Frank Vogel, the guy who got his start in the NBA as Rick Pitino’s video coordinator in Boston and climbed the ladder without being a former NBA player, has risen all the way to be a coach in the All-Star Game.
With the Pacers’ easy win Tuesday night, Vogel secures the spot as coach of the Eastern Conference for the All-Star Game Feb. 16 in New Orleans.
The spot goes to the coach of the team with the best record in the conference come Feb. 2, and the Pacers are 30-7. A coach cannot be selected two years in a row, which rules out Eric Spoelstra of the Heat. After those two, well, it’s a pretty big drop off record wise to Mike Budenholzer (Hawks) and Dwane Casey (Raptors). Vogel was basically a lock for weeks.
This will be Vogel’s first time coaching in the All-Star game. His opposing number will be the Western Conference coach whose team has the best record on Feb. 2 (except for Gregg Popovich, who did it last year and would rather be drinking wine somewhere else anyway).
