>> AN INTERESTING STORY ABOUT NEW INDIANA PACERS HEAD COACH NATE THAT MANY HOOSIERS CAN RELATE TO. THE BASKETBALL GOAL
WHERE HE SHOT HOOPS AND DREAMED OF LANDING IN THE NBA STILL SITS ON THE GARAGE AT HIS PARENTS' STORM LAKE, IOWA HOME.
BJORKGREN. DID MAKE IT TO THE PROS, NOT AS A PLAYER, BUT AS A COACH. INDEED, IN A STEADY CLIMB FROM
HUMBLE BEGINNINGS AS A HIGH SCHOOL COACH IN HIS NATIVE IOWA, TO THE NBA'S G-LEAGUE, TO WINNING A CHAMPIONSHIP RING AS
AN ASSISTANT WITH TORONTO RAPTORS, NATE BJORKGREN NOW BRINGS HIS ACCUMULATED SKILLS TO THE INDIANA PACERS.
INTRODUCTION INSIDE INDIANA SPORTS. BILL. >> GERRY, THANK YOU. AS PACERS'
PRESIDENT OF BASKETBALL KEVIN PRITCHARD AND GENERAL MANAGER CHAD BUCHANAN EMBARKED ON A DILIGENT SEARCH FOR THE NEXT
PACERS COACH, NATE BJORKGREN'S NAME WAS NOT AMONG THOSE WHO SURFACED. BUT AFTER HE WAS ANNOUNCED, THE REACTION HAS BEEN
OVERWHELMINGLY POSITIVE, AND PRITCHARD AND BUCHANAN MADE IT EXCEEDINGLY CLEAR THAT BJORKGREN HAD CLEARLY ELEVATED HIMSELF
DURING THE INTERVIEW PROCESS. AND THE NEW PACERS COACH JOINS US ON THE SHOW. NATE, WELCOME AND THANKS FOR
MAKING TIME. >> THANKS FOR HAVING ME, EVERYBODY. >> WELL, SOME OF THE THEMES, AND
AGAIN, EVERYBODY SAID THAT DURING THE INTERVIEW PROCESS, YOU CAME OUT WITH SOME THEMES THAT REALLY CLEARLY ELEVATED
YOU, TALK ABOUT GENERALLY WHAT YOU TRIED TO EMPHASIZE DURING THAT INTERVIEW PROCESS, NATE. >> YEAH, IT WAS A VERY GOOD
INTERVIEW PROCESS. IT LASTED NEARLY A MONTH. STARTED WITH A ZOOM CALL, PROBABLY AN HOUR AND 15 MINUTES THERE. VERY GOOD
CONVERSATION, HAD GOOD FLOW, GOOD RHYTHM. THEN A FEW HOURS LATER I GOT INVITED BACK TO AN IN-PERSON INTERVIEW IN
INDIANAPOLIS, WHICH WAS A SUNDAY EVENING, AND AN ALL-DAY MONDAY EVENT. AND THEN ALL THE WAY UP TO THE PHONE CALL FOR WHEN I GOT
THE JOB. BUT EVERY PART OF THAT INTERVIEW PROCESS WAS VERY IMPORTANT. I ENJOYED THE BASKETBALL CONVERSATIONS I HAD
WITH CHAD AND KELLEY AND KEVIN PRITCHARD. VERY GOOD CONVERSATIONS. THERE WAS A LOT -- SO MANY GOOD COACHES OUT
THERE, SO MANY. BUT I THINK THEY MIGHT HAVE LIKED THE CREATIVITY AND THE MANAGEMENT OF THE TEAM, AND THEORIES ON OFFENSE AND
DEFENSE AND HOW WE WANT TO BE VERY DISRUPTIVE ON BOTH ENDS OF THE FLOOR. SO, THOSE ARE THE IDEAS THAT WE TALKED MOST ON,
AND I BELIEVE THOSE ARE THE IDEAS THAT I SHARED ARE WHY IT'S AN HONOR TO BE THE HEAD COACH OF THE INDIANA PACERS.
>> AND YOU COME AS AN ASSISTANT IN THE MBA, BUT YOU'VE HAD HEAD COACHING EXPERIENCE WITH FOUR DIFFERENT TEAMS IN THE G LEAGUE,
THAT IS WHERE YOU MET NATE NURSE WHO YOU EVENTUALLY HOOKED UP WITH IN TORONTO AND ONE CHAMPIONSHIP THERE. TALK ABOUT
YOUR G LEAGUE AND YOUR -- >> THE COACH GAVE ME MY FIRST OPPORTUNITY 14 YEARS AGO AS A VOLUNTEER ASSISTANT, WHICH WAS
THEN THE D LEAGUE. WAS WITH AN EXPANSION TEAM CALLED THE IOWA ENERGY. AND WE DID, WE SPENT MANY HOURS, MANY DAYS TOGETHER,
WE'VE COACHED A LOT OF GAMES TOGETHER. I'VE LEARNED AN AWFUL LOT FROM HIM. AND I WAS HIS ASSISTANT COACH FOR FOUR YEARS
THERE IN THE D LEAGUE. THEN THE NEXT FOUR YEARS, I SERVED AS A HEAD COACH, I WAS HEAD COACH OF THE DAKOTA WIZARDS, THE SANTA
CRUZ WARRIORS. ALL FOUR OF THOSE SPOTS DURING MY HEAD COACHING TIME THERE WERE VERY MEMORABLE, VERY MEMORABLE FOR MY FAMILY,
FOR MYSELF, THE PLAYERS THAT I COACHED, IT WAS, YOU KNOW, MINOR LEAGUE BASKETBALL IS A LOT OF FUN TO COACH IN, TO DEVELOP YOUR
OWN PHILOSOPHIES AS A COACH. THINGS CHANGE SO FREQUENTLY, YOU HAVE TWO GUYS GET CALLED UP, ONE GUY GETS TRADED, ONE GUY GOES
OVERSEAS, SO YOUR ROSTER CHANGES CONSTANTLY, SO IT REALLY PREPARES YOU AS A COACH FOR WHEN YOU GET OPPORTUNITIES LIKE THIS
AT THE NEXT LEVEL. >> TALK ABOUT -- THERE'S A SAYING HERE, IN 49 STATES, JUST BASKETBALL, THIS IS INDIANA, I
KNOW YOU ADDRESSED THAT IN YOUR INITIAL PRESS CONFERENCE. BUT, INDIANA BASKETBALL IS A VERY KIND OF SACRED THING.
>> VERY MUCH SO. MY DAUGHTER'S IN 5th GRADE, MY SON 2nd GRADE, THEY ARE VERY EXCITED TO BE A PART OF IT. THE GREAT HIGH
SCHOOL BASKETBALL IN THE STATE OF INDIANA, THE GREAT COLLEGE BASKETBALL, AND OF COURSE, THE INDIANA PACERS, WE ARE, MYSELF,
MY WIFE, MY CHILDREN, THEY'RE EXCITED TO BE IN THE PUBLIC SCHOOL SYSTEM, TO BE A PART OF THE HIGH SCHOOL RIVALRIES, AND
MYSELF, OR IF I CAN'T TAKE THEM TO GAMES, MY WIFE WILL TAKE THEM TO THE GREAT HIGH SCHOOL BOYS AND GIRLS BASKETBALL GAMES THAT
TAKE PLACE IN THIS STATE. IT IS GOING TO BE A LOT OF FUN FOR MY FAMILY TO EXPERIENCE AND FOR US AS MY FAMILY TO MEET THE GREAT
PEOPLE IN THIS STATE, THE GREAT PACER FANS EVERYWHERE. >> AS WE WRAP UP, JUST ABOUT 45 SECONDS LEFT. TALK BRIEFLY, IF
YOU COULD, ABOUT THE CONVERSATIONS YOU'VE HAD SO FAR WITH THE PLAYERS THAT ARE COMING TO YOUR ROSTER HERE SOONER
HOPEFULLY THAN LATER. >> VERY POSITIVE. I'VE TALKED TO THEM ALL MULTIPLE TIMES, TEXT THEM ALL MULTIPLE TIMES, SEEN
SOME OF THEM. SO, IT'S A GREAT GROUP. NOT ONLY ARE THEY GREAT BASKETBALL PLAYERS, THEY'RE EVEN BETTER PEOPLE, THEY'RE EVEN
SMARTER PEOPLE. SO THIS IS A TEAM THAT'S VERY INTELLIGENT, THAT PLAYS HARD, THEY'RE READY FOR DISRUPTIVE STYLE OF PLAY. WE
CONTINUE TO TALK ABOUT. AND I AM LOOKING FORWARD TO COACHING THEM, BUT EVEN TO GET TO KNOW THEM MORE AND MORE AND THEIR
FAMILIES AND THEIR LIVES. IT'S BEEN A LOT OF FUN. >> NATE, WE CERTAINLY APPRECIATE YOU MAKING THE TIME. WE CAN'T
WAIT TO SEE YOU HERE IN INDIANA, WE CAN'T WAIT FOR THE START OF TRAINING CAMP, AS I'M SURE YOU FEEL THE SAME WAY. BEST WISHES,
SOONER, AGAIN, HOPEFULLY SOONER RATHER THAN LATER WE'LL HAVE MBA BASKETBALL. THANKS FOR BEING ON THE SHOW.
>> THANKS FOR HAVING ME.