Ronald Nored

Nored starred as an all-state point guard for Homewood High School in Homewood, Alabama, averaging 15.3 points and 6.9 rebounds per game as a senior,[2] when he led the team to a 31–5 record and a state finals appearance in 2008. His career-high game came as a junior when he scored 38 points against Briarwood Christian High School. During his senior year, Nored made a verbal commitment to Western Kentucky University, but backed out after coach Darrin Horn left for the University of South Carolina.[3] He turned down an academic scholarship to Harvard University and basketball offers from Samford University and the University of South Alabama to instead play for Brad Stevens at Butler, just a few miles away from his grandparents' house in Indianapolis.

Quickly establishing himself as a tenacious defender and a vocal court leader, Nored started all 32 games in his freshman season. His season-high game came when he went 4-for-4 from the court, including the game-winning shot, in an 11-point night against Cleveland State.[4] In his sophomore season he was named the Horizon League's co-defensive player of the year and the league's all-tournament team.[5] He recorded a career-high 8 assists in a home win over Wright State.[6] His high-scoring night came against Illinois–Chicago with 16 points.[7] He scored 15 points and had 6 assists in Butler's 2nd-round NCAA tournament victory over Murray State[8] and grabbed five steals against Syracuse in the West Region semifinal.[9] He scored 7 points with 6 rebounds in the loss to Duke in the championship game.[9] As a junior, Nored averaged 5.0 points per game with a high of 16 against Utah.[10] He helped Butler return to the title game of the NCAA tournament, but failed to score from the field, earning all 6 of his tournament points at the free-throw line. He did get two steals and four rebounds in 26 minutes against Connecticut in the title game.[10]