So can you see that he is on read only? I have a follow up question, but want to know this first.
Official Portal Watch
- Thread starter eb05
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So can you see that he is on read only? I have a follow up question, but want to know this first.
good lord people, i've answered the question several times on here.
but here we go again. bookmark this post so when you get your pitchforks out again in 3 months you can just refer back to it.
name a guy you want to know about and I'll tell ya what i know.
the notion that I put figures out about Iowa b/c i'm 'trying to negative recruit' is utter paranoia.
first things first - name the iowa guys whose figures I put out. buchanan. i never said anything about Franek. or Caliendo. or Parco. i discussed ballpark figures for Real on a show but nothing concrete. who else? I know what they offered Lilledahl but never said anything about it. (Yes they offered Lilledahl (and Matt Ramos) in April/May). So who else? knock your socks off. i'm dying to hear.
why don't i put out PSU guys. 1) psu is a vault. 2) who? Nagao? Bernie? (remember, like two months ago when y'all accused me of 'releasing' Bernie's Iowa offer and i told you to check the receipts, and you did, and you conceded? yeah.) Max Dean got nothing. Who else we talking about?
Hendrickson - i did discuss that and in fact got a call from Coleman Scott about it. Cam Amine's figure was a rather negligible amount. idk what Hamiti's was.
Michigan Guys - they were low figures and the details were murky at best and included (in the purported figures) tuition etc into the 'valuation' of the deal. the only one that i think was substantial was Cardenas, and i don't know the exact number. all i know is that the other schools that were in the mix that didn't get him said it was a big number.
there's 2 things going on in this thread
the first is typical Hawkeye fan paranoia. i'm not trying to make ANYONE look bad and it's a stretch to even say that the big numbers Iowa is throwing around is a negative.
the second - you guys are either aloof or in denial about what's been going on. Iowa/Iowa proxies have been very ... idk what the word is... cavalier ... about putting out offers. Texts, contracts. Frankly, it's something you should be happy about rather than shooting the messenger. They're trying to put the best team on the mat.
but at the same time, their offers are much more ascertainable and able to be confirmed. try to tar and feather me all you want, but if you don't believe Iowa is leaving the biggest paper trail of the bunch, you simply don't know what's been going on.
but here we go again. bookmark this post so when you get your pitchforks out again in 3 months you can just refer back to it.
name a guy you want to know about and I'll tell ya what i know.
the notion that I put figures out about Iowa b/c i'm 'trying to negative recruit' is utter paranoia.
first things first - name the iowa guys whose figures I put out. buchanan. i never said anything about Franek. or Caliendo. or Parco. i discussed ballpark figures for Real on a show but nothing concrete. who else? I know what they offered Lilledahl but never said anything about it. (Yes they offered Lilledahl (and Matt Ramos) in April/May). So who else? knock your socks off. i'm dying to hear.
why don't i put out PSU guys. 1) psu is a vault. 2) who? Nagao? Bernie? (remember, like two months ago when y'all accused me of 'releasing' Bernie's Iowa offer and i told you to check the receipts, and you did, and you conceded? yeah.) Max Dean got nothing. Who else we talking about?
Hendrickson - i did discuss that and in fact got a call from Coleman Scott about it. Cam Amine's figure was a rather negligible amount. idk what Hamiti's was.
Michigan Guys - they were low figures and the details were murky at best and included (in the purported figures) tuition etc into the 'valuation' of the deal. the only one that i think was substantial was Cardenas, and i don't know the exact number. all i know is that the other schools that were in the mix that didn't get him said it was a big number.
there's 2 things going on in this thread
the first is typical Hawkeye fan paranoia. i'm not trying to make ANYONE look bad and it's a stretch to even say that the big numbers Iowa is throwing around is a negative.
the second - you guys are either aloof or in denial about what's been going on. Iowa/Iowa proxies have been very ... idk what the word is... cavalier ... about putting out offers. Texts, contracts. Frankly, it's something you should be happy about rather than shooting the messenger. They're trying to put the best team on the mat.
but at the same time, their offers are much more ascertainable and able to be confirmed. try to tar and feather me all you want, but if you don't believe Iowa is leaving the biggest paper trail of the bunch, you simply don't know what's been going on.
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I think you guys are way too sensitive on this topic, at least when it come to @smalls103 . Maybe I'm biased because I consider him a friend, but this isn't a Mineo situation, imo. Mineo is openly antagonistic to Iowa and often wrong. Willie is rarely wrong and is more antagonistic to people who come at him. Plus I'm pretty sure that his description is entirely accurate, this is the first time he's put out hard numbers, and it's about a guy that is apparently already committed to Iowa, not "Iowa is offering this huge number and losing guys to Penn State!" thing Mineo does.
Why put out $$$ figures for Iowa's portal activity and nobody else's? It's a pretty simple question, and IMO it's a pretty simple answer that's the same as the other Twitter dork you mentioned... to paint Iowa as desperate. And even if we are a little desperate, we're not the only program throwing gobs of money at guys. But when PSU or Michigan do it, there's zero talk about how big the bag was. Only Iowa.
Willie isn't the worst offender of the group, but majority of wrestling media/wrestling community HATES Iowa and has an agenda to keep Iowa down and out for good. By no means can Iowa ever return to the glory days. No different than any other form of media and their specific agendas. It's pretty stupid
He was pretty clear why. He could verify that the numbers were real.
Some call that journalism.
So SB is the first and only guy in the NIL era that he's been able to get verified numbers on?
Come on man. You read his post. sheesh.
Fans getting mad at Willie are conflating him with Mineo. Mineo is the one that will talk about numbers, usually unverified - and then say that the Hawks are desperate, etc, etc, yada, yada.
What’s my problem? I had no idea of your last comment. That he can post on football. So, he’s been banned from the wrestling forum. That sucks but doesn’t surprise me.
Sounds like Iowa is more open about their offers and that may be an intentional strategy to get the word out to potential transfers and recruits.
I never said he was as egregious as the other tool. But the fact remains, he posted $$$ figures for an Iowa portal guy (the other guy's MO), something he's never done for portal guys at other major programs (the other guy's MO). If you're saying it's only because the $$$ figures here were "verified" and the $$$ figures have never been "verified" for guys at other programs, some may call that journalism but I just call it lazy.
I don't want to speak for Willie, but I feel like he's answered these questions in his own post, and it's been mentioned by a couple of others. These are the first numbers that he's independently verified. Most journalistic outfits require double-sourcing. Also, I think it's important to, again, note that the only guys where he has publicly discussed numbers has been on a guy we definitively got (Real Woods) and a guy we are apparently getting (Buchanan). That's way different than the Minnow.
FInally, the real question you should be asking is "is the number accurate?" because that's really Willie's only job in this scenario. He's media/journalist, not "Iowa PR." Even that presumes that the Buchanan number is somehow bad PR, which I think is disputed.
Buchanan hasn’t committed yet so it’s really no different than when Mineo does it with a transfer Iowa is close to getting. Nothing good can come out of reporting the number for Iowa, and I think wrestling journalists know that.
The "nothing good can come out of reporting" it has nothing to do with Willie. He's doing HIS job correctly.
The fall out has nothing to do with him unless he decided to add commentary to it.
Even if I just accept all that as true....that's not his job. The only relevant question is "is the number accurate?".
Jesu announced Nov. 2022. Spencer Lee is wrestling his last year in 22-23. Ayala is redshirting after being an NCAA qualifier in 2021-22 and is without a doubt going 125 in 23-24. This is a clear indication to anyone entering the portal at 125 that Iowa has a spot open for you?
It is hard to figure out just who you think, from this list below, who could have kept Iowa from your perceived epic failure?
2023 portal ncaa qualifiers and AA:
#30 seed Lorenzo Grad transfer from
Cal Poly
# 24 seed Babin Grad transfer fromColumbia
#12 seed Deaugustino Grad transfer from NW to Michigan
Spratley transferred from Minnesota to Okie State.
#15 seed Smith Grad transfer from App. State to Neb. Is this your AA?
2024 Portal:
#11 seed Cooper Flynn Junior Va Tech to Minnesota
Nobody else worth going after.
Really what you’re saying is we needed to start offering someone a boat load of money, which really couldn’t have started until after NCAA’s this year.
Then we get back to reporting numbers he hears for other teams/transfers as well. That’s non biased journalism. I don’t buy or believe he doesn’t know concretely what guys from other schools got.
Man, I would have loved to see Cooper Flynn in black and gold.
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this is the reality of the situation. i have been trying to bite my tongue because frankly i’m tired of having the same conversation about nil money and rumors. i am almost positive these numbers weren’t leaked to Willie by iowa or sb. sure it’s not willie’s job to keep them secret but it’s the picking and choosing that rubs me wrong.
also don’t buy the bs that this is the first time willie said numbers about Iowa because he has “verified” mineo’s numbers and said they were true two different times.
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But you're just blatantly ignoring that this is the first time he's had a hard number OR you're just presuming that he's withheld the hard numbers on other Iowa transfers for some reason. Why wasn't he giving the numbers during our known failed pursuits of Truax or Nagao? It just doesn't track with reality.
That's the point. If he's doing this under the veil of "journalism" then why isn't he out getting verified $$$ figures for all the high-profile guys Michigan and PSU have been pulling in through the portal? There have been more than a few there. Why is it just for Iowa? If this is about journalism, why is it so selective and lazy?
Just who in the hell are you referring to as many? The #11 seed Cooper Flynn who went 1-2 at NCAA’s and lost his last two matches to Camacho the #7 seed who went 2-2 at NCAA’s.
You’re grasping at straws.
I am still struggling to see how Iowa's offer of $500k to Buchanan and Teemer is a bad thing.. To me it is a gigantic flashing sign saying "Elite transfers, come here to get paid". Additionally, paying for elite transfer does not mean that there is no money to build out the RTC and NIL deals for elite recruits. It is honestly loser mentality to think that Iowa (the biggest name in college wrestling) is uncapable of building out the RTC and paying NIL money to recruits and transfers while other programs like Michigan and PSU are able to do it.
Thanks for providing a list of guys who are largely better than the guy we have. That was the point--appreciate you doing the homework.
This would have been bad 10 years ago. In today's environment it is a fail.
FWIW, I'm up for Cruz serving me a big poopburger this year. Would be great to see and eat.
It isn't. We have too many whiny bitch ass fans. Oh no it is so terrible our program has vast financial resources! That's not the signal we want to send to potential wrestlers! LOL
Without knowing how deep the pockets are of the program, I think one could argue that money would be better spent on elite high school prospects that will be around 4-5 years. And if they can do both, great.
it’s like some of you have no idea how the world works. let’s think about this.
do you want potential wrestlers to know that we have deep pockets? yes.
is it better if the specific numbers weren’t leaked? yes. first reason would be because it sets an expectation for future guys, second is it can piss of some current guys.
let’s say the specific number being leaked is inevitable. ok fine so be it but here’s the thing, if it is leaked prior to the deal being final it gives the competition the information they need to beat the offer. has this happened? yes unequivocally.
additionally, leaking the number on offers where the guy isn’t going to bite feeds in to the desperation narrative that is alive and well.
we may be whiny little bitches but at least we aren’t ignorant little bitches
do you want potential wrestlers to know that we have deep pockets? yes.
is it better if the specific numbers weren’t leaked? yes. first reason would be because it sets an expectation for future guys, second is it can piss of some current guys.
let’s say the specific number being leaked is inevitable. ok fine so be it but here’s the thing, if it is leaked prior to the deal being final it gives the competition the information they need to beat the offer. has this happened? yes unequivocally.
additionally, leaking the number on offers where the guy isn’t going to bite feeds in to the desperation narrative that is alive and well.
we may be whiny little bitches but at least we aren’t ignorant little bitches
At this point I won’t disagree they are better than Cruz, until we see him wrestle this year. If he is significantly stronger, his results should change.
Many of the guys on the list are done and those we’ve offered (possibly Ramos, Volk)
aren’t coming.
I’ll believe Ayala is going 133 when I see it.
it was in response to vak. i don’t care what you do at this point. you do you.
even if all that is true (it's not) what you want and what is best for your program is not my problem.
i'm not a PR arm for anyone. i'm not beholden to what Tom, or Cael, or Tom Ryan, or David Taylor wants or prefers like some other people i know.
if the staff thinks that leaked/confirmed numbers hurt the perception of the program then maybe they should tighten up their breadcrumbs. i'm of the opinion that they WANT it out there, because the alternative is that they are reckless and i don't believe that to be true.
ultimately, it's not "Willie-Does-This-To-Iowa-Because-He-Hates-Them". i do it because it's news, it's interesting (and an interesting era in our sport) and because the information is readily available.
i genuinely don’t think you do it to hurt iowa. i think mineo does. i don’t expect you to be beholden to anyone which is why it just feels strange that no other info gets leaked.
and I’m not wrong.
What you posted doesn't disprove that. He's saying Minnow does know things (which is sadly true, he definitely does have sources). He didn't report the number on Woods, nor did he confirm that Minnow's number was accurate. You're making assumptions to get there, and while the assumptions are understandable in the context, they are still assumptions.
I don't have an opinion on whether the staff did or didn't fail but I can tell you for sure my opinion on Deaugustino is Im thrilled he was never in black and gold. The beard maybe but the wrestling definitely not.
