http://www.indystar.com/article/2011...-keeping-Vogel
Here's my thought about Indiana Pacers interim coach Frank Vogel, and it's one I shared with team president Larry Bird before Friday night's victory over the Atlanta Hawks at Conseco Fieldhouse.
Vogel hasn't won the job, but he hasn't lost it, either.
Bird nodded.
"That's fair,'' he said before the Pacers moved to 20-16 under Vogel after being 17-27 under Jim O'Brien. "Whatever happens, he's going to get the first interview, and he's going to get the last interview. I've been very pleased with how he's handled a very difficult situation.''
Somewhere in the columnist's handbook, it's written that I'm supposed to tell the readership whether Vogel should be retained or told, "Thanks for the good work, now pack your bags.''
I'm not ready to make that judgment.
And I'm not sure Bird is ready to make the call yet, either.
Shoot, Bird isn't sure if he's coming back next year. So there are some moving parts here on the Vogel front:
First, Bird's status.
By now, he has earned the right to make his own call here. There have been hiccups (Shawne Williams?), but big picture, he has done what he said he was going to do: rebuild in a slow, disciplined way and add young pieces along the way.
I know, just 38 of 432 playoff teams since 1984 have reached the postseason with a sub-.500 record, and if Charlotte and Milwaukee had the seasons most people expected, the Pacers would be in lottery land. They've won only six games against teams that have qualified for the playoffs during this soft stretch under Vogel, and if they were in the West, they would be tied for 11th place.
But they're in the playoffs.
Good for them. Mission accomplished.
"We don't get a trophy, and I never thought I'd be happy as hell to get an eighth seed in the playoffs,'' Bird said. "But I am, especially for these young players.''
Bird said Friday, if the Pacers had not made the playoffs, he likely would have walked away.
Now, having made the playoffs, that decision is a bit more difficult. The basketball man inside him would love to take advantage of the team's favorable financial position he has helped forge through several difficult years. But there are family and personal issues in play.
"My wife's been in this for 30 years now,'' Bird said. "She's never told me she wants me to quit what I'm doing, but twice this year after really tough losses, she's asked me, 'Larry, why are you doing this?' She's never asked me that before.''
Whatever Bird chooses to do, he needs to do it expeditiously. The Pacers are heading into one of the most important and uncertain summers in their history, and the possible lockout complicates everything. If Bird is out, his replacement needs to get to work quickly on free agency, trades and deciding on a coach.
It only makes sense that if Bird stays, Vogel's retention chances are far greater.
Second, how does Vogel fare in the playoffs?
Look, they're not going to beat the top-seeded Chicago Bulls in a seven-game series. Most Pacers fans would be thrilled if Indiana could be competitive every night and maybe win a home playoff game.
But let's see what Vogel does in the postseason, when coaching and making adjustments are paramount. He can help his cause, and if his players truly want him back, they can help Vogel's cause here, too. If they get swept and blown out, retaining Vogel will be a hard sell.
However the first round plays out, the playoff appearance is a very good thing for a young team.
"Our young guys have no clue what they're getting themselves into, and we're playing one of the hottest teams (the Bulls) out there,'' Bird said. "But what an experience. I never thought it was like that. In 1980, I couldn't believe the atmosphere, the intensity of the playoffs, every possession. I went home that summer and said, 'You've got to get better.' "
Whatever happens with Vogel, whether he's retained next year or pushed aside for a bigger, more experienced name, he will always have this playoff chase on his resume.
And that's no small thing.
"This isn't about me,'' Vogel said Friday. "This is about our young players getting a taste of the playoffs. I'm happy for them.''
Bottom line is, Vogel took a reeling team and delivered on a promise to reach the postseason. In a short time, he changed the team's mind-set and he changed its style. Without the benefit of an offseason and a training camp, he altered the way the team played offense, veering away from the bombs-away style of O'Brien and installing a more physical brand of basketball.
More, though, he made this fragile young team feel good about itself.
Now, could he earn/demand its respect over the long term? Does he have the tough-guy chops to get in people's faces -- like Lance Stephenson, who was demoted to the fourth spot at point guard on the team's depth chart Saturday and needs to be put on the next train out of town? How much of this recent success was the result of the soft schedule and the fact the players were just so thrilled to be out from under O'Brien's thumb?
Vogel may not get the full-time job -- again, it's too soon to make that call -- but he has earned the right to sit in those interviews and be taken very, very seriously
Here's my thought about Indiana Pacers interim coach Frank Vogel, and it's one I shared with team president Larry Bird before Friday night's victory over the Atlanta Hawks at Conseco Fieldhouse.
Vogel hasn't won the job, but he hasn't lost it, either.
Bird nodded.
"That's fair,'' he said before the Pacers moved to 20-16 under Vogel after being 17-27 under Jim O'Brien. "Whatever happens, he's going to get the first interview, and he's going to get the last interview. I've been very pleased with how he's handled a very difficult situation.''
Somewhere in the columnist's handbook, it's written that I'm supposed to tell the readership whether Vogel should be retained or told, "Thanks for the good work, now pack your bags.''
I'm not ready to make that judgment.
And I'm not sure Bird is ready to make the call yet, either.
Shoot, Bird isn't sure if he's coming back next year. So there are some moving parts here on the Vogel front:
First, Bird's status.
By now, he has earned the right to make his own call here. There have been hiccups (Shawne Williams?), but big picture, he has done what he said he was going to do: rebuild in a slow, disciplined way and add young pieces along the way.
I know, just 38 of 432 playoff teams since 1984 have reached the postseason with a sub-.500 record, and if Charlotte and Milwaukee had the seasons most people expected, the Pacers would be in lottery land. They've won only six games against teams that have qualified for the playoffs during this soft stretch under Vogel, and if they were in the West, they would be tied for 11th place.
But they're in the playoffs.
Good for them. Mission accomplished.
"We don't get a trophy, and I never thought I'd be happy as hell to get an eighth seed in the playoffs,'' Bird said. "But I am, especially for these young players.''
Bird said Friday, if the Pacers had not made the playoffs, he likely would have walked away.
Now, having made the playoffs, that decision is a bit more difficult. The basketball man inside him would love to take advantage of the team's favorable financial position he has helped forge through several difficult years. But there are family and personal issues in play.
"My wife's been in this for 30 years now,'' Bird said. "She's never told me she wants me to quit what I'm doing, but twice this year after really tough losses, she's asked me, 'Larry, why are you doing this?' She's never asked me that before.''
Whatever Bird chooses to do, he needs to do it expeditiously. The Pacers are heading into one of the most important and uncertain summers in their history, and the possible lockout complicates everything. If Bird is out, his replacement needs to get to work quickly on free agency, trades and deciding on a coach.
It only makes sense that if Bird stays, Vogel's retention chances are far greater.
Second, how does Vogel fare in the playoffs?
Look, they're not going to beat the top-seeded Chicago Bulls in a seven-game series. Most Pacers fans would be thrilled if Indiana could be competitive every night and maybe win a home playoff game.
But let's see what Vogel does in the postseason, when coaching and making adjustments are paramount. He can help his cause, and if his players truly want him back, they can help Vogel's cause here, too. If they get swept and blown out, retaining Vogel will be a hard sell.
However the first round plays out, the playoff appearance is a very good thing for a young team.
"Our young guys have no clue what they're getting themselves into, and we're playing one of the hottest teams (the Bulls) out there,'' Bird said. "But what an experience. I never thought it was like that. In 1980, I couldn't believe the atmosphere, the intensity of the playoffs, every possession. I went home that summer and said, 'You've got to get better.' "
Whatever happens with Vogel, whether he's retained next year or pushed aside for a bigger, more experienced name, he will always have this playoff chase on his resume.
And that's no small thing.
"This isn't about me,'' Vogel said Friday. "This is about our young players getting a taste of the playoffs. I'm happy for them.''
Bottom line is, Vogel took a reeling team and delivered on a promise to reach the postseason. In a short time, he changed the team's mind-set and he changed its style. Without the benefit of an offseason and a training camp, he altered the way the team played offense, veering away from the bombs-away style of O'Brien and installing a more physical brand of basketball.
More, though, he made this fragile young team feel good about itself.
Now, could he earn/demand its respect over the long term? Does he have the tough-guy chops to get in people's faces -- like Lance Stephenson, who was demoted to the fourth spot at point guard on the team's depth chart Saturday and needs to be put on the next train out of town? How much of this recent success was the result of the soft schedule and the fact the players were just so thrilled to be out from under O'Brien's thumb?
Vogel may not get the full-time job -- again, it's too soon to make that call -- but he has earned the right to sit in those interviews and be taken very, very seriously
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