PiPress: Flip Saunders' Gophers basketball tweets: 'I'm sick!'

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The one word that keeps coming up repeatedly is 'passion.' It's clear that Flip has it - both for basketball and for the U. He loves his school.

And make no mistake: in order to be great, the key ingredient is passion. No guarantee Flip would be great, but he has the key ingredient. I don't know if anyone could say in all honesty that Tubby has passion at this point. He never seems to have had it for this institution and this community; it's seemed more like, "just a job." And I seriously question whether he has it for the game any more.
 

Bad Gopher said:
I don't know if I've ever seen a more blatant example of auditioning for a job. I love Flip, but that barrage was almost shameless.
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Other than "we' and "I'm sick" I don't think Flip said anything different than what any talking head at ESPN might say.

If I were a college AD & Flip was interested I would ask who he wanted on his staff. If he wanted his NBA cronies, the interview would be over. If he wanted good college assistants, most of whom were upwardly mobile, I would hire him in a minute. John Wooden was 53 when he won his first NCAA championship and 64 when he won his last. Flip is 58 and even old guys can be competitive.:)
 

I'm glad Flip is fan but if I had to pick between Flip and Tubby to coach the Gophers, I'd pick Pam Borton.

He's old, he hasn't coached college basketball since the 80's, he wasn't a very good NBA coach. He left the Wizards and the Pistons much worse off than when he arrived. He helped squander the KG years for the Wolves and his sets were based on midrange jump shots. Additionally, the biggest gripe with Tubby in Washington was that he couldn't relate to the younger players and could only be effective with a veteran group. Right before he got canned he said "I didn't sign up for this" in reference to coaching younger players. Now. . .we expect him to be able to coach 18/19 year old kids?

If Flip Saunders had no ties to the Gopher program, no one here would be interested in him as a possible Tubby replacement.
 

Bob_Loblaw said:
I'm glad Flip is fan but if I had to pick between Flip and Tubby to coach the Gophers, I'd pick Pam Borton.

He's old, he hasn't coached college basketball since the 80's, he wasn't a very good NBA coach. He left the Wizards and the Pistons much worse off than when he arrived. He helped squander the KG years for the Wolves and his sets were based on midrange jump shots. Additionally, the biggest gripe with Tubby in Washington was that he couldn't relate to the younger players and could only be effective with a veteran group. Right before he got canned he said "I didn't sign up for this" in reference to coaching younger players. Now. . .we expect him to be able to coach 18/19 year old kids?

If Flip Saunders had no ties to the Gopher program, no one here would be interested in him as a possible Tubby replacement.
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If he was a bad NBA coach. Why did three different teams hire him? There are old 5o year olds and young ones. It has much to do with attitudes. And the fact is he does have Minnesota ties. If he didn'ts are irelevant. Like it or not Flip is a name coach and it doesn't hurt he is seen on ESPN regularly. If he can cope with the Rasheed Wallaces of the world. Why couldn't he coach 18 year old kids? lol
 

Bob, usually I like your takes butI think you are dead wrong on this with Flip. Flip is not old and if you ever meet him and talk to him you will get the sense that he is not old in thought or energy. Also coaching overpaid pampered pros that get to much money too soon is different than coaching college kids that have signed on to get an education and play basketball for the University. Flip does have ties to the U so his name is relevant and he would be a good choice.
 


Bob_Loblaw said:
I'm glad Flip is fan but if I had to pick between Flip and Tubby to coach the Gophers, I'd pick Pam Borton.

He's old, he hasn't coached college basketball since the 80's, he wasn't a very good NBA coach. He left the Wizards and the Pistons much worse off than when he arrived. He helped squander the KG years for the Wolves and his sets were based on midrange jump shots. Additionally, the biggest gripe with Tubby in Washington was that he couldn't relate to the younger players and could only be effective with a veteran group. Right before he got canned he said "I didn't sign up for this" in reference to coaching younger players. Now. . .we expect him to be able to coach 18/19 year old kids?

If Flip Saunders had no ties to the Gopher program, no one here would be interested in him as a possible Tubby replacement.
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Do you (and some others on this board) really believe that. Wow.

Flip's NBA record stands at 638-526, a winning percentage of .548. For comparison, Hall-of-Fame coach Larry Brown has an NBA only record of 1098-904 ... a .548 winning percentage (identical to Flip's). Rick Pitino has a 192-220 NBA record with Boston & New York ... a .466 WP.

Flip's is the only winning coach in Twolves history at 411-326 .558. (2nd place Twolves coach is Dwayne Casey at 53 - 69).

Flip's regular season record with Detroit was 176-70 .715, with a playoff record of 30-21. (Chuck Daly had a 467-271 .633 record with Detroit). Since Flip left the Pistons (.720 winning percentage his last season there) , their overall win percentage is less than .400.

So, Bob_Loblaw ... a direct question. How do the statistical facts support your claim that Flip Saunders "wasn't a very good NBA coach"
 

short ornery norwegian said:
Please answer this question - can Flip recruit?

He's spent most of his career in the NBA. I have no idea if he can go into some 17-year-old kid's house and sell that kid on the U of M. Yes, he has some NBA cred - but the college game and the pro game are very different animals. If Flip got the U job, he would have to land some assistant coaches with recent college experience, and a proven track record in recruiting. That's not Trent or Quincy - both great guys, but they haven't been out there beating the bushes, kissing AAU coaches behinds, or doing all the grunt work needed to recruit today's generation of athletes.

Having said that - I spent a little time with Flip back when he was coaching at Golden Valley Lutheran, and would bring his teams over to Augsburg for practice (when Irv Inniger was the Auggie coach.) Seemed like a nice guy back then. (admittedly, that was nearly 40 years ago......)
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In my opinion it Flip would have more cred walking into the living room of a recruit than Shaka or Stevens. Most higher skilled players have the goal of playing in the NBA. Flip was a big card in his pocket that they don't have. He has coached in the NBA for years. He knows what it takes to not only get to the NBA, but stay in the NBA.

Flip also cares about and is passionate about the University - if you care about something and you are passionate about something, how hard is it sell it to another person? That and the fact that Flip isn't going to jump ship at the first job that comes available. He could honestly say, I'm planning on being in Minneapolis for the next 8-10 years until I retire and have no desire to leave.

Recruiting would be an adjustment and he would no doubt improve over time, but in the NBA you still have to evaluate talent and even recruit Free Agents. It isn't like he is going into this thing blind.

I think Flip is my number 1 choice for next year.
 

If Fred Hoiberg can recruit...Flip can recruit.

MNfootballfan said:
In my opinion it Flip would have more cred walking into the living room of a recruit than Shaka or Stevens. Most higher skilled players have the goal of playing in the NBA. Flip was a big card in his pocket that they don't have. He has coached in the NBA for years. He knows what it takes to not only get to the NBA, but stay in the NBA.

Flip also cares about and is passionate about the University - if you care about something and you are passionate about something, how hard is it sell it to another person? That and the fact that Flip isn't going to jump ship at the first job that comes available. He could honestly say, I'm planning on being in Minneapolis for the next 8-10 years until I retire and have no desire to leave.

Recruiting would be an adjustment and he would no doubt improve over time, but in the NBA you still have to evaluate talent and even recruit Free Agents. It isn't like he is going into this thing blind.

I think Flip is my number 1 choice for next year.
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tinyarch said:
If Fred Hoiberg can recruit...Flip can recruit.
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I've heard Fred being interviewed on local radio back when he worked here in town, and we've all heard Flip on the radio. Flip is a whole level more dynamic than Fred - at least he was in those forums. Yes, if Fred can recruit, Flip can, too, and probably better.
 



short ornery norwegian said:
Please answer this question - can Flip recruit?
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I doubt it. But if you follow the Hoiberg logic in Ames, there are options. Hoiberg has three talented recruiters on staff as coaches: T.J. Otzelberger, Cornell Mann, and Matt Abdelmassih. If you're personable and hire correctly, then lack of recruiting experience isn't the red flag that some might think.

The bigger issue with recruiting isn't the coach, its the quality of facilities. When virtually every other major D1 program has top-end basketball practice facilities, it'll be tough to convince the top end recruits that this is a better place. And with the limitation of practice facilities comes a limitation in attracting top-end coaching staffs. Not just the head coach, but the assistants who do the real in-the-trenches recruiting. My guess is the Gopher job will be seen as career suicide by up-and-coming coaches until the practice facility issue is resolved.
 



Section201 said:
Flip loves the U. He has maroon and gold running in his veins. It would be nice to see that passion in our head coach.
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I agree and bad gopher is way off base... Flip is also not that old, and he could use his twins to help recruit!!!!!!!
 


Lob law. Move to wisconsin. And your stats are very flawed on flips record. He was a gopher during the years when you had to come early just for the warm ups
 


DocfromDarwin said:
I agree and bad gopher is way off base... Flip is also not that old, and he could use his twins to help recruit!!!!!!!
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Let me be clear...again. I'm glad to see Flip campaigning for the job. I just thought it was kind of brazen.
 

Bob_Loblaw said:
I'm glad Flip is fan but if I had to pick between Flip and Tubby to coach the Gophers, I'd pick Pam Borton.

He's old, he hasn't coached college basketball since the 80's, he wasn't a very good NBA coach. He left the Wizards and the Pistons much worse off than when he arrived. He helped squander the KG years for the Wolves and his sets were based on midrange jump shots. Additionally, the biggest gripe with Tubby in Washington was that he couldn't relate to the younger players and could only be effective with a veteran group. Right before he got canned he said "I didn't sign up for this" in reference to coaching younger players. Now. . .we expect him to be able to coach 18/19 year old kids?

If Flip Saunders had no ties to the Gopher program, no one here would be interested in him as a possible Tubby replacement.
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I was going to make basically the same post until I read this. The only allure that Flip has is that "he's one of us" and loves the U. If he was from Oregon, no one would be that excited about Flip Saunders. He hasn't even coached college basketball for 30 years. But people like his personality and connection with the U, so they view him as a great candidate. Since hiring someone with former ties to the U won't be on Teague's top 50 list of attributes to consider for the next coach, Flip's chances are slightly better than mine.

Make no mistake, the home run hire for us would be Buzz Williams from Marquette.
 


Bob_Loblaw said:
He left the Wizards and the Pistons much worse off than when he arrived.
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His last year with the Pistons they went 59-23 and reached the conference finals.

The year after he left, the Pistons were 39-43.
 

John Galt said:
I was going to make basically the same post until I read this. The only allure that Flip has is that "he's one of us" and loves the U. If he was from Oregon, no one would be that excited about Flip Saunders. He hasn't even coached college basketball for 30 years. But people like his personality and connection with the U, so they view him as a great candidate. Since hiring someone with former ties to the U won't be on Teague's top 50 list of attributes to consider for the next coach, Flip's chances are slightly better than mine.

Make no mistake, the home run hire for us would be Buzz Williams from Marquette.
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Same deal as with Hoiberg, but that doesn't make it bad. ISU wouldn't have hired him if he wasn't The Mayor, but it's turned out to be a great hire. Why take a great option off the U's table just because he IS from here? No logic to that at all.
 

Bad Gopher said:
Same deal as with Hoiberg, but that doesn't make it bad. ISU wouldn't have hired him if he wasn't The Mayor, but it's turned out to be a great hire. Why take a great option off the U's table just because he IS from here? No logic to that at all.
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I never said he should be excluded because he went to the U, just that it should have no bearing on the decision. Minnesota is superior to Iowa St. in pretty much every way and we shouldn't have to settle for someone who is an ex-alum like they did. I find it impossible to believe that a guy who hasn't coached college basketball for 30 years and who has no major conference experience is the best candidate we could get.
 

John Galt said:
I never said he should be excluded because he went to the U, just that it should have no bearing on the decision. Minnesota is superior to Iowa St. in pretty much every way and we shouldn't have to settle for someone who is an ex-alum like they did. I find it impossible to believe that a guy who hasn't coached college basketball for 30 years and who has no major conference experience is the best candidate we could get.
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The main concern with his lack of coaching in college is recruiting. The NBA background and selling that to recruits largely offsets this. And it seems pretty clear he's been following the Big 3 and gives us as good a chance with them as anyone will. Obviously, his staff will need to be college guys and it would probably help to keep someone like Vince Taylor on from the current staff if possible (he was with the T-Wolves before).
 

John Galt said:
I never said he should be excluded because he went to the U, just that it should have no bearing on the decision.
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100% agreement

John Galt said:
Minnesota is superior to Iowa St. in pretty much every way
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Except the actual results on the basketball court...oh, and the practice facilities.

John Galt said:
and we shouldn't have to settle for someone who is an ex-alum like they did
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Interesting that you went that way with it. I look at it more as the coach who is settling. Almost always, a school grasps for an alum as a coach because they can't do better and they know he's more likely to want to coach there because of that connection. (Pat Fitzgerald being the prime example of this.) I don't think that's the case here because I don't think Minnesota would settle for Flip, and I do think we can do better.

John Galt said:
I find it impossible to believe that a guy who hasn't coached college basketball for 30 years and who has no major conference experience is the best candidate we could get.
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100% agreement
 

Cayman said:
Two words: Tony Dungy
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The only reason he would be considered for football coach is because he is from here. He hasn't coached in college for a long time and he is too old. lol Give me a break on this Flip isn't good enough to be our coach. He's not from Oregon and if he is good enough to coach in three NBA cities his qualifications are more than strong enough.
 

dpodoll68 said:
I don't think that's the case here because I don't think Minnesota would settle for Flip, and I do think we can do better.
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dpodoll68, who do you think that would be better that we can get? Someone as specific as you demand of others must have a list of better candidates that you are confident we can land.
 

In the words of Sid Hartman,"who wants this job". Between Flip or a decent mid major coaches I know who I would choose in a second. Maybe Todd Licklighter is available.
 

Stan said:
dpodoll68, who do you think that would be better that we can get? Someone as specific as you demand of others must have a list of better candidates that you are confident we can land.
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Among guys we could realistically get, I would put Gregg Marshall at the top of the list. I would also like Chris Mack, but I'm not sure he doesn't already have a better job than the one here. Bryce Drew would be another solid hire. Some others I would settle for:

Dave Rice
Tommy Amaker
Scott Nagy

I don't know if any of them would do well here (or if most of them would even come here), but they do have the decided advantage of being collegiate head coaches more recently than the Jimmy Carter administration.
 

Blackhammer said:
The only reason he would be considered for football coach is because he is from here. He hasn't coached in college for a long time and he is too old. lol Give me a break on this Flip isn't good enough to be our coach. He's not from Oregon and if he is good enough to coach in three NBA cities his qualifications are more than strong enough.
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So would Dennis Green be a great hire for the Gopher football team (I realize he only coached 2 NFL teams)? That's pretty much the argument the Flip lovers are making. Set aside the fact that you like him as a person and he's fun to listen to, and ask yourself if he is the best person we could get.
 

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