Former Gopher Ryan Saunders named interim HC of the Wovles

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BleedGopher

BleedGopher

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Go Gophers!!
 

Stay away from Hoiberg Glen!
 


Is it just me or does Thibs' firing have serious implications for the Gophers basketball program. Ryan Saunders, a Gopher alum, just got a free ticket to a NBA coaching resume. I love Richard Pitino and the team this year, but Ryan Saunders has just earned himself a place in the coaching carousel talk, along with coaches like Eric Musselman. Moreover, and this is probably crazier, but I wouldn't be surprised if Glen Taylor goes for a coach with ties to Pitino... his dad or Billy Donovan. The Wolves announced Saunders will have the rest of the year to secure his job. If he fails and, say, OKC gets knocked out of the playoffs early or don't even make it at all, then Donovan would probably be available. Obviously, Rick Pitino is also lurking in the background in all of this.

Curious how this T-Wolves coaching search goes from a Gopher perspective
 

The timing on this is odd. Have to wonder what Thibs did to get old man Taylor to stop sticking his head in the sand.
 


Taylor was quoted as saying the team is not as far along as it should be, and was losing too many games to poor teams, or teams with worse records.

The timing is a little odd - coming off a win over the Lakers. But, it was the Lakers without LeBron, Rondo or Kuzma - so it's not a great achievement. And - Thibs had KAT playing in the last 4 minutes of the game with a 20+ point lead. Wiggins played over 20 minutes in the 1st half of the game (had 25 points at halftime, finished with 28).

One can only wonder what kind of conversations were going on behind the scenes.

And - my favorite comment so far - somebody posted that it was "just like the movies - "Old Yeller" dies in the end."
 

Lakers612 said:
Is it just me or does Thibs' firing have serious implications for the Gophers basketball program. Ryan Saunders, a Gopher alum, just got a free ticket to a NBA coaching resume. I love Richard Pitino and the team this year, but Ryan Saunders has just earned himself a place in the coaching carousel talk, along with coaches like Eric Musselman. Moreover, and this is probably crazier, but I wouldn't be surprised if Glen Taylor goes for a coach with ties to Pitino... his dad or Billy Donovan. The Wolves announced Saunders will have the rest of the year to secure his job. If he fails and, say, OKC gets knocked out of the playoffs early or don't even make it at all, then Donovan would probably be available. Obviously, Rick Pitino is also lurking in the background in all of this.

Curious how this T-Wolves coaching search goes from a Gopher perspective
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Taylor will not be hiring Pitino Sr.. NBA teams are begging college coaches to take NBA jobs and the best ones want nothing to do with it. Hope Saunders wins the job.
 

short ornery norwegian said:
Taylor was quoted as saying the team is not as far along as it should be, and was losing too many games to poor teams, or teams with worse records.

The timing is a little odd - coming off a win over the Lakers. But, it was the Lakers without LeBron, Rondo or Kuzma - so it's not a great achievement. And - Thibs had KAT playing in the last 4 minutes of the game with a 20+ point lead. Wiggins played over 20 minutes in the 1st half of the game (had 25 points at halftime, finished with 28).

One can only wonder what kind of conversations were going on behind the scenes.

And - my favorite comment so far - somebody posted that it was "just like the movies - "Old Yeller" dies in the end."
Click to expand...

Won't matter in the least. The wolves roster is pure schit!
 

short ornery norwegian said:
Taylor was quoted as saying the team is not as far along as it should be, and was losing too many games to poor teams, or teams with worse records.

The timing is a little odd - coming off a win over the Lakers. But, it was the Lakers without LeBron, Rondo or Kuzma - so it's not a great achievement. And - Thibs had KAT playing in the last 4 minutes of the game with a 20+ point lead. Wiggins played over 20 minutes in the 1st half of the game (had 25 points at halftime, finished with 28).

One can only wonder what kind of conversations were going on behind the scenes.

And - my favorite comment so far - somebody posted that it was "just like the movies - "Old Yeller" dies in the end."
Click to expand...
"Ole Yeller dies in the end."
That's great.
 



EG#9 said:
Stay away from Hoiberg Glen!
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Hoiberg as president of operations with E. mussleman as head coach? Wouldn’t that grind a few people around here lol. (For the record I’m not predicting that or hoping for it just stirring the pot)
 

Tim1406 said:
Hoiberg as president of operations with E. mussleman as head coach? Wouldn’t that grind a few people around here lol. (For the record I’m not predicting that or hoping for it just stirring the pot)
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Tim1406 be like:

4978.jpg


Go Gophers!!
 


I hope Ryan gets a fair shot at the permanent job.
 




Has a school ever had multiple alumni as NBA head coaches while having zero active players?
 

Winasota Gopher said:
Y did tibs get fired?
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Won by 20 rather than 50. Seriously though I think Glen thinks the record should be better than it is and the recent losing streak shouldn't have happened and pulled the trigger.


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Gopher legend chimes in:

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Go Gophers!!
 

Bad Gopher said:
I hope Ryan gets a fair shot at the permanent job.
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I hope he is successful enough that he gets the job, but the odds are long. 32 years old; no head coaching experience; main qualification seen by many is son of Flip; a staff put together by Thibs; a roster with veterans as old or older than him; one of the players paid like a superstar but isn't close to it; an owner who consistently mucks things up. What could go wrong?
 

Mulligan said:
I hope he is successful enough that he gets the job, but the odds are long. 32 years old; no head coaching experience; main qualification seen by many is son of Flip; a staff put together by Thibs; a roster with veterans as old or older than him; one of the players paid like a superstar but isn't close to it; an owner who consistently mucks things up. What could go wrong?
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Duplicate
 
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Mulligan said:
I hope he is successful enough that he gets the job, but the odds are long. 32 years old; no head coaching experience; main qualification seen by many is son of Flip; a staff put together by Thibs; a roster with veterans as old or older than him; one of the players paid like a superstar but isn't close to it; an owner who consistently mucks things up. What could go wrong?
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Haha. I would hope the circumstances factor into their evaluation, but it would be just like the Wolves to have an uncommonly talented young head coach who does the best job possible with the roster and circumstances but ends up being undervalued and excels elsewhere (Dwane Casey). Not that Saunders is automatically that, but I fear like you do that he won't get a fair evaluation because of the situation.

Another thought: the party with the pressure on them in this situation isn't Saunders; it's the Wolves. They're the ones with the awful record of decision making and not being able to get out of their own way. If Saunders is a good head coaching prospect, he'll get his opportunity somewhere with someone. The team, though, is desperately in need of success and will need to stop passing up future hall-of-fame players and potential championship coaches at some point if they ever think they're going to become any good. The onus is on THEM to properly evaluate the job Saunders does the rest of the year.
 
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Go Gophers!!
 

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Go Gophers!!
 

If we don’t make it to the dance this year and Pitino is let go (an outcome I neither anticipate nor want), I wonder if Coyle would pursue Saunders.
 

Caught the end of the TWolves game. Could have swore I heard the announcers say it was Wiggins' FIRST double-double of the season. Seriously? Mulit-muliti millionaire and his first one? I guess that's one reason the TWolves are toiling around the .500 mark.
 

So happy for Ryan. I loved his comment after the game.
"I have a feeling when I talk to my mom she's going to tell me I crouched like my dad and had a few of his ticks." [emoji16]
 

Bad Gopher said:
Haha. I would hope the circumstances factor into their evaluation, but it would be just like the Wolves to have an uncommonly talented young head coach who does the best job possible with the roster and circumstances but ends up being undervalued and excels elsewhere (Dwane Casey). Not that Saunders is automatically that, but I fear like you do that he won't get a fair evaluation because of the situation.

Another thought: the party with the pressure on them in this situation isn't Saunders; it's the Wolves. They're the ones with the awful record of decision making and not being able to get out of their own way. If Saunders is a good head coaching prospect, he'll get his opportunity somewhere with someone. The team, though, is desperately in need of success and will need to stop passing up future hall-of-fame players and potential championship coaches at some point if they ever think they're going to become any good. The onus is on THEM to properly evaluate the job Saunders does the rest of the year.
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Ask yourself what other team would hire him. What good college program would hire him ? I really like the young man but it is a long climb. JB is running out of time. Tons of college coaches turn down good pro jobs all the time. Hope it works out well here but this organization has been so poorly run.
 

builtbadgers said:
Ask yourself what other team would hire him. What good college program would hire him ? I really like the young man but it is a long climb. JB is running out of time. Tons of college coaches turn down good pro jobs all the time. Hope it works out well here but this organization has been so poorly run.
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I am by no means advocating for Ryan Saunders as the head coach of the Gophers. But I think you are asking some of the wrong questions there.

For example: Tony Bennett is a fantastic coach. UCLA has an open job. Lots of programs would hire Tony Bennett. Would Tony Bennett be a good fit at UCLA? Heck no.

The question of how well a coach fits is a big deal.
 

A great interview with Saunders after the game, and make sure you listen to the last 2 seconds of the interview!


Go Gophers!!
 

bizzle22 said:
I am by no means advocating for Ryan Saunders as the head coach of the Gophers. But I think you are asking some of the wrong questions there.

For example: Tony Bennett is a fantastic coach. UCLA has an open job. Lots of programs would hire Tony Bennett. Would Tony Bennett be a good fit at UCLA? Heck no.

The question of how well a coach fits is a big deal.
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Agree about fit. Bennett simply does not want the UCLA job because of the culture and size of the community not because he would not win there. He adjusts to the talent he has and it is getting better all the time. Went to school there and still go to games there. Scouted the area for 30 years. UCLA gets some of the local talent no matter who the coach is and he already has a footprint with west coast high school coaches. Whatever the reasons are, it is about fit and Charlottsville is perfect for him. Wife from the south, kids in high school, rural setting, super elite school (public Ivy designation ) True student athlete like himself as the administration likes it. Playing in the best conference. Going against K,Roy, Boeheim etc.. had a huge attraction for him. Did not include Pitino because he was not yet there but think he did go something like 9-2 against him ! It is his last college job after already saying no to Indiana, Texas, UW, Marquette and UCLA. As for Saunders, i am cheering like hell for him to succeed. By nature i do not cheer for anyone to fail and i do think he has a very bright mind for the game.
 

builtbadgers said:
Agree about fit. Bennett simply does not want the UCLA job because of the culture and size of the community not because he would not win there. He adjusts to the talent he has and it is getting better all the time. Went to school there and still go to games there. Scouted the area for 30 years. UCLA gets some of the local talent no matter who the coach is and he already has a footprint with west coast high school coaches. Whatever the reasons are, it is about fit and Charlottsville is perfect for him. Wife from the south, kids in high school, rural setting, super elite school (public Ivy designation ) True student athlete like himself as the administration likes it. Playing in the best conference. Going against K,Roy, Boeheim etc.. had a huge attraction for him. Did not include Pitino because he was not yet there but think he did go something like 9-2 against him ! It is his last college job after already saying no to Indiana, Texas, UW, Marquette and UCLA. As for Saunders, i am cheering like hell for him to succeed. By nature i do not cheer for anyone to fail and i do think he has a very bright mind for the game.
Click to expand...

Thoughts on Bennett taking over at Duke when K decides to step down? Personally, I think that would be a good fit.
 

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