Sport: Basketball
Born: June 21, 1973
Town: Wildwood Crest, New Jersey
Frank Paul Vogel was born June 21, 1973 in Wildwood Crest, NJ. He grew up in the Cape May County town and devoted himself mind and body to basketball. He was a solid ballhandler who was a few inches short and a step slow for Division I, but played well enough for Wildwood High School to draw interest from small-school recruiters. Frank’s first moment of basketball fame came on Late Night with David Letterman, when he spun a basketball on a toothbrush while brushing his teeth as part of the show’s Stupid Human Tricks segment. When Frank was 17, his family home was destroyed by fire but no one was injured. Still it was a life-changing trauma.
Frank attended Juniata College in Central Pennsylvania and played point guard on its D-3 varsity. Hoping to forge a career as a coach, he transferred to the University of Kentucky as a senior, enrolled in classes, and began hanging around Rick Pitino’s Wildcats, willing to do absolutely anything to get his foot in the door. He finally earned a job as student manager of the 1994–95 team. When Kentucky reinstituted the JV program the following year, Frank suited up again and played for the team. He continued to serve as student manager of the varsity as the Wildcats captured the 1996 national championship.
After graduation, Frank got a job with the Boston Celtics as video coordinator while Pitino coached there. Slowly but surely, worked his way up the pecking order until he became assistant coach in 2001–02. He filled the same role closer to home for the 76ers in 2004–05 and then became an advanced scout for the Lakers and Wizards. In 2007–08, Jim O’Brien, a fellow assistant during Frank’s time in Boston, was hired to coach the Indiana Pacers. O’Brien added Frank to his staff. Frank’s knowledge of the other teams in the league, and his focus on defensive strategy, made him a valuable addition to the staff.
The Pacers had a losing record in Frank’s first three seasons in Indiana. In 2010–11, O’Brien was shown the door in January and Frank was named interim head coach. The team was 17–27 when he took the reins and finished 20–18 to eke out a playoff berth. Unfortunately, Indiana ran into the Bulls during Derrick Rose’s MVP season and they ran over the Pacers in the first round, 4 games to 1. The solid finish earned Frank the permanent job in 2011–12. The Pacers went 42–24 in the lockout-shortened season and won their opening round playoff series against the Magic. In the conference semis, Indiana led LeBron James and the Heat 2 games to 1, but lost the next three games.
In 2012–13, the Pacers won the Central Division for the first time since 2004 and won taut playoffs series against the Hawks and Knicks to set up a rematch in the Conference Finals with the Heat. Indiana played LeBron & Co. tough again. After losing the opener by a point, the Pacers won three of the next five games—but couldn’t seal the deal in Game 7, as the Heat blew them out. In 2013–14, Frank guided his team to 56 victories and another division crown. In the playoffs, the Pacers handled the Heat and Wizards, but could not solve the Heat for the thirs season in a row.
The Pacers had their first losing season under Frank in 2014–15, as Paul George missed all but a handful of games, but got back on the winning track in 2015–16. However, a first-round loss to the Raptors marked the end of his time in Indiana. He left the club as its all-time leader in NBA wins. The Magic snapped up Frank as soon as the Pacers announced his contract would not be renewed. He suffered through two losing seasons with a young team and chaotic front office.
Following a year away from coaching, Frank was named head coach of the Los Angeles Lakers. The team featured LeBron James, Anthony Davis and a rough mix of veterans, subs and role players. Frank convinced the team that it would take a commitment to defense to go deep in the playoffs, and he got the buy-in he hoped for. However, this was the season that was paused due to the Covid-19 pandemic and then finished in a bubble in Florida. Just before the schedule shutdown, Frank was named as coach of Team LeBron as the Lakers had the best record in the West. They beat Team Giannis, 157–155.
Four months later, the season resumed and the Lakers began preparing for the playoffs. They went in hot and stayed hot, upending the Trail Blazers, Rockets and Nuggets to set up a Finals meeting with Frank’s old nemesis, the Miami Heat. This time, however, James was on his side. The Lakers won the championship, 4 games to 2. The season had lasted a year.
Not surprisingly, age and injury caught up with the Lakers after the long 2019–20 campaign. James and Davis missed significant time over the next two years and LA failed to make the playoffs. After two losing seasons, Frank was let go by the Lakers.
After a one-year hiatus, Frank was hired by the Phoenix Suns for the 2023–24 season.