A Young Man of Character

Two years ago, I wrote a book titled, A Man of Character, which was about a young coach who took on a program in inner city Los Angeles and through hard work, integrity and leadership led his team to the pinnacle of high school basketball: the state championship. It was a fictional piece based on my many years of covering inner city basketball for the Birmingham Post Herald where I observed some high character coaches who led programs like Parker, Phillips and Woodlawn.
Ronald Nored is a young man who lives a life of character. He also happens to be one of the key players on a Butler Bulldogs basketball team that is going to their second straight Final Four, this time in Houston where they will face Virginia Commonwealth, a team that has made an improbable run through the tournament as has Butler once again. Butler and VCU will square off at 5:09 P.M.CT on CBS Saturday. Kentucky will play Connecticut in the second semifinal at 7:49 P.M.

But this is just as much a personal story as it is a basketball story. Nored, a junior guard at Butler, is a young man from Homewood High School in Birmingham who led his team to the state championship his senior year. He did it for his father, Ron, who passed away in 2003 from pancreatic cancer. Ron was a minister at Bethel African Episcopal Church in Ensley, and dedicated his life to helping people. Ronald said his dad would be “super proud,” not only for the accomplishments he’s achieved on the court, but for how he has helped other people off the court. Ronald is coaching a group of kids right now in 11th grade and plans on getting into college coaching when he graduates next year. He is going on a mission trip this summer to Nicaragua to help kids there. He’s all about helping people just like his father was. Ronald’s mom, Linda, and his brother, Randall, a freshman at Carson Newman College in Tennessee, will be there Saturday to see if their son/brother can help his team move on to the national title game Monday Night.

If you want to know what kind of player Ronald  is, here is what his Homewood High School coach, Tim Shepler, said about him.

“There’s an old saying that when you’re best player is your hardest worker, you’ve got a chance,” Shepler said. “I couldn’t have asked any more of Ronald. He was a natural leader and the kids just followed him. Butler is a great fit for Ronald and Ronald is a great fit for them. He’s living a dream.”

Butler Associate Head Coach Matthew Graves echoes Shepler’s comments.

“Ron is a very important part of the success of our team through his leadership and passion on the court,” Graves said. “He has a great presence about him and he has great ability to communicate to his teammates. Ron gives us a great spark off the bench with his ability to impact the game on the defensive end of the floor. Ron is one of the most charismatic individuals I have ever met and his ability to relate to anyone is simply amazing.”

Ronald is not only a solid leader and outstanding person, he’s also pretty clutch.

Last year against Michigan State in the semifinals of the Final Four with the game tied and Nored at the free throw line with five seconds left, he showed his mental toughness by sinking both free throws and sealing  the game for the Bulldogs. Butler lost to Duke in the finals when junior Gordon Hayward just missed a half court shot that would have won the national title for the Bulldogs. But without Nored, they would not have been in that position.

Fast forward to this past Saturday and the Elite Eight game with Florida. Nored was at the line with 2:43 left in overtime and the Bulldogs leading 65-64. He was shooting a one and one. He sank both shots to put Butler up by three. Then with 1:53 left he got to the line again for two shots with the game tied at 67. He sank both shots.

“I didn’t feel the pressure, I just knew I had to knock’em down for my teammates,” he said. “I just relaxed. I had missed a couple of free throws earlier in the season against Xavier that lost the game for us and I wasn’t going to do that again.”

Humility is a virtue, and for Nored it comes naturally. “I know being at Butler and having the kind of success we’ve had here is no coincidence. I owe it all to God.”

And that’s not some sound bite statement. Nored says it and means it. He lives it. He has an unyielding faith. His coach, Brad Stevens, is the same type of person. At 34, Stevens has won 116 games as Butler coach in four years. That’s better than any coach in a four year span ever. He is 116-24.

“He is a great X’s and O’s guy and he never gets frustrated,” Nored said. “Some coaches lose their way when things aren’t going well, but Coach always stays calm and knows we have a job to do. He always keeps us together and he and our whole coaching staff do a great job of preparing us.”

The Bulldogs faced adversity losing three straight in the middle of the season and that’s when Nored, junior Shelvin Mack and senior Matt Howard talked to the team about not letting this season get away. The Bulldogs have since won 13 in a row.

Now it’s on to the Houston, Reliant Stadium, and a shot to play for the national championship again. First up is VCU, a tough opponent that can drain threes from everywhere and plays tenacious defense. They beat No.1 seeded Kansas on Sunday in the Southwest Regional to advance. Butler has their hands full.

“Obviously they’re a good team to get to this point,” Nored said.

After the Final Four, Nored and his mother plan on going down to see Randall in a play at Carson Newman. His brother is a masculine guy–he was a fine defensive end for the Homewood football team–but likes to act. Ronald just likes seeing him and he’s excited for his brother’s performance.

Nored, along with Stevens and other older players, has laid the foundation at Butler  for the  program to be preeminent in the next several years. Stevens seems committed to the program at this point.

But most importantly, Ronal Nored has his life together and he’s a charismatic young man with the highest integrity. And he’s “living a dream.” If anyone deserves that, Ronald Nored does.

(Ronald Nored is all about character. He’s also a fine basketball player.)