Coaching Staff HEAD COACH PACERS MEDIA GUIDE RICK CARLISLE

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2 HEAD COACH RICK CARLISLE Coaching Staff In his first three seasons as a head coach, Rick Carlisle won at least 50 games, including an NBAbest 61 games in the season. His best and most impressive coaching job, however, may have come in the season with a record. Carlisle, in his second year as coach of the Indiana Pacers, helped manage a season that turned out to be one of the NBA s most pleasant surprises instead of one of its biggest disappointments. After last year s season that included a trip to the Eastern Conference Finals, expectations were high for a team that was virtually intact from the season. But suspensions from the Nov. 19 incident at Detroit and injuries that started with training camp and continued through the end of the regular season resulted in players being out for more than 400 games. The projected starting lineup of Ron Artest, Jermaine O Neal, Jeff Foster, Jamaal Tinsley and Reggie Miller did not play one game together. It was that kind of year. Yet Carlisle never complained or made excuses. Using 30 different starting lineups (with 17 different players), he guided the Pacers to their eighth straight playoff appearance and to the second round of the playoffs in what Pacers CEO and President Donnie Walsh called, one of the best coaching jobs I ve ever seen in my career. That s a career that covers more than 40 years. That is saying something. On Sept. 2, 2003, Carlisle was named head coach of the Pacers. Larry Bird, Pacers President of Basketball Operations, knew what he was getting. I have a lot of confidence in him, said Bird. I feel pretty good about it, there s no question about that. I know what Rick is capable of doing. I ve known him since 1985, so in my heart I know he s the right man. I don t want to hear all the excuses, I just want to win basketball games. And that s what he s got to produce. Carlisle has done just that. In his first year as Pacers coach, Carlisle led the Pacers to the NBA s best record at 61-21, the most victories in franchise history, the best winning percentage in franchise history and the Central Division championship. Carlisle, who coached his first two years at Detroit, became the first coach since Pat Riley to win 50 games and division championships in his first three seasons as coach. He also led the Pacers to the 2004 Eastern Conference Finals. Finally, only four coaches in the history of the NBA have finished in the top five four straight years in Coach of the Year voting: Red Auerbach, Red Holzman, Jerry Sloan and Carlisle. Carlisle obviously didn t flinch from the expectations of Bird. A teammate of Bird s from when they played for the Boston Celtics, Carlisle was also on Bird s staff when he coached the Pacers from He knows his boss, he knows his expectations and Carlisle knows his own expectations. 42 It s pretty simple: win, he said. It s like that in every situation. Carlisle came to Indiana with two years of head coaching experience and he figured out the pretty simple formula in that time. In two years with Detroit, the Pistons were (.610) with two Central Division championships, one trip to the Eastern Conference Finals and a Coach of the Year honor for Carlisle in After the 2003 season, the Pistons released Carlisle and hired Larry Brown. When the Pacers coaching job opened in late July, the 46-year-old (10/27/59) Carlisle was at the top of Bird s list. Years ago, when I was working for Chuck Daly, he once said that the NBA was a business of dynamic change and great opportunity, said Carlisle. As I look back on the events of the summer of 2003, I ve never come so to grips with that statement. Things happen very quickly, very dynamically and in a life-changing fashion. So often, they lead to other great things. My situation in Detroit ended surprisingly and abruptly, but now this situation came before me very suddenly and it s obviously a great opportunity for me. It s a great honor for my wife, Donna, and I to be back in the great city of Indianapolis and the great state of Indiana. Having been part of the Pacers organization before, I have a sense of what basketball means here and we re very appreciative of that and appreciative of the opportunity to be back here. As an assistant coach with the Pacers, Carlisle was regarded as one of basketball s top young head coaching prospects. Carlisle began his coaching career in 1989 as an assistant with the New Jersey Nets. He spent five seasons in New Jersey, where he had the opportunity to work under Hall of Fame coaching legends Bill Fitch and Daly. Carlisle then moved on to Portland, where he spent three seasons as an assistant under P.J. Carlesimo before joining Bird s staff in the summer of Carlisle came to Indiana with a strong reputation in the areas of player development and opponent preparation. As an assistant coach, he assumed the role of offensive coordinator and in the season, he guided the Pacers to the top five in several of the NBA s major offensive statistical categories, and was a key contributor to the Pacers best season ever. Carlisle began his NBA career as the only rookie to make the Boston Celtics in He played three years in Boston and was a member of the 1986 World Championship team, which was led by Bird. Carlisle enjoyed his best season as a pro that year when he averaged 2.6 points, 1.4 assists and 1.0 rebounds in 77 games. He then played one year with the New York Knicks under Head Coach Rick Pitino before moving onto New Jersey, where he played briefly for Fitch before being offered an assistant coaching position with the Nets. Collegiately, Carlisle played two years at the University of Maine before transferring to the University of Virginia, where he was cocaptain of the Cavaliers 1984 Final Four team. A native of Ogdensburg, N.Y. he graduated in 1984 with a BA in psychology from Virginia. Rick, and his wife, Donna, have a daughter, Abigail (Abby) Claire. Carlisle s interests off the court include golf, piano and spending time with family, which includes two dogs, Moe Norman and Zoe PACERS MEDIA GUIDE

3 COACHES DAN BURKE Dan Burke is in his 17th year in professional basketball and his ninth season with the Pacers. This season marks the second on the bench and an increase in duties for Burke as an assistant coach. The previous six seasons, Burke had served as assistant coach and scouting director. Prior to joining the Pacers, Burke spent eight years with the Portland Trail Blazers ( ) as video coordinator and scout. The 46-year-old (4/3/59) has a strong reputation in the area of opponent preparation. In his 16 years, he has been fortunate to learn from a variety of successful coaches. He spent three seasons working on Larry Bird s staff and has worked five seasons under Rick Adelman and three seasons under both Isiah Thomas and P.J. Carlesimo. This will be his 8th season working alongside Rick Carlisle. Born in Lynwood, Calif., Burke calls Sherwood, Ore., home. He graduated from Portland State with a BS in history and in social science. He enjoys time with his family, various outdoor activities, fishing, and reading. Burke is married to Peggy and they have two daughters, Melissa and Lindsey. CHAD FORCIER Chad Forcier is in his third season with the Pacers and Coach Rick Carlisle s staff after working with Carlisle in Detroit the two seasons he was there. Prior to his arrival in Detroit, Forcier spent four years coaching at the college level (Oregon State University and University of Portland ). Forcier began his career in 1992 as an intern and then special assistant for the Seattle SuperSonics. The highlight of his five seasons working under George Karl, was a trip to the 1996 NBA Finals. Forcier also spent three years as a varsity assistant and junior varsity head coach at Lake Washington High School in Kirkland, Wash., before beginning his college coaching career. The 32-year-old (2/21/73) Forcier is a 1995 graduate of Seattle Pacific University and comes from a coaching family. His brother, Todd, is the strength and conditioning coach for the Syracuse University men s basketball team. His sister, Jade Hayes, is the head girl s basketball coach at Life Christian High School in Tacoma, Wash. Forcier and his wife, Kim, have a 2-year-old daughter, Ellie. KEVIN O NEILL Kevin O Neill is in his second season as an assistant coach with the Pacers. O Neill was an assistant coach to Carlisle for two seasons ( , ) in Detroit as the Pistons posted back-to-back 50-win seasons and established themselves as one of the premier defensive teams in the NBA. Prior to the season, the two good friends went separate ways as Carlisle was named the head coach of the Pacers and O Neill became coach of the Raptors. Prior to joining Carlisle in Detroit, O Neill was an assistant coach to Jeff Van Gundy with the New York Knicks. The 48-year-old (1/24/57) came to the NBA after 14 years as a college head coach with stops at North County Community College (Saranac, N.Y.), Marycrest College (Davenport, Iowa), Marquette, Tennessee and Northwestern. At Marquette, O Neill had an record, his last two seasons. He earned Great Midwest Conference Coach of the Year in 1993 and 1994 as his teams led the nation in defensive field goal percentage. His 1994 team was the Great Midwest Conference champion and reached the Sweet 16 of the NCAA tournament. From , O Neill was head coach at Tennessee and within two seasons took a team that had won five games to the National Invitation Tournament. O Neill then coached at Northwestern for three seasons (leading the Wildcats to only the third postseason tournament appearance, the 1999 NIT) before starting his NBA coaching career. A native of Chateaugay, New York, O Neill attended McGill University in Montreal where he received a bachelor s degree in education in He was a three-year letterman for the Redmen basketball team, leading the squad to a 28-5 mark during his sophomore season. He also received his master s degree in secondary education from Marycrest College in O Neill has one son, Sean, and resides in upstate New York in the offseason. CHUCK PERSON Chuck Person is in his first year as a Pacers assistant coach after spending the last two years as a Special Assistant to the Basketball Division for the franchise, working with Pacers players and Indiana Fever players, both on and off the court. Person was the Pacers firstround draft choice (fourth overall) in the 1986 NBA draft. After averaging 18.8 points and 8.3 rebounds that season, he was named Rookie of the Year. Person spent six seasons with the Pacers and ranks ninth on the team s all-time scoring list with 9,096 points. Person also played for Minnesota, San Antonio, Charlotte and Seattle in his 14-year NBA career. A native of Brantley, Alabama, Person attended Auburn University where he was the school s all-time leading scorer. The 41-year-old (6/27/64) Person is married to Carmen and together they have six children: Millicent, Tiffany, Chuck, Niketta, Raven and Jasmine. His hobbies include softball and tennis PACERS MEDIA GUIDE 43

4 BASKETBALL STAFF JOE ASH DIRECTOR OF SCOUTING / TO PRESIDENT OF BASKETBALL OPERATIONS Joe Ash begins his third season with the Pacers and brings years of basketball experience to President of Basketball Operations Larry Bird s staff. In his role, Ash is responsible for all aspects of scouting for the Pacers, including college, professional, free agent and international scouting. He also assists Bird in organizing, preparing and carrying out the NBA Draft. Ash is a graduate of the University of Nebraska with bachelor s and master s degrees. After graduation, he spent 11 years coaching high school basketball in Nebraska, Iowa and New Jersey, where he won two Coach of the Year awards. From there, Ash spent five seasons as an assistant coach at William Patterson College in New Jersey, helping with scouting and recruiting there. After organizing and directing a college team scouting service, Ash moved on to the NBA as a scout working for the Philadelphia 76ers for five seasons, the Charlotte Hornets for three seasons and the Houston Rockets for 11 seasons. He also has vast international scouting experience, having visited more than 25 countries in his career. Ash and his wife, Pat, are natives of New Jersey and have three children, Joe Jr., Debbie and Karen. JOSH CORBEIL HEAD PHYSICAL THERAPIST/ATHLETIC TRAINER Josh Corbeil enters his first season as the Head Physical Therapist/ Athletic Trainer for the Pacers. Last season, his first with the Pacers, he served as the Physical Therapist/Assistant Trainer. Corbeil graduated from Boston University in 2000 with a bachelor's of science degree in health studies and 2002 with a master s in physical therapy. Corbeil then gained his Athletic Training Certification as an intern with the Boston Celtics for three seasons, while working as a physical therapist at Pro Sports Therapy in Waltham, Mass. In addition to being a licensed physical therapist and licensed athletic trainer, Corbeil is also a certified strength and conditioning specialist and performance enhancement specialist. MEL DANIELS DIRECTOR OF PLAYER PERSONNEL Mel Daniels has 25 seasons experience as part of the Pacers' basketball staff and, again, has provided his keen, no-nonsense, approach to basketball talent. The former two-time American Basketball Association MVP (1969, 1971), and the ABA's first Rookie of the Year (1968), averaged 19.5 points and 15.9 rebounds a contest from 1968 to 1974 for the Pacers. He was a four-time all-aba selection, being named to the first team in 1969, 1970 and 1971 and the second-team in He was also the ABA All-Star Game MVP in He is the ABA Pacers' all-time leading rebounder (7,643) and also holds the Pacers' ABA record for rebounds in a single season (1,475 in ). On March 18, 1969 vs. the New York Nets, he had 37 points and 26 rebounds in the second half; both club ABA records, ending the game with 56 points and 31 boards. In that game he also set Pacers' ABA records for most two-point field goals in a quarter (10), half (16) and game (25). His No. 34 has been retired by the Pacers; he has been honored on the Pacers Wall of Fame and in 1999 was named one of the 50 greatest players to have played in Indiana. A Detroit native, Daniels was an assistant coach at Indiana State from and was part of ISU's 33-1 NCAA championship runner-up team in Former Sycamore star, and former Pacers' coach, Larry Bird, credits Daniels with preparing him for the NBA. Daniels who has been an assistant coach and scout for the Pacers, is an avid horseman. He and his wife, CeCe, live in Sheridan, Ind., at the Circle M Ranch. He lists his favorite horses as At Ease, Keep, Eddie s Webb and Sauce PACERS MEDIA GUIDE

5 BASKETBALL STAFF CORY BURNETT RYAN CARR VANCE CATLIN SONYA CLUTINGER ADMINISTRATIVE SCOUT VIDEO COORDINATOR MANAGER/ BASKETBALL ADMINISTRATION CARL EATON GEORGE FELTON KEVIN MACKEY RON OLIVER SCOUT SCOUT VIDEO COORDINATOR/ ATHLETIC TRAINER ADVANCE SCOUT MISHO OSTARCEVIC ALEXSANDAR PAJOVIC JIMMY POWELL JOE QATATO SCOUT SCOUT ADVANCE SCOUT/ EQUIPMENT MANAGER COACH SHAWN WINDLE STRENGTH AND CONDITIONING COACH/ ATHLETIC TRAINER HANSEN WONG VIDEO COORDINATOR PACERS MEDIA GUIDE 45