Indiana Pacers players backing Frank Vogel to take over as a coach – NBA Update
The Indiana Pacers roster has thrown its support behind Frank Vogel to get the head coaching job at the franchise.
Vogel, who took over as interim coach from Jim O’Brien in the mid season, has received backing from many player’s on the team. Vogel brought a drastic change to the playing philosophy of the Pacers from his very first game in charge
and led them to a 20 – 18 finish in the regular season, ensuring that they made it into the playoffs.
The Pacers then gave top seeded Chicago Bulls a tough time in their first round 4 – 1 playoffs loss. The team certainly came together under Vogel and he freshened up a lot of things to produce positive results.
Indiana’s centre Roy Hibbert, who is a particularly staunch supporter of Vogel, had this to say on the matter of him being given the job full time,
"I'll be happy if Frank gets picked," said Hibbert. "I've been with him since I was a rookie, so I hope he gets it. I understand that Larry's taking his time now, but I'm pulling for him (Vogel)."
The man who has to make the final decision though is Larry Bird, the President of Basketball operations at the Indian Pacers. The legendary former Boston Celtics forward had said earlier that Vogel was the favourite for the job.
At the end of the season, Bird paid a glowing tribute to Frank Vogel for his role in guiding the young Pacers team into the playoffs,
"I think Frank did an excellent job, stepping in without the experience of a head coaching job," Bird said. "The way he conducted himself, he brought positive energy to this team. We won more games than we lost. We did it with
a young team, a team that's trying to grow."
However, Bird did not mention a time frame for the final decision to be made. It has now been around a month since Indiana’s season ended and the coaching slot is still hanging in a limbo, raising concerns as to whether Vogel will
get the nod or not.
Frank Vogel made a lot of changes when he took over the team. The first was a fundamental shift in style as Vogel emphasized attacking the rim more as opposed to the perimeter offence the previous coach had favoured. The approach,
dubbed “smashmouth” basketball, helped the Pacers a lot and brought the best out of the squad.
Vogel also made changes to the line-up which showcased his trust in the youngster on the team. He moved both Paul George, a rookie, and Tyler Hansbrough, a second-year player, into the starting line-up. The youngsters responded
with polished performances for the Pacers.
The Indiana Pacers were reportedly interested in former Cleveland Cavaliers coach Mike Brown, but he has since taken the head coaching job at the Los Angeles Lakers. This has left Frank as the clear frontrunner for the Pacers job.
Vogel himself is calm and believes he made his case with the Pacers performances under him. Now it is up to the management to decide,
"It's really up to Larry and the front office," Vogel said. "Anytime you're making a decision as important as this, you never want to rush into it.”
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