Two of Ronald Nored’s most important influences as a coach came in Indianapolis.
The new Butler basketball coach was a Bulldogs point guard from 2008-12, learning daily from Brad Stevens, who led them to national championship game appearances in 2010 and ’11.
“He got on me more than probably anyone he’s ever coached,” he told Jeff Goodman of the Field of 68.
“What I learned from Brad, as a player and working for him as a coach (for the Boston Celtics G-League affiliate), has built the foundation of who I am as a coach,” Nored noted, emphasizing hiring the right people, building a culture, enunciating a clear message, and having an analytic mindset.
Nored said building a college basketball roster these days is somewhat similar to G League coaching, where NBA teams often dictate who is available to the affiliate team through their own roster transactions.
“For me, there’s a right and a wrong about how the game should be played. We’ve got to clear about the right and the wrong is. There’s different times to jump on guys. There’s different times to put your arm around him,” Nored said. “I told all our guys, ‘I’m going to coach you hard. … I’m going to give you the truth … but it’s going to be in a graceful way that helps you understand.”
Ronald Nored remembers his time with the Indiana Pacers
The 36-year-old father of four also had high praise for Indiana Pacers coach Rick Carlisle. Nored was a Pacers assistant from 2021-23.
“He’s never stopped adjusting. He coached one way several years ago, and he was a Hall of Fame coach. And he coaches a completely different way now,” Nored said. “To watch him and see he has progressed in his long career, continuing to want new ideas, understanding where the game is going next, was something that was really important for me to learn.”
Nored said Carlisle gives his assistants significant responsibilities so he can focus “only on what’s important for him as the head coach.”
Nored has been an Atlanta Hawks assistant the past three seasons, and he said he also learned plenty from head coach Quin Snyder.
Ronald Nored wants Butler players like Matt Howard
And what kind of player does Nored want to recruit? He would plenty of guys similar to former Butler teammate Matt Howard.
“Absolute animal. He was undersized for a center,” Nored said. “But there was no one who was going to beat him.”
Nored offered an example.
“We’re up 30 against Wright State in the Horizon Conference championship game. There was a lot of time left in the game, and there was a ball going out of bounds,” noting that Hinkle Fieldhouse has a raised court. “Matt runs after a ball … dives for the ball as it’s going out of bounds, throws it back in, takes out the front row of courtside seats. That’s just who he was.”
This article originally appeared on Indianapolis Star: What Brad Stevens, Indiana Pacers coach Rick Carlisle taught Butler basketball coach Ronald Nored
Reporting by Scott Horner, Indianapolis Star / Indianapolis Star
USA TODAY Network via Reuters Connect
