Most Improved Hawk 2019-20

[slushhead]

Just an idea for new discussion. The poll list is based on the returning 2018-19 starters, except Kemerer is in there for comparison to his 2017-18 campaign.

FYI, for predicting "most improved", I had the guy's body of work from his last season of competition in mind, as opposed to strictly his Nationals performance (otherwise, Marinelli is the obvious choice here). But obviously, you are free to look at it however you wish.

 

[Iowabandwagon]

Just an idea for new discussion. The poll list is based on the returning 2018-19 starters, except Kemerer is in there for comparison to his 2017-18 campaign.

FYI, for predicting "most improved", I had the guy's body of work from his last season of competition in mind, as opposed to strictly his Nationals performance (otherwise, Marinelli is the obvious choice here). But obviously, you are free to look at it however you wish.

Wilcke and murin have the most room to improve but I’ll go with Warner. Think he really amps it up.

 

[tigerhawk2015]

I will take a healthy Spencer Lee! I will be very surprised if he doesn't dominate every single guy out there by major, tech or fall!! Hard to say about a two time defending champ but I think he will be out to send a message to all those who doubted him!!! Spencer Lee for Life!!

 

[ih8iast8]

No Brody Grothus option?

 

[texas twister]

Most improved = improved placing at nationals - the Bull.

 

[natchrlman]

I will take a healthy Spencer Lee! I will be very surprised if he doesn't dominate every single guy out there by major, tech or fall!! Hard to say about a two time defending champ but I think he will be out to send a message to all those who doubted him!!! Spencer Lee for Life!!

Couldn’t agree more.... Can’t help but imagine how dominant the Bull would be with two good legs too....but regardless he’s the definition of Iowa wrestler

 

[BIG10MANIAC]

I hope it will be Max Murin.... I think his ceiling is a lot higher then we saw. If he learns to finish his shots he will be a legitimate top 5 guy at his weight. He's such a darn hard worker, he's right on the cusp of breaking through and getting on the NCAA podium... I got a feeling next season we'll see the Max Murin we all had high hopes for...

 

[MSeil]

Hard to chose 1 we had 4 new faces in the lineup this year

 

[Ihawkd9times]

Most improved = improved placing at nationals - the Bull.

IMO I can see Warner being a finalist at 197 versus the Bull at 165 just do to the depth at 165 is still insane

 

[HIWILLE]

Warner, then Spencer a close 2nd

 

[Mattski]

I really hope its Warner. Time for us to.have an ass kicker at the upper weights again.

 

[Rustys Dad]

Have to go with Warner...

 

[texas twister]

I really hope its Warner. Time for us to.have an ass kicker at the upper weights again.

If they question is "who do you hope?" , Murin is the easy answer. He is on paper our weakest link this year.

 

[YoungGun07]

I wondered all year if Murin was battling an injury. I think he has the tools to make a pretty big jump (midAA) next season.

 

[js8793]

I wondered all year if Murin was battling an injury. I think he has the tools to make a pretty big jump (midAA) next season.

He did start wearing that elbow brace/pad mid season. Didn't look quite as strong with his snaps after that. I think Brands alluded to him being banged up a couple times too.

 

[choosenuetral]

I’m going with Warner. There were some questions about his heart and how he responded 2 years ago after a loss. Toward the end of this year his confidence and grit shined brightest even when he was down. Taking that confidence into this offseason, I think he makes the biggest improvement.

 

[BIG10MANIAC]

Warner is a Beast... He has so many natural tools. I kinda wondered last year if he wasn't a tad bit out of shape for much of the season.... It seemed like he had several matches where he struggled to go the entire 7 minutes.. I hope he grinds away in the weight room this off-season and packs on some more muscle mass and fine-tunes his conditioning.... Can you imagine Jacob Warner with 8% - 10% more muscle and a gas-tank to match it?

 

[SPOONER]

I know it doesn't fit the question or request but Cass will be the most improved.

 

[slushhead]

I know it doesn't fit the question or request but Cass will be the most improved.

I could see that. I think he'll still take a freshman lump or two through January, but could have a lot figured out by Feb/March.

In the meantime, I did go with Warner. He needs to develop more explosive offense, though.

 

[Bloodrazor]

Warner is a good choice, i'm going with Lugo though. I think he makes a big jump

 

[hawkster03]

I hope it will be Max Murin.... I think his ceiling is a lot higher then we saw. If he learns to finish his shots he will be a legitimate top 5 guy at his weight. He's such a darn hard worker, he's right on the cusp of breaking through and getting on the NCAA podium... I got a feeling next season we'll see the Max Murin we all had high hopes for...

If he hasn’t figured out how to finish shots by now I don’t think he’s ever going to.

 

[BIG10MANIAC]

If he hasn’t figured out how to finish shots by now I don’t think he’s ever going to.

Respectfully disagree..... That's the thing about the word "Learn." It's ongoing.... You don't always learn everything you know as a young person. I am 45 years old and I learn new things all the time. Max knows how to finish shots, he just needs to execute better or maybe it's a conditioning issue. At any rate, he has a few more years with Tom and Terry and more than enough chances to grow and develop.... I think Max was far better at the end of the year than the beginning so he is showing improvement which is a very good thing.

 

[SPOONER]

If he hasn’t figured out how to finish shots by now I don’t think he’s ever going to.

I don't get this at all. Freshmen don't or can't improve? Huh?

 

[RedCal]

I think Alex Marinelli will take first place unless Mehki Lewis returns at 165.

 

[menges00]

If he hasn’t figured out how to finish shots by now I don’t think he’s ever going to.

I'll counter that point with Luke Lofthouse

 

[Sett1997]

Crazy how good Spencer is when people pick our two time NCAA champ to be most improved.
He certainly wasn't himself last year though, even in the tournament.

 

[millhawk]

If they question is "who do you hope?" , Murin is the easy answer. He is on paper our weakest link this year.

He also will be the most challenged from within the program. A lot of tough competition from Turk, Happel and Renteria. Renteria might be our most explosive guy with big move potential.

 

[24 so far]

He also will be the most challenged from within the program. A lot of tough competition from Turk, Happel and Renteria. Renteria might be our most explosive guy with big move potential.

Agreed. It appears to me as well Murin's biggest obstacle is Renteria. We already know what we have with Turk and Happel, and they weren't able to keep a younger Murin out of the lineup last year, so for them to do it next year is unlikely IMO. All 3 are capable DI Wrestlers, and in a perfect Iowa Fan perspective, Renteria puts them all on the bench by raising the bar.

The bad news is 4 141 lbers is too many, from a scholarship allocation perspective, and a potential Teasdale insertion into the mix at some point could make it even more convoluted. It would be great just to see an Iowa 141 lber on the podium again, this year, no matter who it is.

 

[OldestandGreatest]

Agreed. It appears to me as well Murin's biggest obstacle is Renteria. We already know what we have with Turk and Happel, and they weren't able to keep a younger Murin out of the lineup last year, so for them to do it next year is unlikely IMO. All 3 are capable DI Wrestlers, and in a perfect Iowa Fan perspective, Renteria puts them all on the bench by raising the bar.

The bad news is 4 141 lbers is too many, from a scholarship allocation perspective, and a potential Teasdale insertion into the mix at some point could make it even more convoluted. It would be great just to see an Iowa 141 lber on the podium again, this year, no matter who it is.

I would think that 3 out of 4 of those guys are getting very little or no money given the 9.9 total but what do I know. I've become a big fan of Murin's warrior mentality and hope we get to see him make another jump onto the podium next year.

 

[Ihawkd9times]

I think Alex Marinelli will take first place unless Mehki Lewis returns at 165.

I actually feel better about a rematch with Lewis than I do Cenzo. I have no facts to base this off of but I still do.

 

[Spicolli]

I'll counter that point with Luke Lofthouse

Or even Caleb Young. Seems he couldn't finish a TD to save his life (I know he was up at 174). Then last year he made huge improvement, seems like he could finish on almost anyone (see Deakin). Huge boost to his confidence.

 

[js8793]

If he hasn’t figured out how to finish shots by now I don’t think he’s ever going to.

Marinelli became a significantly better finisher from his true freshman to his redshirt freshman year and then got even better this past year. My major concern on him coming in was that he wasn't a natural finisher and left a lot of points on the board, but made up for it with volume attacks. That issue is solved. Gilman is another guy that made significant improvements getting to and finishing leg attacks as he got older. People forget that he was mostly a position/handfight guy as a freshman with mostly low scoring matches.