Three days before Thad Matta announced his retirement, Butler AD Grant Leiendecker publicly stated: "We are fully committed and aligned on how we will reach expectations for the program going forward."
Three days later, Matta was gone. Whatever alignment existed evaporated sometime between Thursday and Sunday.
Matta's career record — 502-223, two Final Fours at Ohio State, 13 NCAA Tournament appearances — made him one of the most accomplished coaches of his generation. His Butler record — 87-77 across two stints, zero NCAA Tournament appearances in his final four seasons — told a different story. The program hasn't danced since 2018.
"After taking some time to reflect following the end of the season, I have decided that the time has come for me to step away from the sidelines," Matta said. He will remain at Butler as a special assistant to the president and athletic director — a graceful exit, even if the timing was jarring.
His replacement is a 36-year-old who has never been a college head coach.
Ronald Nored played point guard at Butler from 2008 to 2012 under Brad Stevens. He was a two-time Horizon League Defensive Player of the Year who holds Butler records for games played (143) and postseason appearances (16). He was on the floor for the two most iconic runs in program history — the 2010 national championship game against Duke (the Gordon Hayward half-court heave) and the 2011 title game against UConn.
Since graduating, Nored has coached in the G League and NBA — the Celtics, Hornets, Pacers, and most recently the Atlanta Hawks. He has never run a college program.
"The term 'dream job' doesn't do justice to how I feel about this opportunity," Nored said.
AD Leiendecker framed the hire carefully: "We didn't hire him for his history here — we hired him for his vision of what we can become and how we will get there."
Butler is betting that the man who played in championship games can teach others how to get there. At 36, with zero college head coaching experience, it is a swing. But it is the kind of swing that Butler — a program that once defined itself by believing in the improbable — has earned the right to take.
Nored was on the floor for both of Butler's championship game runs under Brad Stevens