Flip Saunders Appreciation Thread

[20MexicanosIn1Van]

I think whether or not you think Flip is a great coach, you have to admire his dedication. Dude's been travelling to Chicago to visit Arenas, visiting Butler, in constant contact with the players, working with and evaluating Nick and the other youngsters, and working with and evaluating draft prospects before the draft. It seems like ever since he signed the contract he's been working hard to earn it. Hopefully this type of example rubs off on the players, and they too see that they must work for their millions of dollars. In the NBA it seems too often that players are the ones that are supposed to set the example, but I think it's the coach that needs to establish this kind of mindset. I can really see Flip changing the culture of the Wizards into a hard-working, mediocrity-doesn't-cut-it, team.

So, kudos to you flip!

[BanndNDC]

i really like what im hearing out of training camp and im now completely on the Saunders train. but i am tempering my enthusiasm until i see whether anything has actually changed. can't wait until the season starts.

[LyricalRico]

I think whether or not you think Flip is a great coach, you have to admire his dedication. Dude's been travelling to Chicago to visit Arenas, visiting Butler, in constant contact with the players, working with and evaluating Nick and the other youngsters, and working with and evaluating draft prospects before the draft. It seems like ever since he signed the contract he's been working hard to earn it.

Yeah, I'm really impressed with the leadership Flip is displaying. The very first think he did was connect with the players and start earning their respect. Not only are guys more likely to buy-in to his philosophies as a result, that foundation is also going to make resolving conflict mid-season so much easier.

[LyricalRico]

"Flip has stressed playing defense the right way, getting to your spots, certain areas," Haywood said. "We have very good defensive principles now, and we try to stick to them. ... And we also have different things as far as schemes and concepts on where guys are supposed to be for help. When you're in the right spot, it helps everybody out because I know where I'm supposed to go and other guys know where they're supposed to go."

<snip>

"Guys understand that if you don't play hard, you don't play defense, you're not going to play," Saunders said. "And when guys see a guy like DeShawn come in and he gives the effort he gave as far as pressuring the ball, that becomes contagious. And if you're not defending, not pressuring the ball, you kind of stick out like sore thumb."

http://www.washingtontimes.com/news/200 ... defensive/

*Sigh* I love Flip Saunders.



The same article had a nice dig on EJ. Geez that guy was bad.

Sticking to defensive principles is a big difference from the Wizards of the past. Haywood and his teammates said one of their problems under Eddie Jordan was inconsistent strategy.

Jordan had his defense but brought in assistant Randy Ayers to teach a new scheme, only to switch back when the team was struggling. Later, the players recalled, they returned to Ayers' system.

[nate33]

It's what I feared all along (and why I supported the EJ firing). The players had played under EJ so long that they forgot what a real coach can do. They liked EJ because they didn't know any better. It is now dawning on them that EJ just wasn't that good.

[Spence]

I like Flip Saunders as much as the rest of you, but I have to wonder how long before the calls for his head begin. Just one 3-game losing streak away, I suspect...

[MJG]

I like Flip Saunders as much as the rest of you, but I have to wonder how long before the calls for his head begin. Just one 3-game losing streak away, I suspect...

He doesn't have to really do any minutes juggling until Jamison and Caron are both healthy, so I don't think much will happen until early December.

[BanndNDC]

I completely love what Flip has brought. I don't want to pick on someone who served his city proudly but this offense is so much better and team oriented than what we had.

[dobrojim]

3 game losing streak?

ain't happenin'



not this year baby

if Flip gets Andray to 80% of his ability, he should win COY
and will be worth every penny he's getting. Right now he's
got AB at 110%.

[daSwami]

I'd like to take this chance to say that I really appreciate Flip Saunders.

[miller31time]

I'd like to take this chance to say that I really appreciate Flip Saunders.

I think the real question is when will you be appreciated?

[closg00]

“Flip sat me down after the last game and said, ‘Play how you play. When you average 29 (points), you average six assist. Right now you’re averaging six assists but you’re not being aggressive so it really don’t matter. Play your way.’ I was like, ‘All right.”’

Flip has shown that he is a flexible coach who can make adjustments. With Gilbert unleashed, our offense is already on the up-tick.

[Chocolate City Jordanaire]

I like Flip Saunders as much as the rest of you, but I have to wonder how long before the calls for his head begin. Just one 3-game losing streak away, I suspect...

I'll turn on him if he coaches 2 bad ones in a row.

Nah, Spence, Flip gets it. He must read the boards. All he needed to do was stop relying on the short bench, with Oberto and DeShawn playing a vast majority of minutes -- ahead of young guys with energy. Jamison returning and Boykins have obviously made Flip a better coach, too.

In all seriousness, I think Flip gets it. He'll use big lineups, small lineups, whatever. Dude's flexible.

Wow! Wizards have a very good coach. (So long as he doesn't do what he did the first 10 or so games.)

[Zerocious]

i dont think flip ever intended gilbert to turn into chauncey. i think flip was seeing how good gilbert was and have him implement some of the true point guard principles while still holding onto the skill set gilbert has. imagine a chauncey scoring 30 and 10. or maybe even better. i think gilbert over analyzed it and got in his own way. flip now sees it will take a longer time to have gilbert understand what he trying to do and thus for gilbert and the teams sake telling gil to go back to his ways of old and slowly work away on the pg skills. that's why he decided to go with gil off the ball, where he is more comfortable.

to summarize: i never thought it was flips fault of trying to make gilbert into someone he wasn't. i think that is what gil understood it to be. this could be flips fault for not estimating gils ability to understand that, but he sees it now. there's a reason gilbert is not the leader of this team and will never be.

gil needs to be gil, flip needs to be flip. they will meet somwhere in the middle down the road on their own terms and lots of W's in their pocket

[nate33]

I thought Rico would get a kick out of this.

After losing their past two games to Toronto and Detroit, Saunders put his players through two lengthy and difficult practices, which Jamison described as "going back to the drawing board." Saunders said he has focused on getting his team to purge itself from the past five seasons in the Princeton offense and getting better acclimated to important aspects of his flex offense, such as setting screens.

link

The ghost of Eddie Jordan strikes again!

[nate33]

more:

Saunders said he thought that the Wizards "are beaten up a little bit" from winning just 19 games last season, with Arenas and Haywood sidelined with injuries most of the year. He is trying to help the team break some bad habits. "I looked at the games last year, and in a lot of games, they were inventing ways to lose at times, too. So I'm not totally surprised, no," he said. "But it's one of those things we have to overcome in order to get better and better."

[closg00]

I thought Rico would get a kick out of this.

After losing their past two games to Toronto and Detroit, Saunders put his players through two lengthy and difficult practices, which Jamison described as "going back to the drawing board." Saunders said he has focused on getting his team to purge itself from the past five seasons in the Princeton offense and getting better acclimated to important aspects of his flex offense, such as setting screens.

link

The ghost of Eddie Jordan strikes again!

I saw that, all the more reason to alter the rotation of the trio. Flip is really trying hard to break-through to the guys

[LyricalRico]

I like Flip Saunders as much as the rest of you, but I have to wonder how long before the calls for his head begin. Just one 3-game losing streak away, I suspect...

Almost prophetic, my friend. No matter - Filp's gonna turn it around. Yeah baby!

[Chocolate City Jordanaire]

The Princeton offense wasn't the problem. Offense was better back then.

EJ wasn't a part of all the losing last season, nor was Arenas a part of any of that.

Instead of purging from last season IMO Flip needs to win some games like he did back around December 3, when I said very nice things about him.

The best thing will be to trade some guys to get Flip/flex guys in here who don't have to be "purged" or anything else.

I know this is the Flip appreciation thread, but hating on the past and blaming the guys' losing ways on the past is a crock IMO.

[LyricalRico]

It's amazing that quotes from as recent as 12/10 are about Flip "getting it" and the offense being better. Now, 6 days later, people are pining for the days of EJ. Unbelievable.