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Skiles Set for Magic Coaching Debut

Josh Cohen
Digital News Manager

By John DentonOct. 3, 2015

ORLANDO – Never one to romance the past or get overly sentimental about much of anything, Scott Skiles repeatedly declined invitations from the Orlando Magic through the years to honor his NBA-record 30-assist night from 25 years ago.

So it shouldn’t come as much of a surprise that Skiles – a former Magic point guard and a fan favorite during his playing days in Central Florida from 1989-94 – isn’t putting much stock in his return to Orlando tonight for his first game as head coach when the Magic (0-0) host Charlotte (0-0) at 7 p.m. at the Amway Center. After all, Skiles said jokingly, the Magic fans still around from when the gritty point guard played in Orlando have probably forgotten all about him because of their advanced age.

``They were either 7 years old back then or they are really old now,’’ Skiles, 51, said with a chuckle. ``I’m not trying to sound like I’m not excited about coaching the team, but I’ve played in a lot of games and coached in a lot of games.

``It is my first game with this team, so I’m just looking forward to getting into a game with them,’’ Skiles continued. ``Then, we’ll get into a regular timeout or a guy will get upset about a call and get a technical – things that you can’t simulate in practice – and it will be good to go through that with the guys.’’

Orlando’s unveiling in front of Magic fans will come without some of the primary pieces of the team. Center Nikola Vucevic is being held out because of a mild shoulder strain, while Evan Fournier (ankle sprain) and Aaron Gordon (fractured jaw) are still recovering from offseason injuries.

Skiles, a NBA head coach for 13 years previously in Phoenix, Chicago and Milwaukee, was hired by the Magic, not because of his ties to the past, but for his ability to mold young teams into winners. Everywhere he’s been those teams have made marked improvements – both in terms of their overall records and on the defensive end of the floor. Skiles has said that his goal is for this Magic squad – one that has won just 20, 23 and 25 games the past three seasons – to have a winning record.

Magic forward Tobias Harris, who played for Skiles previously in Milwaukee, said that Skiles has been a winner at his every stop because of his unyielding insistence that players do things the right way.

``I knew his style from having played for him before, but everybody on this team has gotten to see the style that he brings,’’ said Harris, who is coming off a 2014-15 season where he set season highs in almost every category. ``Everyone now sees his demeanor and everything with him is really sharp offensively and defensively and everybody knows their spots. If you’re not in your spots, (Skiles) is going to tell you that you’ve got to get there in a very sharp tone.’’

Skiles has been pleased with the willingness of his team to pick up his new concepts and buy in defensively. The team has put in eight practice sessions in the seven days since training camp opened and Skiles is eager to see if everything that has been installed with translate to an actual game.

``We’ll know more late (Saturday night) or Sunday morning about a better gauge with where we are,’’ Skiles said. ``There always comes a point – even though it hasn’t been that long from a timeframe standpoint – where the players are getting tired of beating on each other. So it will be good to see where we are.’’