Apologies if this has been discussed already, as I don't frequent the board as much as I should. It appears that since the Gable days, parity really has become a part of the sport (and although it hurts us Hawks in some ways, it makes for a much more entertaining tournament). In other words, Minnesota had their "cycle" in 01, 02; Okie St. 03-06; Iowa 08-10; PSU 11-14.
Now Ohio St. is either on the verge of hitting their "cycle" (everyone but Streebliyer comes back, a couple good recruits redshirting) OR this is just a 1-year "blip" similar to Minnesota's 07 title.
My thing is, in a parity filled sport, that tends to go in 2-4 year cycles, all I can ask for as a fan is that we contend in our non-cycle years and hit a "cycle" every 5-8 years. To me, despite reasonable assertions that we've underperformed at many recent tournaments, that appears to be what we're doing.
Even in the years where we haven't won it, we've finished top 4 every time. Scored 107.5 points in 2012 (good enough to win in probably 80-90% of the years) and are finishing 2nd this year. We always have a guy in the finals (26 years in a row and counting), and more often than not we have a champ.
When you look at Okie St., Minnesota, PSU, etc. - they seem to have much worse down years (i.e., years toward the bottom of the top 10) when they're out of "cycle" - so comparatively speaking, I think we're doing a better job than them.
Yes, I think some of our coaching staff lacks credentials (sorry M* and Lofthouse) relative to years past and to some current programs. Yes, I think we JUST missed a golden opportunity this year. Yes, I wish some of our guys were more aggressive offensively (but I also wish 90% of D1 wrestlers were more aggressive offensively, stalling/refereeing is a whole other issue worth discussing).
But ultimately, I really don't think we're that far off. We will have national title contenders in Gilman, Clark, and Sorenson next year. Meyer and Brooks can be dark horses. As we've seen this tournament is becoming more random by the year (similar to MLB and NFL playoffs, where wildcards catch a break and make a deep run frequently). Therefore, I trust in T&T that we will continue to contend for the foreseeable future, and in the next 1-3 years hit our next "cycle" run of multiple championships.
Last but not least: LETS GO CLARK! Loved watching this kid since HS and think he has a chance to go down as an all-time great, starting with a win tonight! Tough matchup but he's more than capable!
Now Ohio St. is either on the verge of hitting their "cycle" (everyone but Streebliyer comes back, a couple good recruits redshirting) OR this is just a 1-year "blip" similar to Minnesota's 07 title.
My thing is, in a parity filled sport, that tends to go in 2-4 year cycles, all I can ask for as a fan is that we contend in our non-cycle years and hit a "cycle" every 5-8 years. To me, despite reasonable assertions that we've underperformed at many recent tournaments, that appears to be what we're doing.
Even in the years where we haven't won it, we've finished top 4 every time. Scored 107.5 points in 2012 (good enough to win in probably 80-90% of the years) and are finishing 2nd this year. We always have a guy in the finals (26 years in a row and counting), and more often than not we have a champ.
When you look at Okie St., Minnesota, PSU, etc. - they seem to have much worse down years (i.e., years toward the bottom of the top 10) when they're out of "cycle" - so comparatively speaking, I think we're doing a better job than them.
Yes, I think some of our coaching staff lacks credentials (sorry M* and Lofthouse) relative to years past and to some current programs. Yes, I think we JUST missed a golden opportunity this year. Yes, I wish some of our guys were more aggressive offensively (but I also wish 90% of D1 wrestlers were more aggressive offensively, stalling/refereeing is a whole other issue worth discussing).
But ultimately, I really don't think we're that far off. We will have national title contenders in Gilman, Clark, and Sorenson next year. Meyer and Brooks can be dark horses. As we've seen this tournament is becoming more random by the year (similar to MLB and NFL playoffs, where wildcards catch a break and make a deep run frequently). Therefore, I trust in T&T that we will continue to contend for the foreseeable future, and in the next 1-3 years hit our next "cycle" run of multiple championships.
Last but not least: LETS GO CLARK! Loved watching this kid since HS and think he has a chance to go down as an all-time great, starting with a win tonight! Tough matchup but he's more than capable!
