It may have come as a surprise to some readers of news about Timberwolves head coach Flip Saunders' death that he was a native of Ohio. Saunders, who died Sunday at age 60 after battling Hodgkin's lymphoma, had been such a prominent presence in Minnesota for so long that we suspect many Minnesotans assumed he had always been "one of us."

Philip "Flip" Saunders arrived in Minneapolis from the Cleveland area to play basketball for the University of Minnesota. There, he met his future wife and found his home. Though he coached a few stints elsewhere, he and his wife, Debbie, raised their four children in the Twin Cities.

There have been few more durable figures in this state's sports scene. From his start as a savvy, gregarious Gophers point guard from1973-77, Saunders matured to become a reliable exemplar of leadership traits Minnesotans prize — optimism, hard work, loyalty, personal warmth, grace under fire. He was the kind of sports hero whose judgment fans trusted off as well as on the court and whom parents encouraged their children to admire.

As he was mourned Sunday, Saunders was remembered as much for his compassion as his competitiveness, and as much for his devotion to his family, alma mater and adopted state as to his professional team, of which he was a part-owner and head of basketball operations as well as head coach. Stories were told about Saunders' interest in the little dribblers at summer youth camps, his mentorship of promising local high school players, his boosterism for Gophers sports of all kinds, not just basketball.

He reportedly told an inquiring ESPN interviewer that he remained a Minnesota resident during years when he was employed elsewhere because of "the loyalty and the passion that the people have here." Plenty of Minnesotans would say that's what they liked about Flip, too. His loss to a cruel cancer is felt well beyond the confines of Target Center.