportspeople American men's 3x3 basketball players