And my point is it's not always one way or the other. Surely PSU isn't just letting guys pick whatever spots they want to wrestle. Cael is a control freak and that program is intricately planned weight by weight.
Nelson is back
- Thread starter funnyfletcher
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Well they did, or at least one of their wrestlers who shares a last name with the coaches did, so now we're talking about it. Why is that a problem?
Which is why you'd be at the checkers table. No offense.
I never said it was a problem. I just don’t expect a coach to respond to every little need for communication a group of fans may want. The athletes should be communicated with - you are owed nothing.
This is EXACTLY what we WANT. We want to be so deep across the board that good wrestlers go elsewhere because they can’t crack our lineup.
i think you're just making things up. while cael is notoriously a 'details' guy and a planner, there's
1) several occasions of guys going on record saying they don't talk about weight or who is going where
2) no precedent of Cael making someone go a particular weight
and
3) evidence to the contrary such as: Kasak wrestling 41, going up to 49 and now rumored to be going 157 where there is a hole, particularly because Cael isn't 'making' Levi hold the weight. they literally have had just one HWT on the roster for like 3 years. at no point in time did Cael 'make' someone bulk up.
regardless, i feel like everyone is overreacting about this topic.
the good news is that you have 5, really, good 174's. PK, Gabe, Nelson, Angelo and i'd include Riggins who is probably a more natural 74.
but i see a lot of hypocrisy in the arguments here. how many times is it stated on here that a high placer > multiple mid placers?
well, you got Nelson saying he wants to be optimized and now you're pitching a fit. What's being danced around and not stated explicitly is that you think that Nelson at 84 is better for a balanced lineup, which refutes the 'high placer' mantra. make up your mind. you want dual balance or finalists?
the best guy will start at 174. the second best guy will start at 184. period.
i fail to see this as the catastrophe you're painting it as. if Nelson beats out Gabe/PK it's a net positive. if Gabe/PK beat out Nelson it's a push and you're back where you started.
and don't get me started on the audacious take/s on what Angelo may or may not do and the armchair psychology around that because that's ridiculous.
Lol…he’s talking out of his ass? You’re kidding. I’m totally shocked at this revelation. 😂
How about the best man wins at 174 and the rest works itself out? Drama over a very hypothetical 5 points or so at nationals 'with the optimal' lineup is speculative at best, and I doubt any of this costs the Hawks a single dual either.
Because the Hawks don’t have the luxury of having holes with the remaining guys in the lineup and still having punchers chance to win it or very least firmly in second.
Strategy and planning to maximize results isn’t a foreign concept for championship level teams. That’s the piece the Hawks seem to struggle with and keep hoping for improvement. Leverage and maximum your top talent and eligibility and get most talented possible at each weight and in adequate time to gain or lose quality weight.
Why leave any points on the table? Seems like every opportunity should be taken to maximize results. No downside and lots of upside.
I agree with you smalls, let them figure it out on the mat. I just think the frustrating thing for me is why have 4 - 5 AA type wrestlers at just one weight. It is obviously very tough to have 10 AA, but Iowa has 6 weights, 133, 141, 149, 184, 197, & HWT, that do not have a single AA returning at those weights. It is what it is right now but I don't think any school wants a lot of scholarship or NIL money tied up at just one or two weights.
Is this the best plan for allocating of our resources/money?
The sad thing is I feel ALL 5 are AA contenders, but we wont see 3 of them in the line up.
the problem isn't the problem.
'the problem' is the solution.
'the problem' is the solution.
Or it makes it seem like Tom lets the guys have a shot at the weight they want to go and then it will sort itself out. You get a shot - that is more attractive to recruits then being told they will go a certain weight or that a weight will be handed to them - well at least the ones you want
I don’t want it handed to anybody but I do have an opinion which lineup is best. With 4 possible blue chipper/AA guys wanting 174 and 0 at 184 my hope is somebody figures it out soon instead of waiting till the SS to have somebody not fully built for the weight.
Its not ridiculous to think the higher likely ncaa finisher IN MARCH might not be the guy who wins a wrestle off, especially when one of the guys fighting for the spot is a young ascending talent.
My bigger point is Iowa needs to be thinking about the long game with things like this. And they rarely seem to do so. Iowa isn't playing with the roster pieces psu is.
The real problem with Smalls position is that it wastes needed scholarship/NIL money at the same weight instead of over multiple weights with = more finalist and a more balanced dual team
If there were 3 or 4 teams consistently winning Nat. Championships and the Hawks were not one of them, I could see trying to make change. But that is not the case. If OK State starts winning on a somewhat regular basis, then I say definitely make a change, but until it is shown that someone else can win, stay with the person who took you to the dance.
Parco is a returning AA at 149.
Kueter was a top p4p recruit at HWT with his first opportunity to start
184 will be manned by one of: Brands, Arnold, Ferrari
It’s going to be okay.
there is ZERO, ZERO money issues at iowa.
money is not an issue. not for scholarships, recruits, NIL, etc etc.
9.9 is not a thing. Iowa is a "Have" not a "Have Not"
because there are 5 talented 174's does not mean that any perceived hole in the lineup is b/c the funds are there (174) and not elsewhere.
this is a good thing. just needs to be (re)engineered.
Agree, but we need a deeper stable of blue chips , with several more coming each year before we can be so cavalier about running off top recruits with unintelligent line up moves.
who the hell is 'running off top recruits' ?
very very bizarre stance.
no sentient being had Angelo penciled in as a starter this year.
did Facundo transfer (or Cael worry about it) when PSU recruited Mesenbrink/Barr/Sealey/Henckel ?
get your head out of your ass.
very very bizarre stance.
no sentient being had Angelo penciled in as a starter this year.
did Facundo transfer (or Cael worry about it) when PSU recruited Mesenbrink/Barr/Sealey/Henckel ?
get your head out of your ass.
Totally agree given the current climate especially with DT no longer an option. T&T have proven they can keep the program amongst the top but really hoping they thread the needle for another run before their tenure is up. It’d be great to cap off their stellar careers with a bang and send them off the right way before a passing of the torch.
Exactly this. smalls philosophy works with psu's roster AND recruiting success, not ours. The results speak for themselves.
It's incredible how we're less than 90 days removed from an embarrassing finish at Nationals, and all the people who were clamoring for change are already right back in line supporting dumb decisions.
I’m just tired of complaining, especially when nothing is going to change.
Being prepared will help Iowa out. If all three wrestle at 174 lbs and the best man wins, the other two won't be ready for their weight class then. To either cut weight to 165 lbs (Kennedy) or move up to 184 lbs (Brands), they really need to start doing that now.
No relevant point to make on the “5 bodies chasing 3 slots”, other than it’s a welcomed issue that will resolve itself to create Hawk's strongest possible team. Really just enjoyed Willie’s use of “sentient being” in a wrestling post. You don't see that often.
Troy Steiner would say do what's best for the team.
"Most rational people" is a minority subset of the overall population.
Well, there you have it. Ask how he knows DeAngeloVickers states "everybody knows that".
Usually when you quote someone it should be something they actually said.
Is it your opinion ALL of psus guys just tell Cael what weight they intend to wrestle and he's says, "cool guys, have at it"? NFW.
I've been down here for 14 years. IMO - that's 14 too many.
it's not my 'philosophy'; it's math. the world won't come to an end b/c, potentially, Gabe and Nelson flip weights.
and it's a 'problem' you want at every weight.
Yeah, get your best team on the mat - silly to have guys sitting the bench if we could make space.
Not when none of them prepared in the off season to wrestle 184. This isn't high school. Guys can't just bump up a 10lb weight class at the start of the season and expect to have championship level success.
Again this is chess, not checkers. Your way of thinking is for teams resigned to letting psu run away with titles every year.
There is communication and a plan put together, but very rarely is anybody told you will wrestle this weight.
A single example is Bartlett's freshman year (free Covid year). The staff wanted Beau to wrestle 149 and he wanted to challenge Nick Lee for the 141 spot. Beau unsuccessfully challenged Nick maintaining his 141 pound weight until the second half of the season when he finally stepped into the 149 spot.
Another example of allowing the athlete have a say is Mark Hall. Mark was supposed to redshirt his freshman year but towards the end of his first semester Mark started to push the issue of competing that year. Despite Cael's desire to redshirt Hall he allowed Hall to wrestle off against Morelli. Hall won that wrestle off by a point. Lost his first varsity match, which was in Carver yet won his only NCAA title that year.
The point of both examples is Cael's desires were set aside to meet the athlete's desires.
A third example is this year's Starocci situation. Starocci is going to compete for his 5th title. The question is at 174, 184 or 197. Cael suggested 197, which would be best for the team and allow Starocci to strength train putting on good weight through the season. However, if Carter adamantly decides he would rather wrestle 184 and he beats Barr the Carter will wrestle 184 despite Cael really wanting him to wrestle 197.
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