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2023 Big 10 Tournament Session 1

Injured or not Abe hasn't presented a vibe that he belongs with the top 8 in the country. He can beat the 10-20 guys but once he faces top 8 the wins go away.
Hopefully there are "options" for 23/24.

And none of us want an undersized Gabe going 184 next season.
 
Just like Warner, everyone in the top 15 or so have scouted him well and know exactly where to position themselves in the ties to basically eliminate their neutral offense.

Simply put, some very good wrestlers still have a limited amount of attacks in neutral and if that basically ALL is generated from the ties, good wrestlers can and do shut that down.

Make no mistake, Nelson and Jacob hand fight nonstop. They just can’t do anything if their opponents stay hips back and elbows in in the ties….
Great. And most people don't deny that, at least with regard to Nelson. That doesn't make it enjoyable to watch, and the fact that he is at the level where that is how he has to wrestle is the frustrating part. That's not where fans want the standard to be, and it is not also not enjoyable to watch.
 
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Nope. You are missing the point. It’s called no progress in four years. Wrestling way below the credentials they entered Iowa with. What amazes me most is Brands, I.e. zero offense with that last name. He must have gotten all the recessive genes from mom 😮😮. All this said, I love both guys and bleed black and gold. Just does not affect my objectivity and what my eyes tell me.
nelson has wrestled far above his credentials coming to iowa
 
Just like Warner, everyone in the top 15 or so have scouted him well and know exactly where to position themselves in the ties to basically eliminate their neutral offense.

Simply put, some very good wrestlers still have a limited amount of attacks in neutral and if that basically ALL is generated from the ties, good wrestlers can and do shut that down.

Make no mistake, Nelson and Jacob hand fight nonstop. They just can’t do anything if their opponents stay hips back and elbows in in the ties….
I think it's a deeper philosophical issue. A few weeks ago willie had a show about the lack of offense in college wrestling and one thing he said was "it gets coached out of them" and I think that's part of the story here.

Neither Warner nor Nelson are comfortable finishing in scrambles. They often look totally lost and end up getting scored on. Over the past few years, the coaches "improved" this issue by coaching them to be more selective with their attacks. Both wait for perfect opportunities where they can finish clean. But the result is that they only give themselves a couple opportunities per match. And the still end up in scrambles half the time anyway.

Instead of improving the scrambling, the strategy is to avoid it. If you can't score when opponents stay "hips back and elbows in in the ties" (i.e. basic good position), you're not good enough. You act like that's cheating.
 
Whether it’s this year or next PSu is finally human. Endlesss string of Taylor’s and nolf were luck. They have all the top recruits and more sitting the bench. Even flo noted that some air has come out of that balloon. They had a great initial class with a combo of Cael and previous recruits and struck gold on the follow up class. Of course they are legit number ones and could win nationals this year. But the bonus point train is ending. Blood in the water. Shark infested waters…
 
Whether it’s this year or next PSu is finally human. Endlesss string of Taylor’s and nolf were luck. They have all the top recruits and more sitting the bench. Even flo noted that some air has come out of that balloon. They had a great initial class with a combo of Cael and previous recruits and struck gold on the follow up class. Of course they are legit number ones and could win nationals this year. But the bonus point train is ending. Blood in the water. Shark infested waters…
What?!? They’re favored to win 4 individual national titles this year with 3 heavy favorites. They have lots of top young guys. They are going to run away with nationals.
 
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Hopefully there are "options" for 23/24.

And none of us want an undersized Gabe going 184 next season.
The more I see of Gabe he's too short to be a 184 in college, and certainly not as a true frosh. He looks like a natural 174. We could see Riggins at 184 after Abe is gone.

IDK what we do with 184 next year. TnT haven't shown that they're willing to "replace" a returning starter with a portal transfer but we may need to be looking once we know who is available.
 
Based on his recruiting rankings, what was your honest expectations of Nelson Brands' career at Iowa?
His trajectory was straight up. He hadn't wrestled long, started in 6th grade I believe, but won 3 state titles. He was a takedown machine. He hasn't improved any in his years in our room.
 
but but but he was really good at the state tournament and his name was brands.

nelson's done a great job of improving here. he may just be at his ceiling.
I tend to agree. I also think every one of our guys has improved, but that's not what matters. Everyone improves, but you have to improve MORE than everyone else to excel, and that's not happened in several cases. I believe that is best explained as a recruiting problem, not a coaching problem per se. I mean, I don't think Spencer Lee has improved all that much.....but who gives 2 shits in that case.
 
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Great. And most people don't deny that, at least with regard to Nelson. That doesn't make it enjoyable to watch, and the fact that he is at the level where that is how he has to wrestle is the frustrating part. That's not where fans want the standard to be, and it is not also not enjoyable to watch.
From a fans perspective you are absolutely right. I just look at it from a pure wrestling perspective and as a wrestler whose style actually meshed very well with both. Because of that I actually like enjoy watching guys have to grind out wins on the mat. I appreciate the guys that can escape from anyone and ride well, but are simply too 1 dimensional on their feet…
 
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I think it's a deeper philosophical issue. A few weeks ago willie had a show about the lack of offense in college wrestling and one thing he said was "it gets coached out of them" and I think that's part of the story here.

Neither Warner nor Nelson are comfortable finishing in scrambles. They often look totally lost and end up getting scored on. Over the past few years, the coaches "improved" this issue by coaching them to be more selective with their attacks. Both wait for perfect opportunities where they can finish clean. But the result is that they only give themselves a couple opportunities per match. And the still end up in scrambles half the time anyway.

Instead of improving the scrambling, the strategy is to avoid it. If you can't score when opponents stay "hips back and elbows in in the ties" (i.e. basic good position), you're not good enough. You act like that's cheating.
That may apply to some, but I watched a TON of Warner and Brands in High School. Their top level skill set was always the same as what followed into college. As good as it was in High School, it’s easily scoutable and avoidable in College.

Heavy on the head and the power grind is very dominant in High school, but it’s nothing special in DI and, with the right coaching, it can be neutralized by the better guys with proper positioning and patience.
 
The more I see of Gabe he's too short to be a 184 in college, and certainly not as a true frosh. He looks like a natural 174. We could see Riggins at 184 after Abe is gone.

IDK what we do with 184 next year. TnT haven't shown that they're willing to "replace" a returning starter with a portal transfer but we may need to be looking once we know who is available.
I don't think we want Gabe to waste a year at 184. But Assad isn't going to be on the podium in his lifetime.

My opinion is we just don't have the workout partners available to push the upper weights and much of that might be the shortcomings of the current HWC.

I doubt Riggins can get to a solid 184 within the next year.
 
The more I see of Gabe he's too short to be a 184 in college, and certainly not as a true frosh. He looks like a natural 174. We could see Riggins at 184 after Abe is gone.

IDK what we do with 184 next year. TnT haven't shown that they're willing to "replace" a returning starter with a portal transfer but we may need to be looking once we know who is available.
Riggins better hit Taylor up for his Treigning program if he is going to be 184.
 
Major league baseball, the stodgiest, most fuddyduddiest sport in the country, the most recalcitrant to change, changed the rules to encourag more action. We need to do something about top wrestling.
They tried w/ the 4-pt NF.
They tried again w/ the 5-count on dropping to a leg.
Not sure what the solution is now, but they have tried a couple things.
 
I don't think we want Gabe to waste a year at 184. But Assad isn't going to be on the podium in his lifetime.

My opinion is we just don't have the workout partners available to push the upper weights and much of that might be the shortcomings of the current HWC.

I doubt Riggins can get to a solid 184 within the next year.
They need to portal a 184 to get some competition.
 
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Which, in doing a bit of math, is someone who would not be expected to even make the national championships in their career.
Not true. Over 4 years there are 1300 entries to the NCAA’s. Being in the top 100 in a given year makes 400 wrestlers in top 100 over a 4 year period. A top 100 wrestler is expected to make the ncaa tourney once or twice.
 
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