The Indiana Pacers' Frank Vogel entered the season with 38 games of head coaching experience.
Wednesday, Vogel learned he finished third in the NBA's Coach of the Year voting, trailing only the men who led their teams to the best records in their conferences.
San Antonio's Gregg Popovich won the award, while Chicago's Tom Thibodeau was second.
Vogel received seven first-place votes from the group of sportswriters and broadcasters.
This season, Vogel led the Pacers to their best winning percentage -- .636 -- since the 2003-04 season. At 42-24, the Pacers finished with the third-best record in the Eastern Conference and fifth best in the NBA.
Team President Larry Bird is the last Pacers coach to win the award, in 1998.
Hibbert an Olympian?
With a shortage of available big men, Pacers center Roy Hibbert would like the opportunity to play for Team USA in this summer's Olympics in London.
"It would be nice to be able to do something like that," Hibbert said. "I always said I wanted to play in the Olympics for the U.S. I played with Team Jamaica last year. Hopefully I can get a quick release. It would mean the world to me."
The list of big men for Team USA has gotten smaller because Orlando's Dwight Howard (back surgery) is out all summer. The Lakers' Andrew Bynum said he has no interest and Portland's LaMarcus Aldridge isn't playing because of a hip surgery.
Tough venue
Winning in Orlando has been difficult for the Pacers. They're 2-8 in their past 10 games there, with one of the wins coming in January when the Pacers shot 51 percent in a 106-85 victory.
Play to close
The "Magic/Bird" Broadway play about the lives of former Los Angeles Lakers star Magic Johnson and Bird, the Pacers president, will close May 12, the producers announced.
The run will have consisted of 23 preview performances and 38 regular performances.
Call Star reporter Mike Wells at (317) 444-6053.
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