BleedGopher
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per Shooter:
The last guy off the Target Center court after a Wolves practice the other day was Ryan Saunders, son of Flip Saunders and a first-year assistant with the team after five years as a Washington Wizards assistant.
Ryan, 28, a former Gophers point guard and co-captain whose career was interrupted by two major shoulder surgeries, is a tireless, detail-oriented worker who seems destined to become a NBA head coach. That's his goal.
"Absolutely. If you don't have lofty goals, you definitely need to re-examine things," the younger Saunders said.
The working relationship with his father?
"We have more of a professional relationship where we talk a lot basketball-wise," he said. "I'll ask him questions on things; he knows my strengths and what I can bring. We communicate about how we're going to defend, things like that. We have good dialogue because we've been so close for so long."
It's important to Ryan that he earns basketball respect independently of his father.
"I've never wanted anything because of my dad, and I've never felt entitled, by any means," he said. "That's how I've wanted to keep it.
"He and my mother have been the ones to plant that in me -- work for everything you have."
Ryan, who played basketball at Wayzata High School, graduated from Minnesota with a degree in sports management.
"It's been a huge thrill for me coming back here," he said.
http://www.twincities.com/sports/ci...loping-young-players-keeps-timberwolves-coach
Go Gophers!!
The last guy off the Target Center court after a Wolves practice the other day was Ryan Saunders, son of Flip Saunders and a first-year assistant with the team after five years as a Washington Wizards assistant.
Ryan, 28, a former Gophers point guard and co-captain whose career was interrupted by two major shoulder surgeries, is a tireless, detail-oriented worker who seems destined to become a NBA head coach. That's his goal.
"Absolutely. If you don't have lofty goals, you definitely need to re-examine things," the younger Saunders said.
The working relationship with his father?
"We have more of a professional relationship where we talk a lot basketball-wise," he said. "I'll ask him questions on things; he knows my strengths and what I can bring. We communicate about how we're going to defend, things like that. We have good dialogue because we've been so close for so long."
It's important to Ryan that he earns basketball respect independently of his father.
"I've never wanted anything because of my dad, and I've never felt entitled, by any means," he said. "That's how I've wanted to keep it.
"He and my mother have been the ones to plant that in me -- work for everything you have."
Ryan, who played basketball at Wayzata High School, graduated from Minnesota with a degree in sports management.
"It's been a huge thrill for me coming back here," he said.
http://www.twincities.com/sports/ci...loping-young-players-keeps-timberwolves-coach
Go Gophers!!