Bauman: How Frank Vogel, a Rick Pitino disciple, became Pacers head coach

“The power of belief and how to instill confidence in your players,” stated Vogel, beginning to cite Pitino for his mentorship. “Relentless work ethic – that’s one of the things that drew me to him. I didn’t want a part-time position. I wanted almost an obsession with working at this game, competing. So the passion to work that hard and how to work that hard combined with the positive energy.

“Instilling confidence, instilling belief approach.”

Does that last line seem familiar with the Pacers these last three seasons?

They weren’t supposed to give the No. 1-seeded Bulls any trouble in 2011, but they did.

They took a 2-1 lead on the Heat in last year’s conference semi-finals.

And they’ve already shown great resolve this postseason by winning three road playoff games in a row before last night’s second half letdown against the Knicks.

“He’s just so into the game,” said reserve guard D.J. Augustin. “He’s very good to the players. We believe in what he talks about. He makes us believe and that’s what’s been going on during these playoffs. He keeps making us believe and believe in ourselves. Everything is really detailed so when we go out there, it’s not cloudy or anything. He tells us exactly what we need to do to win and if we do what he tells us to do, we win.”

“He’s a great coach,” endorsed Lance Stephenson, who has continued to improve in his third season in the league. “He believes in me at the NBA level. He puts me in positions where I can succeed in the game. He’s just a smart coach. He pushes everyone and he’s always prepared for the game. He gets us prepared in the right way. He knows how to be there for players and knows what it takes. He puts them in the right position to succeed.”

If there’s anything that I’d bet, it’s that Indiana comes out ready to play at home during Games 3 and 4 at Bankers Life Fieldhouse. Just because they let one game get away from them on the road (or two, as was the case during the Atlanta series in the first round), doesn’t mean Vogel and staff won’t make adjustments, criticize his players for the good of the team, and then pick them back up so they feel good about themselves heading into Game 3 on Friday evening.

Well-rounded

If you weren’t a player in the NBA, it’s a difficult task to get your break at the NBA level.

In order to be ready for the opportunity, you’ve got to know the game from multiple vantage points.

In 1997, Pitino brought Vogel with him to the Boston Celtics, where he served as video coordinator through 2001, and as an assistant coach until 2004. After a year as an assistant with the 76ers, Vogel then was an advance scout for the Los Angeles Lakers and Washington Wizards for two seasons until 2007, when he was hired onto Jim O’Brien’s staff in Indianapolis.

“Rick told me before I ever got into that [advance scouting] that if you’re ever going to be a great leader, you’ve got to have a great foundation,” explained Vogel. “The more roles you can work in, the more you understand how it all fits together. I learned that inside and out. Being a scout just allowed me to see that end of it and had me stay in the game. When you lose your job as an assistant coach in this league, there’s no guarantees that you’re going to get another job.”

[PAUL GEORGE’S IMPROVED JUMPER KEYS INDIANA’S 1-0 LEAD ]

Calm and cool demeanor

For as intensely obsessed with basketball as Vogel is, he’s an extremely calm coach on the sidelines relative to many other coaches.

Here’s an excerpt from Mark Montieth, who covers the Pacers for NBA.com:

One of the primary traits Pacers coach Frank Vogel exhibits, for example, is a consistently cheerful and patient demeanor. George Hill recently poked fun at it, saying the players sometimes have to stifle laughter when Vogel yells at them “because he’s such a nice guy.” Vogel’s personality, however, appears to be a major asset toward keeping him and his players calm throughout the stressful moments of a season.

“My DNA,” he said. “Me and my brother are the same exact way. Our wives joke amongst themselves that it doesn’t matter what they do, if they even try to be bitchy, nothing bothers even bothers us and it drives them crazy.”

At the NBA leve,l Vogel believes it helps to be even-keeled, which sets a good tone for the players to look up to.

“I think it works for me,” he said. “Every coach has got to coach to their personality and that’s my personality. I think it does help to have that sort of demeanor at this level, both with handling the emotions of your players and with the officials and the emotions of the game.”

Jeremy Bauman is an aspiring shooting coach and scout who writes columns and blogs for SheridanHoops.com. Follow him on Twitter.