Did anyone see Brands' post-tournament interview?

[HawkCharlotte]

I saw the little bit that was on Hawk Central.

He sounded beaten down and humbled. We can all only hope this experience results in a lot of changes in how TnT run the program.

Did you get the same or different impression?

As much as I, for one, get frustrated with him and his coaching, I would love to see nothing more than TnT get the program turned around.

No one loves the Hawks more than TnT.

However, after 20+ years of coaching, coaches rarely if ever make significant changes.

Thoughts? Are TnT willing and capable of resurrection?

 

[eb05]

i think they are absolutely capable of a resurrection. to me it just comes down to whether they are willing to acknowledge some changes are needed.

 

[HawkMachine]

Are TnT willing and capable of resurrection?

You will get many different responses but this will be the only CORRECT one.

Resurrection with the current coaching staff? NO!
Resurrection with different assistants? Yes.

Burn it down to the ground if there are no coaching changes.

TO.THE.GROUND.

 

[GlenHawk]

i think they are absolutely capable of a resurrection. to me it just comes down to whether they are willing to acknowledge some changes are needed.

I agree. I am not ready to give up on TNT but they have to get out of their comfort zone and make the necessary changes to start competing again. They can start by moving on from Morningstar and Telford.

-Whatever we are doing for recruiting isn't working.
-Whatever we are doing to work on finishing shots and scrambling in tough positions isn't working.
-Whatever we are doing with our strength and recovery program isn't working

Nothing can change until Tom is truly willing to admit there are problems. We have a new state-of-the-art facility coming and we can't squander that opportunity to pull in top talent, both for Iowa wrestling and the HWC. These changes in Iowa City need to happen immediately or Iowa needs to start looking for new leadership.

 

[nu2u]

For some reason, most of the top ranked recruits do not want to wrestle for Iowa.

Why?

It seems to me that answering that question is fundamental.

 

[blcoach80]

I agree. I am not ready to give up on TNT but they have to get out of their comfort zone and make the necessary changes to start competing again. They can start by moving on from Morningstar and Telford.

-Whatever we are doing for recruiting isn't working.
-Whatever we are doing to work on finishing shots and scrambling in tough positions isn't working.
-Whatever we are doing with our strength and recovery program isn't working

Nothing can change until Tom is truly willing to admit there are problems. We have a new state-of-the-art facility coming and we can't squander that opportunity to pull in top talent, both for Iowa wrestling and the HWC. These changes in Iowa City need to happen immediately or Iowa needs to start looking for new leadership.

Your three bullets are spot on imo. I'm not on the fire Tom train at all, but he absolutely needs to make changes in these areas. They are the glaring weaknesses for Iowa right now. I do think Tom is willing to change and has. We were as healthy going into this NCAA tourney as we have been in years. If you are going to blame Tom for everyone being banged up, he should get credit when they are healthy too.

 

[WEH8ST8HAWK]

All of the top recruits and their parents know that Tom and Terry are in their mid 50's so they won't be rolling with the team on a regular basis. They also know that M* and Bobby aren't elite in any way and other staffs are. It's pretty simple...

 

[Grip220]

all of the above, some very good posts to all of you.
Finally a thread worth reading!

 

[smalls103]

what gets me is 'perception'.

cornell or tech places X and Y and the perception is that they are 'rolling'. excitement about the program. strong vibes.

Iowa does about as good and the sky is falling.

the narrative / perception is odd.

 

[OILCHECKER]

what gets me is 'perception'.

cornell or tech places X and Y and the perception is that they are 'rolling'. excitement about the program. strong vibes.

Iowa does about as good and the sky is falling.

the narrative / perception is odd.

Why is that surprising that people have different expectations for Iowa vs Cornell, va tech, asu, etc.? If Alabama went 12-2 and missed out on the college football playoffs, that season would be seen as a failure. If Iowa went 12-2, made the playoffs and got steamrolled by Georgia in the first round, that would be considered a great season.

 

[Rustys Dad]

Iowa needs to make changes with assistants at a minimum. Michigan, ISU, Ohio State, Cornell… we are fighting now to stay in top 5. Something has to change this off season.

 

[el dub]

what gets me is 'perception'.

cornell or tech places X and Y and the perception is that they are 'rolling'. excitement about the program. strong vibes.

Iowa does about as good and the sky is falling.

the narrative / perception is odd.

We have expectations based on decades of success.

 

[GlenHawk]

what gets me is 'perception'.

cornell or tech places X and Y and the perception is that they are 'rolling'. excitement about the program. strong vibes.

Iowa does about as good and the sky is falling.

the narrative / perception is odd.

Iowa hasn’t had an individual national champion not named Spencer Lee since 2017.

It’s not that Iowa isn’t winning team titles every year that has the realistic fans frustrated, it’s the way our guys are losing year after year. I already posted my thoughts on where the issues lie. PSU isn’t the only school that has top level scramblers and finishers, so why has Iowa struggled so much in these areas?

You’re being obtuse if you think Iowa wrestling doesn’t have a much higher ceiling than what we have seen the last few years, even if it doesn’t mean winning the team title every year anymore.

 

[Pennstate1985]

Iowa hasn’t had an individual national champion not named Spencer Lee since 2017.

It’s not that Iowa isn’t winning team titles every year that has the realistic fans frustrated, it’s the way our guys are losing year after year. I already posted my thoughts on where the issues lie. PSU isn’t the only school that has top level scramblers and finishers, so why has Iowa struggled so much in these areas?

You’re being obtuse if you think Iowa wrestling doesn’t have a much higher ceiling than what we have seen the last few years, even if it doesn’t mean winning the team title every year anymore.

 

[dtripp26]

what gets me is 'perception'.

cornell or tech places X and Y and the perception is that they are 'rolling'. excitement about the program. strong vibes.

Iowa does about as good and the sky is falling.

the narrative / perception is odd.

Yeah, the history of Iowa wrestling is the same as Cornell and Va Tech. The fan support is exactly the same. The resources of each program are no different. I don't see any reason why Iowa fans expect better than 4AA and no champs.

 

[johnyt9]

what gets me is 'perception'.

cornell or tech places X and Y and the perception is that they are 'rolling'. excitement about the program. strong vibes.

Iowa does about as good and the sky is falling.

the narrative / perception is odd.

would be interested in hearing what you think the perception of the Iowa is for most recruits? God knows this board has its opinions

 

[SPOONER]

what gets me is 'perception'.

cornell or tech places X and Y and the perception is that they are 'rolling'. excitement about the program. strong vibes.

Iowa does about as good and the sky is falling.

the narrative / perception is odd.

You really can’t figure this out? lol…amazing. No way you’re this dense.

 

[bammhawk1]

what gets me is 'perception'.

cornell or tech places X and Y and the perception is that they are 'rolling'. excitement about the program. strong vibes.

Iowa does about as good and the sky is falling.

the narrative / perception is odd.

Is this serious? Are you fu(king stupid?

 

[wahlberg]

what gets me is 'perception'.

cornell or tech places X and Y and the perception is that they are 'rolling'. excitement about the program. strong vibes.

Iowa does about as good and the sky is falling.

the narrative / perception is odd.

Oh come on Willie. That’s like saying it’s strange if Bama and Indiana (or take your pick) both go 8-4 in a College Football season and then finding it odd that the perceptions are different.

Edit: just saw oilchecker already made this point.

 

[USPMAN]

We have expectations based on decades of success.

Yeah but many of you claim that all that success is “bad for the sport”…..right?

 

[jneffer]

what gets me is 'perception'.

cornell or tech places X and Y and the perception is that they are 'rolling'. excitement about the program. strong vibes.

Iowa does about as good and the sky is falling.

the narrative / perception is odd.

crisp insights like this must be why you're the biggest brain in wrestling

 

[Hawk fan in Minn]

Nothing gets threads rocking like a post from smalls.

 

[dtripp26]

Yeah but many of you claim that all that success is “bad for the sport”…..right?

 

[hawk224]

Yeah but many of you claim that all that success is “bad for the sport”…..right?

Objectively, one school dominating all the time does reduce the excitement in the sport, especially when duals, championships, etc. are basically predetermined. Of course, in shameless hypocrisy, I hope the Hawks steamroll everybody all the time forever

 

[jayridescarbon]

Ah, yes, was it Andy that called the warden obtuse?

 

[Trapper85]

would be interested in hearing what you think the perception of the Iowa is for most recruits? God knows this board has its opinions

I am really interested in this☝️too. I certainly believe improvements are needed in all facets, but am convinced identifying talent, with focus on athlete mind wiring and body type/athleticism, is most important to improve on right away. What I don't know is whether Tom is just not great at identifying the best talent today, or he is but 1) just doesn't recruit them hard enough, 2) those guys don't want to come here because they don't think his training will help them excel, 3) those guys pick schools for other reasons like education, close to home, buddy/brother went elsewhere, etc. Just seems like we should be getting a few more elite guys than we are, even if not as many as PSU, and I'm very curious why. Not interested in the usual negative inuendos and speculative answers, really curious what anyone has for real intel from the better recruits we don't get. I suspect answer is a mix of above options depending on kid, but are there clear leading explanations?

 

[smalls103]

you guys can't deduce what i'm saying and I'm the one that's obtuse?

lol.

 

[Herkylian]

you guys can't deduce what i'm saying and I'm the one that's obtuse?

lol.

Jesus, literally you are the embodiment of self direction with a sole purpose to make money off of what you say. You would have no livelihood if you didn't bring the Iowa and PSU fans into confrontation. You have nothing other than these two fanbases. Your whole polished shtick is to run us into one another. How much money would you make bashing Cornell and Lehigh? If it weren't for us you'd be licking spam and anchovies out of tins. Your whole interest and existence is based on two fanbases chuck. One dies, you die professionally. You placed your horse east and we west realize how biased you are.

 

[Herkylian]

Jesus, literally you are the embodiment of self direction with a sole purpose to make money off of what you say. You would have no livelihood if you didn't bring the Iowa and PSU fans into confrontation. You have nothing other than these two fanbases. Your whole polished shtick is to run us into one another. How much money would you make bashing Cornell and Lehigh? If it weren't for us you'd be licking spam and anchovies out of tins. Your whole interest and existence is based on two fanbases chuck. One dies, you die professionally. You placed your horse east and we west realize how biased you are.

And by the way, yes, you truly are an asshole. You have zero self awareness and if you had a fraction, it'd burn like kerosene. In general, all fanbases are wonderful, even PSU, so stop dividing wrestling and pull your pants up to build it. You are trying to build a "reality TV" brand yet 99 percent of wrassling fanbases want knowledge of the sport. I know Burroughs, Dake, Taylor because they are the greatest in the world to me. Introduce impartiality of the future without bias. Tell us the future of 125 - Heavyweight without a bias for once. The wrassling world is not based on Iowa vs. Psu, sure you like to play to ames of partiality but in truth you aren't Willie.

 

[smalls103]

i gave a compliment. the compliment was misconstrued at which time i was called an idiot. then i laughed at the misinterpretation. and now i'm dividing a nation.

that's where we're at in this thread?

lmfao.

 

[rcamp67]

i gave a compliment. the compliment was misconstrued at which time i was called an idiot. then i laughed at the misinterpretation. and now i'm dividing a nation.

that's where we're at in this thread?

lmfao.

This reminds me of an employee I had. He wasn’t a good worker but I put up with him. After about a year of me putting up with his poor work ethic he went to HR with some BS about some other employees. Made my life a living hell. A few weeks later he showed up to work nice as could be with donuts……all I could think was “F you loser”.

 

[HawkeyePA]

so does Cael escape any heat because his 125lber was seeded #1 and Davis FAILED to even place at all ?? or does that get over shadowed by the rest of the guys winning ? I mean did Davis have to be replaced by the next guy who was recruited over him or does he get to stay and blame his losses on the Head Coach or was it the Assistant coaches fault ? Oh that's right that would be how it goes at Iowa...as soon as a loss occurs it means the sky is falling and off with everybody's heads !! Yes we can make improvements moving forward but bitching about the past is stale and non productive. Lets focus on some positive aspects and build from there.... all of the whining and complaining isn't going to sway the AD on any decisions and it certainly wont help encourage any recruits to want to wrestle here.

 

[artradley]

so does Cael escape any heat because his 125lber was seeded #1 and Davis FAILED to even place at all ?? or does that get over shadowed by the rest of the guys winning ?

It does get overshadowed by the dominance of the team as a whole. Seems self evident.

 

[evashevsky58]

what gets me is 'perception'.

cornell or tech places X and Y and the perception is that they are 'rolling'. excitement about the program. strong vibes.

Iowa does about as good and the sky is falling.

the narrative / perception is odd.

Smalls, What do you think needs to be done to get Iowa back on top?

 

[evashevsky58]

I think Willy could have some valuable insights as to what changes are needed as an outsider to the Iowa program (objective) and one who has connections with other programs. Or just an unbiased observer who is knowledgable about the sport.

 

[grapplefann]

what gets me is 'perception'.

cornell or tech places X and Y and the perception is that they are 'rolling'. excitement about the program. strong vibes.

Iowa does about as good and the sky is falling.

the narrative / perception is odd.

Willie, it's 'expectation' more than perception. As I've said before, entitlement is baked into the human condition, and 24 titles will yield entitlement in a fan base. If they dump Tom, and some joker from wherever takes over and Iowa drops into 2nd tier mediocrity, then that entitlement will fade away, like it has somewhat down in Stillwater.

The same goes for any other team in any other sport. Look how they are in agony in Happy Valley over Franklin because he can't beat Michigan or Ohio State in football. That's the leftover 'entitlement' after all those great years with Joe Pa.

 

[el dub]

so does Cael escape any heat because his 125lber was seeded #1 and Davis FAILED to even place at all ?? or does that get over shadowed by the rest of the guys winning ? I mean did Davis have to be replaced by the next guy who was recruited over him or does he get to stay and blame his losses on the Head Coach or was it the Assistant coaches fault ? Oh that's right that would be how it goes at Iowa...as soon as a loss occurs it means the sky is falling and off with everybody's heads !! Yes we can make improvements moving forward but bitching about the past is stale and non productive. Lets focus on some positive aspects and build from there.... all of the whining and complaining isn't going to sway the AD on any decisions and it certainly wont help encourage any recruits to want to wrestle here.

What do you think?

 

[Herkylian]

I think Willy could have some valuable insights as to what changes are needed as an outsider to the Iowa program (objective) and one who has connections with other programs. Or just an unbiased observer who is knowledgable about the sport.

Like a hook in a walleye you all just tend to be. Someone with a voice becomes your perception of reality. *Willie*, is not remotely worthy of the most junior writers on Flo, he is a product that relies on schtick like Howard Stern. Just stay away from him, do your own research, read the people on sites that are devoted to the sport and not dividing fanbases for profit.

 

[Hawkgma]

what gets me is 'perception'.

cornell or tech places X and Y and the perception is that they are 'rolling'. excitement about the program. strong vibes.

Iowa does about as good and the sky is falling.

the narrative / perception is odd.

We stil think Iowa should be Pushing PSU every year.... I will never stop thinking that. Being OK with 2nd is great when you have never been first!

 

[Hawkgma]

Like a hook in a walleye you all just tend to be. Someone with a voice becomes your perception of reality. *Willie*, is not remotely worthy of the most junior writers on Flo, he is a product that relies on schtick like Howard Stern. Just stay away from him, do your own research, read the people on sites that are devoted to the sport and not dividing fanbases for profit.

every post you makes shows your stupidity...