The former Bulldogs point guard has spent the majority of his time since graduating working with NBA franchises


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Butler has hired one of its own, former lockdown defensive guard Ronald Nored, as its next men's basketball coach, sources told CBS Sports.

The 36-year-old Nored, who's been an assistant with the Atlanta Hawks for the past three seasons, agreed to a deal with the school on Tuesday night. A formal announcement of the hiring is scheduled for later on Wednesday. Nored and Akron coach John Groce were the two finalists for the job, per sources. In hiring Nored, Butler has opted to keep its lineage consistent by bringing on yet another person with deep ties to the university, which has been a member of the Big East since 2013.

Nored played at BU under Brad Stevens from 2008-12 and was the starting point guard on both Bulldogs teams that made runs to the national championship game in 2010 and 2011. He was not the most visible player on teams with Gordon Hayward, Shelvin Mack and Matt Howard, but his consistency and defense were crucial and led to him being named Horizon League Defensive Player of the Year twice.

SEASON G GS MP AST STL TOV PTS
2008-09 32 32 27.1 2.6 1.0 2.4 4.2
2009-10 38 33 30.0 3.6 1.8 2.0 6.0
2010-11 36 23 26.5 2.3 1.2 2.1 5.0
2011-12 37 37 31.1 5.2 1.8 2.8 7.8
Career 143 125 28.7 3.5 1.4 2.3 5.8

Nored's biggest game probably came in the second round of the 2010 NCAA Tournament, when No. 5 seed Butler faced No. 13 seed Murray State. Nored's 15 points and six assists were crucial on a day when every other Butler player combined to shoot 11-for-39 from the field in a 54-52 win that springboarded the first title game run.

He'd explored and interviewed for other head coaching jobs in college in the past few cycles. With Thad Matta opting to retire earlier this month, it opened up a perfect opportunity for the up-and-coming coach who's cut his teeth in the NBA ranks for the majority of the past 13 years.

When Nored was a player at Butler, he was vocal about his desire to move into coaching. He began his journey with the Maine Red Claws (the Celtics' G League team, a connection helped through his relationship with Stevens) in 2013 and continued with one season with the Celtics under Stevens, followed by a one-year stint at Northern Kentucky, then a two-year run as the head coach of the Long Island Nets from 2016-18. Since 2018, Nored has been an NBA assistant with the Charlotte Hornets, Indiana Pacers and Atlanta Hawks.

He'll step into the Butler job at a time when the school has never been more financially committed to the men's basketball program. Per one source, the school expects to work with at least $9 million in revenue sharing and NIL funding for the 2026-27 season.

But the Bulldogs have not made an NCAA Tournament appearance since 2018, LaVall Jordan's first season at the helm after Chris Holtmann's successful three-year run. Matta, who previously had coached Butler in 2000-01 before jumping to Xavier and Ohio State, returned with some fanfare after years away from the sidelines for medical reasons. But he posted just one winning season against the Big East competition that now awaits Nored.

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