Fieldhouse Files: Scott Agness on the Indiana Pacers

On this episode, I’m joined by Lauren Roa, the senior director of merchandising and retail, to discuss the Pacers Team Store and the new City Edition Mixtape Uniform — from concept to on the court and in her store. She’s now on her sixth season in this role. Among the items discussed on this episode: Newly-renovated team store at Gainbridge Fieldhouse, which is open Monday-Saturday 12-5 p.m,...

On this episode, I go solo from the road ... and share my thoughts on the Pacers' 3-7 start, the unfavorable schedule, what's up with home games, a cautious ramp up for Caris LeVert, plenty of injury updates, and why all the talk about the Wilson basketball? ----- For great Pacers tickets, visit OnlyIndyTickets.com . They have great tickets for terrific prices for every game on the schedule....

J. Michael Falgoust spent the last three years covering the Pacers for the Indianapolis Star, but he recently departed to become the sports editor at the Orlando Sentinel, where he got his start in the business. He discussed his new role, then we got into the craft of beat reporting, how it's often misunderstood — and then covered his time in Indy writing about the team. ----- Podcast listene...

Eddie White knows everybody and has an enthusiasm for life you have to appreciate. He once hosted a daily sports talk show in Indy, and now continues to host the Pacers postgame radio show. On this episode, we talked about the Pacers' opening-night loss in Charlotte, Chris Duarte shining, renovations to Gainbridge Fieldhouse and why he enjoys being on the air after each game. ----- Podcast listene...

On this episode, we discuss his game prep, what they have in store on Bally Sports Indiana, what he's observed in camp practices, rookie Isaiah Jackson's development, the need for a huge improvement defensively, a rough schedule to start the season and how the 2020 season was just finishing one year ago... ----- FieldhouseFiles.com is the home for all my stories. Sign up and follow along for compl...

A new season is here. Within the last week, The Fieldhouse was renamed, opened to full capacity and the Pacers completed six practices. Before preseason games, I shared my observations from camp, highlighted a few new things and then brought Jeff Stotts of InStreetClothes.com on to discuss the three players sitting out due to injuries: LeVert, Warren and Sumner. ----- FieldhouseFiles.com is the ho...

It was sooo good to be back. Summer League in Las Vegas returned and I had a productive time last month. On this episode, I talked about what it was like covering the team and shared some observations, then The Athletic's Senior NBA Writer Sam Amick joined to discuss his experience, the Pacers' failed experiment with Nate Bjorkgren, Rick Carlisle replacing him, how small-market teams can compete &...

I covered a lot of ground on this episode. ... Updates on a couple players spending time in other countries, thoughts on the Bucks' title, the Pacers' impressive coaching staff and their responsibilities, Lloyd Pierce wins gold with Team USA, a few other hires, Brogdon leading a player mini-camp in LA, Chris Duarte and Isaiah Jackson added in the draft, re-signing T.J. McConnell, a funny story abo...

Rick Carlisle has worked quickly to fill out his staff, and he's hired Lloyd Pierce as his top assistant. Pierce, 45, was the Hawks head coach for two and half years, going 63-120 in 183 games. He was replaced midseason by Nate McMillan, who pushed them to the conference finals. Chris Kirschner of The Athletic joins to talk about Pierce, a breakdown in relationships and where he needs to improve....

The Pacers held a Zoom press conference on the final day of June to reintroduce Rick Carlisle to media and fans. From his home in South Carolina, he spoke for nearly an hour and touched on a little bit of everything. On this episode, you'll hear his opening remarks and then Tim MacMahon from ESPN joins. He's in Dallas, covered Rick for the last decade and offers a ton of insight. ----- FieldhouseF...

The Pacers made a huge hire Thursday, agreeing to a four-year deal with Rick Carlisle to become the head coach for a second time. Here are my thoughts on the course correction, Carlisle arriving with instant credibility and the significant investment from ownership. ----- FieldhouseFiles.com is the home for all my stories. Sign up and follow along for complete Pacers coverage. Follow Scott on Twit...

The Pacers got contributions from all over to beat the Hornets 144-117 and keep their season alive. They play the Wizards Thursday at 8pm; it's their third meeting in 18 days. I talked about the Pacers' play-in victory and then looked ahead to Thursday's elimination game with Fred Katz, Wizards beat reporter for The Athletic. (The winner becomes the 8-seed and faces the 76ers.) ----- FieldhouseFil...

The Pacers (34-38) finished one game ahead of the Hornets (33-39) and thus host their play-in game Tuesday at 6:30pm ET. The Pacers' injury list is long and they went 1-2 vs the Hornets this season. Rod Boone covers them for SI and joined me to look ahead to this must-win game. ----- FieldhouseFiles.com is the home for all my stories. Sign up and follow along for complete Pacers coverage. Follow S...

Tamika Catchings had a remarkable basketball career, winning at every level. She's a first ballot Hall of Famer. She played her entire professional career with the Fever and has called Indianapolis home since being drafted by the team in 2001. On this podcast, I go 1-on-1 with Catch before enshrinement weekend in Connecticut, the influence of her presenters (Alonzo Mourning and Dawn Staley), what...

Pat Boylan is in his seventh season on the Pacers Radio Network, serving as the sideline reporter and studio host. We discussed how our jobs in media are different this season due to the pandemic, the passing of Hall of Famer Slick Leonard, filling in for Mark Boyle on play-by-play and how Pacers broadcasters started their own gameday shootaround. ----- FieldhouseFiles.com is the home for all my s...

The Pacers are 27-31 and on the outside of the playoff picture with 14 games remaining. Injuries are piling up, they're getting handled in 4th quarters and the team is underachieving. Derek Schultz, co-host of "Query & Schultz," joins me to discuss their relevance locally and the challenge to even watch games, the offseason coaching change and then Derek shares why they can't simply run it bac...

David Craig knows Slick Leonard better than most. He was the Pacers athletic trainer for 35 years and while Slick was the coach, they were roommates on the road. Craig shares stories of Slick, how he gave money to those in need, how he was fiery during games and then required players to stop by The Pub after games. You'll enjoy this one... Click here for my breaking news story on him passing . And...

Indiana lost an icon Tuesday morning. Bobby "Slick" Leonard passed away in his sleep; he was 88. He lived a joyful, fulfilling life with his wife Nancy by his side for 66 years. ... I'll share my thoughts, a few highlights from my interviews with him and then Mark Montieth joins for an in-depth conversation on Slick, who was beloved by all. Click here for my breaking news story on him passing . An...

Bankers Life Fieldhouse hosted 43 games in 40 days, and Indianapolis served as the only host of the entire NCAA men's basketball tournament. Chris Gahl is the Senior VP of Marketing & Communications with Visit Indy, an organization tasked with bringing events to town. Gahl discusses how the city is coming alive again, being the envy of other cities that see how Indy is getting it done, shiftin...

Butler basketball coach LaVall Jordan coached Caris LeVert for four seasons while an assistant coach at the University of Michigan (2012-16). Jordan discusses UM getting in late with LeVert, how he developed into one of the best players in the country and simply loves to hoop. We also touched on these unusual times — which doesn't allow for LeVert to visit Butler practice or for them to even...

Pacers rookie Cassius Stanley is one of three contestants in the 2021 All-Star slam dunk contest in Atlanta and the first-ever player invited who's on a two-way contract. He's spent the five weeks away from the Pacers in the G League bubble. He discusses the invitation, weighing the pros and cons, reaching out to two former Pacers who were in the event, his passion for the dunk contest and how he'...

Donnie Walsh was the longtime architect of the Indiana Pacers. He first joined the franchise in 1984 as an assistant coach, but coaching wasn't his end game. He earned a law degree and wanted to run a franchise — and two years later, he became general manager. On Dec. 30, 2020, Donnie Walsh he finalized his decision to retire after giving his life to the game. This is his first extensive inte...

It's Feb. 12 and Indy should be buzzing with thousands of guests from across the world. But the pandemic interrupted plans for Indy to host the 2021 NBA All-Star game. Rick Fuson, the President and COO of Pacers Sports & Entertainment, is my guest this week to discuss what was supposed to be Indy's weekend, when they knew it would all be moved and how volunteers are helping out with the NCAA m...

Sarah Kustok is part of the NBA's best local TV broadcast, serving as the Nets game analyst on the YES Network. She's covered the Nets since 2012 and was there when Caris LeVert joined the franchise in 2016. Since the Pacers acquired LeVert in a four-team trade, the first call I made was to Kustok to learn even more about what the Pacers were getting. “I don’t even think he’s scratched the surface...

This is a news-packed episode of the Fieldhouse Files. I start off with updates on my own work, then get into the Victor Oladipo-Caris LeVert trade, the discovery of a small mass on LeVert's kidney, Myles Turner's right hand and other news. ... Then, listen to Pacers president Kevin Pritchard's full conversation with reporters on LeVert's health and why they chose NOT to void the trade. ----- Fiel...