Even with this Butler basketball team, which is sure to be the first to be nationally ranked in preseason polls, there are questions:

Is sophomore point guard Ronald Nored healthy?

Will 6-11 freshman Andrew Smith redshirt?

Will there be enough minutes to go around?

All will be resolved in good time. That’s the message delivered by Brad Stevens, whose 56 victories are the second-most for someone coaching two years of major college basketball.

“That stuff will work itself out. Not only over the first four weeks of the season, but as the season progresses,” he said.

The Bulldogs have their first formal practice, closed to the public, at 5 p.m. today at Hinkle Fieldhouse. There is no Midnight Madness event, though there is an alumni gathering Saturday morning to watch the team and hear from the coach.

Stevens was in New York this week to appear at a function for the Jimmy V Classic and address East Coast alumni.

Sequentially, some answers to those Butler questions:

Nored was one of three freshmen to start on a 26-6 team that lost to LSU 75-71 in the first round of the NCAA Tournament. He developed a stress fracture in his left leg and did not play during the team’s August tour of Italy. Nored has done “more and more as time’s gone on,” Stevens said, and likely will be cleared to play without restrictions.

Smith is a Covenant Christian graduate from Zionsville who led the state in rebounding (17.1). He is projected as a possible backup to 6-8 Matt Howard, the Horizon League Player of the Year. But it’s a long leap from Smith’s Class 2A high school. His aim is to “play within the system and get a feel for college basketball,” Stevens said.

“He’s a kid with high aptitude. Certainly, I think he’ll have a great career here.”

The Bulldogs are deep because they lost no one from last season and add Smith plus redshirts Chase Stigall and Emerson Kampen. There are 12 scholarship players, along with walk-ons Kampen, Nick Rodgers and Alex Anglin.

The roster allows flexibility in substituting, but it’s not as if previous teams were thin. One of Butler’s top 3-point shooters, Darnell Archey, newly named as coordinator of basketball operations, never started until his senior season (2002-03).

“If you look back on some of those great teams I’ve been lucky enough to be around, we’ve had good depth on a lot of those teams,‘’ Stevens said. "And depth’s important."

Butler buzz built during the summer, partly because of last season’s unexpected record, but also because Gordon Hayward and Shelvin Mack played for the U.S. team that won the under-19 World Championship in New Zealand. National media have speculated Butler could contend for the Final Four, to be held at Lucas Oil Stadium.

Stevens said “the last thing we’re thinking about” is the end of the season. He said he would tell players what expectations should be.

“The expectations are to represent Butler well in the classroom and the community,” he said. “If we do those things, and prioritize getting better every day, I feel very comfortable that we have a chance to improve as a team, and good things will happen.”