SPORTSINK.COM PHOTO

Norton senior forward Justin Pratt had a career night with 34 points and 11 rebounds in a 69-58 win over Kent Roosevelt.

This SportsInk.com Athlete of the Week for Feb. 13-19 is the towering inside man for the Norton boys basketball team, Justin Pratt.

Pratt stands 6-foot-5 and is averaging 14.7 points per game and 8.1 rebounds per game for the Panthers. He had 34 points and 12 rebounds against Kent Roosevelt in a big win and also had 26 points and 17 rebounds in a recent victory over Coventry.

“I just wish I had him for one more year,” said Norton basketball coach Rod Swartz.

Pratt came to Norton as a junior after his previous school, Reimer Road Baptist Christian School, closed its doors.

“The speed of the game and the ability to fit in were the biggest adjustments for me coming to Norton,” Pratt said.

Pratt came off the bench for the Panthers last year but this year is penciled in as a key cog to the success of the team.

“He has been amazing with his work ethic and his improvement is beyond belief,” Swartz said.

Basketball really started to take shape for Pratt in third grade, and by the fourth grade he knew he wanted to do more with the sport.

“Now I want to take my game to the college level,” Pratt said.

In playing for Reimer Road, Pratt said it was more like afterschool pick-up games, so he welcomed the organized style that the move to Norton provided for him.

Pratt has a younger brother, Dakota, who is 6-foot-4 and is in the ninth grade at Norton.

Norton High School

Senior

Basketball

GPA:  4.0

TV:  “SportsNation”

Movie:  “Space Jam”

Pizza:  Sausage

Home Cooking:  Enchilada

iPod:  Don’t have one!!

Class:  History