NEW YORK — How did Frank Vogel get his start in coaching?
“That’s a long story you’re getting into there,” I was warned as I asked Vogel that question at the Pacers’ shootaround on Tuesday morning at MSG.
Indeed, it is.
Vogel, who finished a distant fifth in voting for Coach of the Year honors, isn’t a former NBA player.
He is, however, a former Division III, pre-med varsity point guard with a 2.6 GPA (“That was not going to get me into med school,” he told the Indiana Business Journal) who realized as a junior in college that his future didn’t belong in scrubs so much as it did in sneakers and shorts.
Hard work, passion and unwavering commitment, combined with serendipity, can be just enough – more than enough – to help someone reach their dreams.
When I cast my Coach of the Year vote for George Karl, I had no idea so many others would do the same.
We already know the winners of the Most Improved Player award, the Sixth Man Award and the Defensive Player of the Year. Rookie of the Year will be a runaway, as will MVP.
We ran a similar poll to this one a month ago, and Mike Woodson was the winner by a resounding margin.
This is one of the most difficult NBA postseason awards that one can be asked to vote upon, but vote upon it I will late Wednesday night when I cast my official ballot.
