Hopefully there are "options" for 23/24.
And none of us want an undersized Gabe going 184 next season.
2023 Big 10 Tournament Session 1
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And none of us want an undersized Gabe going 184 next season.
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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nelson has wrestled far above his credentials coming to iowa
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…
You act like he was a big time recruit. He was not. He’s absolutely wrestled above his HS recruiting rankings.
Based on his recruiting rankings, what was your honest expectations of Nelson Brands' career at Iowa?
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.
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.
Which, in doing a bit of math, is someone who would not be expected to even make the national championships in their career.
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.
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.
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.
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…
Days of bonusing their way to the finals are over. Thus huge reduction in points.
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.
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.
Riggins better hit Taylor up for his Treigning program if he is going to be 184.
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.
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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