Versace's record as head coach of the Pacers is not that bad.  His 'failure' was to not take them to the next level.  When he took over the Pacers in 1988-89, their record stood at a Grizzlie-like 6-23 .207.  He led them to finish the season at 22-31 .415. In his second year the Pacers got of to a 19-9 .679 start.  They cooled and finished the season at 42-40 and made the playoffs. The Pacers lost to the Detroit Pistons in the playoffs, who were on their way to their second straight NBA Championship. BTW Versace was Chuck Daly's lead assistant the year before when the Pistons won their first NBA Championship as part of their pre-Bull dynasty. The Pacers got off to a slow start the next season and Versace was fired after 25 games and replaced by Bob Hill. It appears Versace was given one full season as head coach and he made the playoffs that year.  In his first partial season Versace made an immediate improvement in the team's record.  It appears he wasn't given much of a chance in his 3rd season and was fired prematurely.  The Pacers did not go to the next level under Bob Hill and he was fired after the 1992-93 season and replaced by Larry Brown, who did take the Pacers to the next level, although not to an NBA Championship. Pacers Record

: Versace's record as head coach of the : Pacers is not that bad.  His 'failure' [snipped] Thanks for the research.  I was wondering the follwing two things (b/c I'm too lazy to look 'em up myself ) - what was Versace's record for those first 25 games, the year he was canned? - did he have personnel matters as part of his portfolio?  Is there any past showing of his (in?)ability to evaluate talent or make an effective trade? Thanks again. Jason

trade? He was the head coach only, but Pacer GM Donnie Walsh consulted him on trades/talent evaluation. The one concrete example that he is a poor talent evaluator that I have come across is in regard to Detlef Schrempf. When Walsh asked him for his opinion, he said Schrempf was a CNP (Can Not Play).  Walsh disregarded Versace's opinion and traded Herb Williams for Schrempf and a draft pick anyway and it turned out that Schrempf indeed could play. Although in Versace's defence, at the time Schrempf had done little to distinguish himself in 3 seasons or so as a Dallas Maverick.  And Donnie Walsh eventually traded Schrempf away to the Sonics where he really blossomed. Ruskie posted an article a month or so ago by an Indianapolis sportswriter that was very derogatory toward Versace.  It said that Versace struggled as a head coach and his legendary gaffes (as a coach) are too numerous to list here . And it said he was even worse as a talent evaluator , citing his Schrempf evaluation above as evidence of same. To-date I haven't been able to locate any evidence of Versace's coaching gaffes nor any other examples of his lack of ability as a talent evaluator. I made a cross-post with the Pacers NG a while back asking their members to shed some light on Versace for us, but to-date I haven't even had one response.  Either no one remembers him in the Pacers' NG, or worse, they may not want to dredge up bad memories. I have gathered that Versace is an opportunistic self-promoter, but then the same could be said about Pat Riley and Phil Jackson.  The worst example of his opportunism was when he was campaigning for Mike Dunleavy's head coaching job in Milwaukee. His gaffe was that Dunleavy hadn't been fired yet. There is little doubt that the word around the NBA on Versace is that he is an idiot. However, so far there appears to be little concrete evidence to support this opinion that I have been able to find. rojan