It was a sad day when Flip Saunders, Minnesota Timberwolves head coach and president of basketball operations, died on Oct. 25 from cancer at age 60. But many may not know that Flip Saunders almost came to St. Cloud State to coach the Huskies in 1984.
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Searching for a replacement for men’s basketball coach Sam Skarich, who quit in the middle of the 1983-1984 season, Cleveland native Saunders was considered for the head coach position at St. Cloud State but wasn’t selected for the job. Instead, Butch Raymond was hired and coached for 13 seasons (1984-1987) at St. Cloud State, compiling a 231-142 record. Raymond retired in 2014 as commissioner of the Northern Sun Intercollegiate Conference.
See the exchange of two letters between Flip Saunders and St. Cloud State president Brendan McDonald in April 1984 courtesy of University Archives.
Flip Saunders letter to St. Cloud State president Brendan McDonald, April 23, 1984.
St. Cloud State president Brendan McDonald’s response to Flip Saunders, April 30, 1984.
