Frank Vogel named coach of Orlando Magic

May 20, 2016


The Orlando Magic have named Frank Vogel as the 13th head coach in franchise history, General Manager Rob Hennigan announced today.

“While we were conducting our search, it became very evident that Frank (Vogel) is a terrific fit for our organization,” said Hennigan. “He is a strong, hard-working and experienced leader, who will continue to instill smart, physical, unselfish and defensive-minded basketball in our group.  We welcome him into the Magic family, as we move forward in a positive direction.”

During the past five-plus seasons as a head coach with Indiana, Vogel, 42, guided the Pacers to the playoffs five times.  His Pacers earned two Central Division championships and two trips to the Eastern Conference Finals.

Vogel has an overall NBA regular season head coaching record of 250-181 (.580).  His 250 wins are the most for a Pacers head coach in the team’s NBA history.

On January 30, 2011, Vogel took over for Jim O’Brien and led Indiana to a 20-18 record and its first playoff berth in four seasons.  After falling to Chicago, the team with the NBA’s best regular season record, during the First Round of the playoffs, 4-1, he had his interim tag removed on July 6, 2011.

During the 2011-12 season, Vogel guided the Pacers to a 42-24 record (.636), the fifth-best record in the NBA, and finished third in voting for NBA Coach of the Year.  During the playoffs, the Pacers defeated Orlando during the First Round, 4-1, before falling to eventual NBA Champion Miami in the Eastern Conference Semifinals, 4-2.

In 2012-13, Indiana went 49-32 (.605) and captured the Central Division title for the first time since 2003-04.  During the postseason, the Pacers defeated Atlanta (4-2) and New York (4-2) to reach the Eastern Conference Finals, where they lost in seven games to Miami, who again went on to win the NBA title.

During the 2013-14 campaign, Indiana spent most of the regular season with the best record in the NBA.  The Pacers finished with a regular season record of 56-26 (.683), won their second straight Central Division crown and was the #1 seed in the Eastern Conference during the NBA Playoffs.  The 56 wins were the third-most in the franchise’s NBA history.  Indiana beat Atlanta (4-3) and Washington (4-2), before losing again to Miami during the Eastern Conference Finals, 4-2.  Vogel and his staff also earned coaching honors for the East during the 2014 NBA All-Star Game.

After failing to make the postseason in 2014-15, mostly due to a team ravaged by injuries (including the 76 games missed by NBA All-Star Paul George), Vogel and Indiana rebounded last season and posted a 45-37 record (.549).  He was named the NBA’s Eastern Conference Coach of the Month for the fourth time during his career in April 2016, after the Pacers went 6-1 during the month and secured the seventh seed in the East.  Indiana lost to Toronto during the First Round in a tough series that went seven games.

Vogel, who is entering his 20th season in the NBA, began his NBA career as the head video coordinator with Boston under Rick Pitino.  He stayed in that role from 1997-2001, before being named an assistant coach with the Celtics under O’Brien.  Vogel was also as an assistant coach under O’Brien in Philadelphia in 2004-05 and in Indiana for three-plus seasons (2007-11).  He also served as an advanced scout for the Los Angeles Lakers (2005-06) and Washington (2006-07).

By Staff of TheDailySportsHerald.com and news services

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