Butler has hired one of its own, former point 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’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 as a young man. 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, 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.