It's no surprise the Bulldogs are turning to a former player to get the program righted. And the choice — Ronald Nored — is no surprise, either. The charismatic former guard was a mainstay on Butler's back-to-back national runner-up teams. But recapturing that Hinkle Fieldhouse magic has proven difficult. Butler has only one winning record in the last five seasons and hasn't been to the NCAA tourney since 2018. Nored has overhauled the roster and coaching
staff. Will it be enough to spur a turnaround? Bulldog fans remain hopeful.
Guard Jalen Jackson was supposed to be a foundational piece after transferring to Butler last season. But the 2024-25 Horizon League scoring leader appeared in only six games before suffering a season-ending left ankle injury. ... Treyson Anderson, a 6-foot-9 forward, averaged 10.4 points and 5.3 rebounds in 18.2 minutes on North Dakota State's 2026 NCAA Tournament team. ... At 6-6, guard Christian Moore could be the shooter Butler has missed recently. He made 63 3-pointers and was The Citadel's No. 2 scorer (11.2 points) last season.
This season's other transfers are 6-3 guard Jordan Ellerbee, who set Florida Gulf Coast's freshman scoring record (446 points); 6-8 forward Samis Calderon, who played sparingly at Kansas and 6-5 guard Eduardo Klafke, a 12-game starter at Ole Miss. ... Nored also added three overseas players — 7-footer Marko Maric, guard Samu Adler and forward Asim Djulovic. ... The Bulldogs lost five of their top six scorers — Finley Bizjack (17.1 points), Michael Ajayi (16.4), Jamie Kaiser Jr. (9.5), Yohan Traore (8.3) and Evan Haywood (7.2). Ajayi and Traore graduated, the others transferred.
Nored makes his head coaching debut Nov. 2 against Lafayette. The non-conference schedule includes road trips to Boise State (Nov. 8) and North Carolina (Dec. 6), neutral site games against Nebraska (Nov. 22) and Georgia Tech (Dec. 19) and a home date against Pittsburgh (Nov. 13). Butler opens conference play at Providence (Dec. 12), hosts UConn on Dec. 31 and St. John's on Jan. 3. It visits UConn on Jan. 23 and St. John's on Feb. 27.
Nored has surrounded himself with some familiar faces. Freshman Bryson Cardinal is the son of former Purdue star Brian Cardinal, assistant coach Emerson Kampen and adviser Gordon Hayward were teammates of Nored, assistant Jon Diebler is the brother of Ohio State coach Jake Diebler, and director of basketball operations Ali Matta is the daughter of Nored's predecessor, Thad Matta. ... Drayton Jones, a 6-10 center, averaged 6.3 points and 4.6 rebounds in 32 starts last season. ... The Bulldogs shot just 32.7% from 3-point range in 2025-26.
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