You make some really good points GopherGack. You're right on the money about it being more than just coaching. The only part of your post I might question is about Coach K. Not that you're incorrect about his accomplishments, but who could the U hire that would surpass what the Duke coach has done? He can run that shtick against anyone that is seriously considering coming to coach the University of Minnesota. (Shoot, he can run it on most of the coaches in the nation. Also, we just had a coach that could walk into a house and say he won the national championship and has sent kids to the NBA.) You do state things we, or more specifically I, do tend to forget or as you put "sweep under the rug".
Nobody the U is going to hire is going to be able to put up credentials next to Coach K (in fact I would argue there are only a couple of coaches on this planet at any level that can) but that doesn't change the fact that Flip will be squaring off directly with the big names of college coaching when he sits down in those kids living rooms. Here's a list of some of the coach's he'll be recruiting against for those big 3:
Coach K
John Calipari
Tom Izzo
Thad Matta
Rick Pitino
Bill Self
Jim Boeheim
Mack Brown
Fred Hoiberg
Scott Drew
After you read through that list the name "Flip Saunders" doesn't look that impressive. Certainly not impressive enough that he is just going to walk in the door and they'll fall over themselves to commit like has been suggested. And this is for Minnesota kids. What do you think a recruit from Florida is going to think? If his name isn't enough to get the kid to commit then it comes down to his interpersonal skills. That is something that watching a few minutes of an interview or a bit on ESPN can't tell you about.
So what Coach is out there, looking to move, who doesn't have "legitimate questions" attached to him?
I don't think there is a coach that has no legitimate questions attached but that doesn't change the fact that there are many questions about Flip that have been dismissed on this thread. If you go back and reread you'll find that it is guaranteed that Flip will:
Land all 3 big recruits next year just because he is Flip Saunders.
Single handedly get the big donors to fund a practice facility and it will happen within a year.
Be an X's and O's wizard, especially at the offensive end. He certainly is going to adapt his system to his players.
Already been out there recruiting hard.
You seem to dismiss the fact that Flip sent 20+ players to the NBA when he was a CBA coach. In fact I believe it was a record number. Also, wouldn't actual coaching at the highest level be the ultimate selling point? Flip knows what it takes to get the NBA. I would say you make good points, but I completely disagree with your logic.
You seem to think that 16-17 year old recruits are going to care that Flip coached in a now defunct league more than a decade before they were born. How is being a coach that was fired from all 3 positions he held because he couldn't meet expectations a selling point? Especially since the most recent, and therefore the most likely to be known by young recruits, was an absolute disaster. Flip might know what it takes to be an NBA player but so does every big name college coach. On top of that the big name college coaches have actual track records they can point to of not just knowing what it takes but helping kids get there. I mean Thad Matta can sit down on Tyus' couch and look him in the face and say, "Tyus you remind me of Michael Conley. We had a lot of fun working together on our way to the national title game. I was so excited for him when he was drafted 4th overall after his freshman season." I feel like a lot of posters on this board equate Flip to Phil Jackson or Larry Brown. He's not. Not in name recognition or in accomplishments.
I'll just end with this question again because as of yet nobody has answered it:
Would you be happy with Mike Fratello as the next head coach?
