Before Ronald Nored even graduates from Butler University, he already has his immediate future lined up. This time one week ago, he was playing his last game in a Butler uniform.
Now, Nored is trading in the uniform for a suit but he will remain a Bulldog…a Brownsburg Bulldog. Wednesday Morning, he was approved by the Brownsburg Board of Trustees and officially named head coach.
Surprised, anyone? Nope. No way.
It was obvious since he first stepped on campus that he was meant to lead.
Lead on campus, lead in the classroom and lead on the court. And that’s just what he has done.
Nored was voted president of his freshman class just a week into college. He has excelled in the classroom and is very mature for a college senior. A job like Brownsburg will be a great challenge for the 22 year-old who enjoys teaching the game he loves.
He has been fortunate to learn under Brad Stevens, one of the best young coaches in the game. And he’s going to have bumps in the road, just like every coach just getting started.
“For the last few days I’ve been trying to become as ready as I can be,” Nored said to the assembled media Wednesday (via the Indianapolis Star). “I know as soon as we start there are going to be things that I wasn’t expecting. But I think on the basketball floor I’m going to be good to go. I say that now and I’m probably naïve. There’s probably some situations where I’m going to feel like I’m not as good to go, but that’s OK. But the day-to-day operations of being a high school coach and an academic coach and making sure I’m balancing those both is going to be something that’s going to be really important.”
“Congrats to Ron Nored on being named the head coach at Brownsburg,” Coach Stevens tweeted before the official announcement.” “He will be terrific as an educator, mentor, and coach.”
Coaching isn’t new for Ronald Nored. For the last two summers, he has coached an AAU team in Indianapolis. As Butler’s point guard, he has also been the coach on the floor. After graduating from Butler in May, he will completely dive into Brownsburg basketball and start building a program that is four years removed from a Class 4A title. A title won by Nored’s teammate of two years, Gordon Hayward.
“I texted him and said, ‘Gotta talk,'” Nored said. “He wrote, ‘What do we gotta talk about? So when he called me back I told him I had the chance to be the head basketball coach at Brownsburg. He said, ‘What? Are you serious? You better do that. You can’t turn that down.’ The fact that Gordon was so excited about it was good for me because Gordon and I are so close that he can be honest about things with me. If he thought it wasn’t a good decision, he would have told me that and I would have respected it. But his excitement got me excited for it as well and definitely had some input in my decision.”
Ronald is one of the most likable young men today. He is grounded, well-spoken, and ahead of the curve. His personality is attractive and engaging.
He not only will be a great coach at Brownsburg, but an outstanding role model for his students. It will take a couple years for Nored to truly get comfortable and lay the groundwork for the program. Although he said today that he could see himself there for a while, I think he will move on to bigger things, maybe even the Butler staff in a few years.
The possibilities are endless for Nored who deserves everything he gets. He was a joy to cover at Butler and I expect that to continue in a different Bulldog uniform. Brownsburg purple.
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NCAA.com chronicled Nored’s senior year and what made him so special. If you’re a fan of his, and how could you not be, watch the videos below (via NCAA on YouTube).