Orlando Magic coach Frank Vogel: Indiana will always be a 'special place'

INDIANAPOLIS —Frank Vogel discussed his return to Bankers Life Fieldhouse before Monday’s game against the Indiana Pacers and knew exactly where to go when his pregame news conference was finished.

“Hey, I remember this place,” Vogel said as he headed toward a pregame television interview.

Vogel, the coach of the Orlando Magic, was glad to reminisce about his six years as the Pacers coach, during which Indiana made consecutive appearances in the Eastern Conference finals. He smiled throughout his usual pregame routine as he met with several familiar faces.

“I’ll always feel like this is home,” Vogel said. “My daughters were raised here. It’s always going to be a special place to me.

Beyond returning to his former place of employment, Vogel said he was looking forward to the game, one that will feature two 4-6 teams. Throughout his time in Indiana, Vogel was well-received by Pacers fans. Vogel said he was eager to see the fans Monday.

The Pacers won in a rout, 88-69.

“We’ll see how that plays out tonight,” Vogel said on whether Pacers fans would applaud him. “My relationship with the fan base here is definitely very special to me. It was special every day I was the coach here. I saw it in the community; I saw the support. It was never more telling than when I was let go. That’s when people came up to me more than ever to thank me and tell me how much they appreciated the job that we did here when I was here. That won’t change. That’s going to be in place forever. I’ll forever be grateful. It’ll be neat to be in front of them all tonight. I guess I got to apologize in advance for trying to beat their team.”

Vogel said the Pacers and Magic are similar. The Magic have several new players trying to learn under Vogel. The Pacers, after promoting coach Nate McMillan in May to replace Vogel, have struggled to play cohesive defense.

“They’ve got a lot of offensive talent,” Vogel said of the Pacers. “And like ourselves in Orlando, they’ve got a lot of new faces and it’s going to take time to jell. Coach Nate is a great coach and (assistant) coach Dan Burke is great defensive mind. I’m sure they’re going to get the most out of this group. They’re going through the same growing pains we’re going through in Orlando.”

As a basketball fan (but maybe not as the opposing coach), Vogel liked that the Pacers' Paul George was playing.  George was questionable because of a sprained left ankle.

“Every time I go against P.G., it’s going to be special,” Vogel said. “This is a special guy to me with a special relationship. I wish him nothing but the best except when he’s playing against us.”

Vogel then paused and revealed his signature grin.

“I hope he stinks tonight,” he said.

Call IndyStar reporter Nate Taylor at (317) 444-6484. Follow him on Twitter: @ByNateTaylor.