News on Flip Saunders

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It's not going to be Flip.

Norwood is not going to turn to an NBA coach when he has made his bones in this business by getting the "Next Shaka"...young coach.


It's not happening. I do not know who it's going to be, although I predicted in the Smart thread that it would be Anthony Grant. But I have really no idea...other than to know it's not going to be Flip.


And I love Flip, so this hurts.
 

jaymil said:
Check his last season here. He was just as productive his last year here than his first season in Detroit. He did not get WAY better there. He already started his ascent with the Wolves. Flip trading him has nothing to do with developing him. Bad personnel move? Sure.
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It wasn't a trade, it was FA where the Wolves had oft injured Terrell Brandon at the same time. It was just one of those inopportune moments that worked against the wolves...and yes I do give Flip credit for Billups, along with Flip's offensive scheme which improved Sealy's overall game and not just his point stats.
 

There are reasons to believe Flip could be successful, but equally as many as to why he wouldn't. Of course the media is promoting him - he's probably the most accessible coach to ever be in the Twin Cities (he and Tice, I would guess), so they of course love him and think he'd be great.

I think those that think it's a homerun, no-doubt hire are out of their minds.
 

I'm a big Flip fan. Don't really know if he can win here or not. I'd still be shocked if Norwood picks him over his own "signature" pick. I wonder how bad Flip wants it. Would he agree to a contract without a buy out clause? If he's doing good it's a non-issue. If he's doing poorly he is back to no worse off than where is is at today and the Gophers could move on. As long as he doesn't play fast with the rules changing coaches again in 4 years doesnt' hurt the program that much.
 

GopherForever1968 said:
It's not going to be Flip.

Norwood is not going to turn to an NBA coach when he has made his bones in this business by getting the "Next Shaka"...young coach
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Grant is the next Bo Ryan,definately not the next Shaka Smart. I hope it is Flip, but really think we are getting a noname Villa7 guy.
 


calminnfan said:
It wasn't a trade, it was FA where the Wolves had oft injured Terrell Brandon at the same time. It was just one of those inopportune moments that worked against the wolves...and yes I do give Flip credit for Billups, along with Flip's offensive scheme which improved Sealy's overall game and not just his point stats.
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I was referring to the Billups and Iverson trade.
 


G0 4 said:
Grant is the next Bo Ryan,definately not the next Shaka Smart. I hope it is Flip, but really think we are getting a noname Villa7 guy.
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You could very well be right. I just hope this person can get one of our BIG 3 to sign here...and get the boosters juices flowing enough to get some money into the building of a practice facility. Other than Stevens and Saunders I'm not sure who out there can pull it off in a short period of time.
 

Flip would not take this job if he didn't know he could handle it.. I also like that the media does like flip.. this is not a college media town and for that reason i think we could gain alittle more support for this reason.
 



You can't compare coaching up NBA players to his ability to coach college kids. The CBA would be a better comparison and even that is a bit of a stretch. But the guy is a great basketball mind either way I think at this point unless we could land Stevens which seems very unlikely Flip would be our best option. He'd give the best opportunity to land the big three plus local ties. And maybe most importantly wants to be here.
 

Ok, I'm done ripping Flip now. I think he'll do a poor job but I hope I'm wrong. He's likeable and he is an alum so I really do wish him success. I just don't like him for the job for the points I've already belabored. I won't keep ruining this thread with my point, it's taken. If I didn't address someone who posed a question to my tirade, I wasn't trying to dodge it, I was debating with like 5 people at a time. But this isn't the "convince Bob Loblaw thread", I've seen enough of Flip to have my position. I really do hope I'm wrong and if he does a good job here I will be the first one to admit I was wrong. I'll even give up my sig line to the people I debated with on here.

"Jaymil, West Coast Gopher, 60's Guy, Replacement Gopher are superior basketball minds to myself and I was narrow sighted and pig headed for not realizing the brilliance that is Flip Saunders".

Either way, Go Gophers!
 

Bob_Loblaw said:
Nope, I was responding to 60's guys post and implied that I wasn't serious. Those are the main points in 60 guys post, so which of them do you disagree with?
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Alright I'll lay out my 2cents on Flip.

He can coach, and he's proven that he can win at the highest level of his profession. People can knock him because he doesn't have a ring, but I can't bag on him for that especially in terms of a college coaching search. Does success in the NBA guarantee that in the college game? Definitely not, there are noticeable differences in the way things are done between the NBA and D-I. That being said I would give the benefit of the doubt to a guy going from the NBA to D-I moreso than the opposite, especially with a guy that has Flip's track record of winning.

There are no guarantees in recruiting, especially with a lot of the shadiness that goes on with a lot of the big time recruits. But it ultimately boils down to relationships, and salesmanship, and I'm very comfortable that Flip can handle both of those things well. Guy is respected in NBA circles and has a very positive presence in the media. He has name cache that even if the kids he's recruiting may not be able to fully appreciate, any parent who knows anything about basketball will. Parents are immensely important in recruiting and he can relate there as well.

The guy would assemble a great staff, no doubt about it. Someone with the connections and experience he has virtually couldn't fail in this regard.

All that being said I'd be surprised if Teague gave him the job, I think he wants his own fingerprints on the hire. I like Grant and think he would do a good job, (although I hate his offensive tempo numbers) but if it was between those two it would be a no brainer for me.
 

westcoastgopher11 said:
Alright I'll lay out my 2cents on Flip.

He can coach, and he's proven that he can win at the highest level of his profession. People can knock him because he doesn't have a ring, but I can't bag on him for that especially in terms of a college coaching search. Does success in the NBA guarantee that in the college game? Definitely not, there are noticeable differences in the way things are done between the NBA and D-I. That being said I would give the benefit of the doubt to a guy going from the NBA to D-I moreso than the opposite, especially with a guy that has Flip's track record of winning.

There are no guarantees in recruiting, especially with a lot of the shadiness that goes on with a lot of the big time recruits. But it ultimately boils down to relationships, and salesmanship, and I'm very comfortable that Flip can handle both of those things well. Guy is respected in NBA circles and has a very positive presence in the media. He has name cache that even if the kids he's recruiting may not be able to fully appreciate, any parent who knows anything about basketball will. Parents are immensely important in recruiting and he can relate there as well.

The guy would assemble a great staff, no doubt about it. Someone with the connections and experience he has virtually couldn't fail in this regard.

All that being said I'd be surprised if Teague gave him the job, I think he wants his own fingerprints on the hire. I like Grant and think he would do a good job, (although I hate his offensive tempo numbers) but if it was between those two it would be a no brainer for me.
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I think we agree on my main point with 60's guy.

If you like Flip, it isn't because of his success at Golden Valley Lutheran, it isn't because of the leadership he displayed while playing for the Gophers and we don't KNOW that he'll be a good recruiter. We hope will be and laid out a good reason why that might be, but he hasn't recruited in 30 years, so we're just hoping he recruits well.
 



Teague almost has to hire a Villa 7 alum or he comes off looking like a hypocrite....For that reason, I don't believe he is even considering Flip as anything more than a deep fall back option...Maybe like 5 or 6th runner up.
 


westcoastgopher11 said:
Alright I'll lay out my 2cents on Flip.

He can coach, and he's proven that he can win at the highest level of his profession. People can knock him because he doesn't have a ring, but I can't bag on him for that especially in terms of a college coaching search. Does success in the NBA guarantee that in the college game? Definitely not, there are noticeable differences in the way things are done between the NBA and D-I. That being said I would give the benefit of the doubt to a guy going from the NBA to D-I moreso than the opposite, especially with a guy that has Flip's track record of winning.

There are no guarantees in recruiting, especially with a lot of the shadiness that goes on with a lot of the big time recruits. But it ultimately boils down to relationships, and salesmanship, and I'm very comfortable that Flip can handle both of those things well. Guy is respected in NBA circles and has a very positive presence in the media. He has name cache that even if the kids he's recruiting may not be able to fully appreciate, any parent who knows anything about basketball will. Parents are immensely important in recruiting and he can relate there as well.

The guy would assemble a great staff, no doubt about it. Someone with the connections and experience he has virtually couldn't fail in this regard.

All that being said I'd be surprised if Teague gave him the job, I think he wants his own fingerprints on the hire. I like Grant and think he would do a good job, (although I hate his offensive tempo numbers) but if it was between those two it would be a no brainer for me.
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Good post. One thing that concerns me about Flip is his age. I question whether 18 year old kids can relate to a 60 year old taking his first shot as a head coach at the college level. Flip has some name recognition but not as much as we might think. He'd have to assemble the right staff, including a younger guy who can recruit and be a possible successor, because Flip would most certainly be a shorter term fix.
 

Bob_Loblaw said:
I think we agree on my main point with 60's guy.

If you like Flip, it isn't because of his success at Golden Valley Lutheran, it isn't because of the leadership he displayed while playing for the Gophers and we don't KNOW that he'll be a good recruiter. We hope will be and laid out a good reason why that might be, but he hasn't recruited in 30 years, so we're just hoping he recruits well.
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Bob, you are one of my favourites but in regards to Flip you are coming across very similar to Ogee Oglethorpe and Gray.
 


Bob_Loblaw said:
I think we agree on my main point with 60's guy.

If you like Flip, it isn't because of his success at Golden Valley Lutheran, it isn't because of the leadership he displayed while playing for the Gophers and we don't KNOW that he'll be a good recruiter. We hope will be and laid out a good reason why that might be, but he hasn't recruited in 30 years, so we're just hoping he recruits well.
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We know Grant can recruit well that's for sure. I would give Flip the benefit of the doubt in that regard without question though.

The alma mater angle is AT BEST a nice (+). I think a lot of people make assumptions about this quality (he would give us a hometown discount, he would stay long, etc) that if true would make him a more compelling choice. I don't think they are necessarily bad assumptions, but they are still unknowns.
 

Flip will usher in a Golden Era of Gopher basketball. I can't wait to see who's who is on his staff.
 

Winnipegopher said:
Bob, you are one of my favourites but in regards to Flip you are coming across very similar to Ogee Oglethorpe and Gray.
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Hey, the anti-Gray crowd was annoyed with me on that argument as well.

I pulled back, I'm not ripping on Flip anymore. Everyone knows my stance, I really hope I'm wrong.
 

If we get Grant, can any of his recruits break from their commitment to Bama and follow him here or are they stuck in Bama? Anybody know?
 

ZebH82 said:
If we get Grant, can any of his recruits break from their commitment to Bama and follow him here or are they stuck in Bama? Anybody know?
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Well we first have to assume that any of his recruits could get into a B1G school.
 

westcoastgopher11 said:
We know Grant can recruit well that's for sure. I would give Flip the benefit of the doubt in that regard without question though.

The alma mater angle is AT BEST a nice (+). I think a lot of people make assumptions about this quality (he would give us a hometown discount, he would stay long, etc) that if true would make him a more compelling choice. I don't think they are necessarily bad assumptions, but they are still unknowns.
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I agree. I just think that the reason why people want him is because they perceive him to be a good coach in the NBA. I did not think he was a good coach in the NBA and that is really the crux of the disagreement.

I'll give Flip the benefit of the doubt, if I had to guess, he'd do a decent job of recruiting. I just think it's weird when people say without hesitation that Flip will be a great recruiter. That's the biggest unknown with the guy.
 

Bob_Loblaw said:
I agree. I just think that the reason why people want him is because they perceive him to be a good coach in the NBA. I did not think he was a good coach in the NBA and that is really the crux of the disagreement.

I'll give Flip the benefit of the doubt, if I had to guess, he'd do a decent job of recruiting. I just think it's weird when people say without hesitation that Flip will be a great recruiter. That's the biggest unknown with the guy.
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Flip won with Garnett and garbage while coaching the Wolves, which hurt them as far as getting better draft position to take better players, and the GM's totally blowing said picks.
 

Bob_Loblaw said:
I agree. I just think that the reason why people want him is because they perceive him to be a good coach in the NBA. I did not think he was a good coach in the NBA and that is really the crux of the disagreement.

I'll give Flip the benefit of the doubt, if I had to guess, he'd do a decent job of recruiting. I just think it's weird when people say without hesitation that Flip will be a great recruiter. That's the biggest unknown with the guy.
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The numbers speak for themselves in terms of him being a good coach in the NBA. I don't think any less of Larry Brown because of one bad year with the Knicks and a bad tenure with the Bobcats, and they have virtually the same career winning %.

Whether or not he would successfully transition to the college game is the only question.
 

westcoastgopher11 said:
The numbers speak for themselves in terms of him being a good coach in the NBA. I don't think any less of Larry Brown because of one bad year with the Knicks and a bad tenure with the Bobcats, and they have virtually the same career winning %.

Whether or not he would successfully transition to the college game is the only question.
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This my only contention, the numbers do not speak for themselves.

There is a difference between taking over for Larry Brown in Detroit and most NBA coaching jobs.
 


ZebH82 said:
If we get Grant, can any of his recruits break from their commitment to Bama and follow him here or are they stuck in Bama? Anybody know?
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I don't know if they will follow them to the land of snow and ice but apparently he has had some luck recruiting, albeit with Billy D.

"Noted as a strong recruiter, Grant recruited and coached nine McDonald's All-Americans and eight NBA first-round draft picks at Florida. Prior to Grant arriving at Florida, the Gators had just two first-round picks in school history.

Four of his last seven recruiting classes at UF were ranked in the top five nationally. At VCU his 2007 recruiting class was ranked as the fifth best in the mid-major ranks."

And I believe somebody quoted that he has currently 3 highly rated recruits at Alabama. But his name won't sell our program.....only recruiting well and winning will he earn people's respect.
 

I heard KFAN Dan say that a Flip will be on his show tomorrow - should give us a little indication on where his head is it.
 

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