I first met Dean Smith in of all places, the old gym at St. John’s.  I was there as a student with my college coach, Rodger Bearde of Wilkes University.  He was recruiting some of New York City’s best players.  Sitting in the stands watching the New York Catholic League playoff games was quite the thrill for this wide-eyed kid. The loudest person in our little section of the stands was this young Italian co ...

Heather Denton, the Pacers' Director of Player Relations, helps coordinates the players lives off the floor. Heather visits Denari's Den this week and shares how she assists the players, how they adjust to living in Indianapolis and how they integrate their families into the Pacers' family. ...

November 27, 2013 - Highlights from Mark Boyle's radio call of the Pacers' 99-74 win over the Charlotte Bobcats. ...

On this week's edition of Pacers Weekly, Pacers radio broadcaster Mark Boyle visits with former Pacers assistant and current Cleveland Cavaliers head coach Mike Brown. ...

Every year, the NBA invites me to participate in the process of determining the various league award winners, and every year I promised myself that it will be the last year I vote. I take this responsibility seriously, and unlike some that have votes, I am determined to vote objectively and without regard to team affiliation. I do offer this codicil: If I think the merits of two players (or coaches) are clo ...

I would be lying if I told you I didn’t like to be recognized for my work. I do. I’m in a performance industry, it takes considerable ego to do this type of work, and I don’t mind the occasional pat on the back. That said – and this might seem contradictory – I’ve never really cared for awards. That might not make sense to you, but I think there’s distinction between recognition and awards. Recognition, to ...

I despise exercising. Now, I do walk 20 miles a week, and two summers ago I traipsed 500 miles around Indiana to raise money for the Indiana Children’s Wish Fund, so it might seem like I enjoy it. But the truth is, unless I can see some sort of compelling reason to exercise – I walk the 20 miles weekly in the hope that it will help delay what I am assuming will be an ugly and inevitable physical demise – I ...

One of the reasons this is such a good place to work is that every once in a while, for no apparent reason, somebody does something to show that your work is appreciated. A few minutes after we finished our broadcast in New Orleans last Saturday night, I got an e-mail from Rob Laycock. Now, Pacers Sports and Entertainment is a big corporation, which means we have a bunch of fancy sounding titles we hand out ...

Photo: NBA.com Jim Durham passed away a few days ago, and for those of us that called him a friend and a colleague, it's a staggering blow. Jim was one of the greatest play-by-play broadcasters the NBA has ever known, and while that's impressive enough to stand alone as a reason to admire him, that's not the reason his passing is such a blow. After all, there are a lot of great play-by-play broadcasters in ...

I usually stay away from addressing basketball-related topics in this space, which is ironic given that this is, you know, a basketball-related website. Over the years, my basketball/Pacers-related observations have tended to meander from the center of the highway, and while I've never had an issue with our basketball people, the marketing people have a tendency to look at me the same way you might look at ...