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What I learned at NCAAs this weekend

My sophomore year, we had a guy who did basically that. We had solid kids at 98 and 105 and a state qualifier at 119, but no one for 112, so one of the better kids on the team (but not good enough to beat our star wrestler for 119) sucked down from about 135 walking around to wrestle 112 so we'd have a full lineup. I was 126. That ended when he passed out from dehydration at practice and had to go to the ER. He was immediately recertified at 119 and challenged me for 126. After rag-dolling him all season when he was 112, he kicked my ass all over the mat two days after getting out of the ER and took my spot at 126. It's astounding how much of a detriment that sort of cut really is. This was in the 80s, though, so the mentality was totally different (and today the doc who certified him at 112 would be in big trouble...). We had to forfeit 112 for the rest of the season, but were probably better off for it anyway (he definitely was...).
Yeah, I was the guy who had to drop to get into the lineup. It sucked in a lot of ways. You give up energy and mass. You know what you want to do and what you're capable of doing, but nothing is in the gas tank to do it. Very, very frustrating. I guess I should have enrolled at Oklahoma State. Would have felt at home.
 
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I've been a member of the Swarm since its inception and a member of the Inner Circle since 2018.

Who is responsible for distributing the NIL dollars for the wrestling team? If the figures I've heard with Franek's transfer are accurate, he would be one of the highest-paid individuals in the current PSU lineup.

If you're asking people to contribute their hard-earned money, you need to have a well-defined plan for how it will be spent. And while I'm certainly happy Jared was a Hawk this year, investing that amount of money in a one-year transfer on a team with no chance of winning a title seems incredibly irresponsible and short-sighted.

As others have pointed out, if fans sensed there was a clear vision or overarching strategy in place for recruiting and witnessed tangible changes and progress, financial support would naturally follow.
I have no clue what kind of NIL deal Franek got, but maybe it was because Franek and Caliendo were a package deal? Only one year with Franek but, 3 years with Caliendo, so someone was willing to throw some extra money at Franek.
 
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One could rather rightfully argue it hurt Iowa much more than others. Mind you, they were runaway favorites to win NCAA's that year. Many detractors use that to act like Iowa's performance that season didn't exist. On top of that, he listed pretty significant infor regarding progression of the facilities and funding.

Do you honestly not think Iowa would be in a much better place if they had won 2 titles in a row and had the facility finished a year or 2 ago?

Other than Lugo, COVID essentially just bumped our roster one year. We still should have won two in a row, we had the roster, but didn’t get it done the second year.
 
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Other than Lugo, COVID essentially just bumped our roster one year. We still should have won two in a row, we had the roster, but didn’t get it done the second year.
I am not following the logic. Essentially the same roster? The missing essential link was Spencer Lee. We were better off physically in ‘20 and ‘21, than ‘21 & ‘22.

I agree we had the roster to win at the beginning of the year, not at the end.
 
You are missing my point. I am saying we would have had more success had Covid not canceled 2020 and the building would have been completed on the original timeline and cost. Again, I am saying it would have helped, as it turned out I believe it hurt.
When you wrestled at Iowa did you take other recruiting visits to universities where facilities were not upgraded as they are today? I am just curious and not trying to make a point or change your mind.
I can agree with you that covid may have hurt us more than others, and that a new facility (sooner) would have/will help. I just think those things are a ways down the list of reasons we aren't performing better right now, or in the future if no other changes are made.
 
I can agree with you that covid may have hurt us more than others, and that a new facility (sooner) would have/will help. I just think those things are a ways down the list of reasons we aren't performing better right now, or in the future if no other changes are made.
I respect your opinion. It was frustrating watching NCAA’s this year. Losing on our own shots in scrambles. Most of the time we worked hard and got countered. I don’t know why we hit low singles and stop. If I was Ayala, I would have walked back to the middle of the mat instead of chasing Figs around. Caliendo did about as well as you could expect.
Most importantly my buddies and I had a great time. The only NCAA we’ve missed since 01 was New York City.

I don’t have any real answers, however I am frustrated.
 
I am not following the logic. Essentially the same roster? The missing essential link was Spencer Lee. We were better off physically in ‘20 and ‘21, than ‘21 & ‘22.

I agree we had the roster to win at the beginning of the year, not at the end.
It’s because there is no logic.
 
I am not following the logic. Essentially the same roster? The missing essential link was Spencer Lee. We were better off physically in ‘20 and ‘21, than ‘21 & ‘22.

I agree we had the roster to win at the beginning of the year, not at the end.

The roster we should have had for the 2020 and 2021 championships was essentially the roster we ended up having in 2021 and 2022; because everyone but Lugo got an extra year.

As you even appear to understand, we had the roster in 2022 (thanks to all of our guys having an extra year of eligibility) but didn’t win. That is exactly the same roster we would have had in 2021. So if that roster did not win in 2022, why do we think it’s a given they would have won in 2021? We could have had similar injuries and other misfortunes.
 
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Everyone has different opinions on the issue of replacing the head coach. However, an overwhelming majority on here agree with getting rid of Morningstar and Telford. Why not at least start there. Brands wants yes men. Make that change first, and see if there is any truth to it. I understand that's not as simple as it seems, but that's where I would start.

A name that doesn't get tossed around, is Cenzo. I would place him in a recruiting/portal position. He's been in several programs, and has trained and been connected with so many guys around the country. Has a good presence in wrestling media and a platform already. I would also bring in Hayden Hidlay. He's in the coaching world already, and clearly a very smart individual. Both of those guys have enough respect in the community that could maybe balance out the craziness that the recruits currently see. It's not the crazy shakeup, but it would go a long way to showing where the problem lies. I believe they would be two outsiders that Brands might actually listen to. If not, then you get to clearly see if Brands is that stubborn and the root of most of the problems.
 
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Covid really hurt the Lugos, Cenzos and Mark Halls. The 2020 seniors did not even get the opportunity to wrestle in 4 NCAA’s, despite earning it on the mat. Then, the NCAA gives everyone else an extra year. It makes no sense. Conjecture about what would have happened in 2020 NCAAs is just that, conjecture. All that is know for a fact is a whole class of wrestlers got a raw deal compared to everyone else.
 
One could rather rightfully argue it hurt Iowa much more than others. Mind you, they were runaway favorites to win NCAA's that year. Many detractors use that to act like Iowa's performance that season didn't exist. On top of that, he listed pretty significant infor regarding progression of the facilities and funding.

Do you honestly not think Iowa would be in a much better place if they had won 2 titles in a row and had the facility finished a year or 2 ago?
Not likely to have won two in a row-either win in 2020 being the prohibitive favorite and wrestlers graduate or win the championship in 2021 with wrestlers having eligibility because of COVID who would not be eligible otherwise.
 
Not likely to have won two in a row-either win in 2020 being the prohibitive favorite and wrestlers graduate or win the championship in 2021 with wrestlers having eligibility because of COVID who would not be eligible otherwise.
Ummm, only wrestling in 2021 got you essentially a free year. Those that were to wrap up in 2020 still wrapped up in 2020, despite not having a national tourney.
 
Not likely to have won two in a row-either win in 2020 being the prohibitive favorite and wrestlers graduate or win the championship in 2021 with wrestlers having eligibility because of COVID who would not be eligible otherwise.
The covid eligiblity gave everyone in 2021 an extra year to wrestle for 2022, so no those weren’t the two options.

It was already known in 2020 Iowa was projected to be even bigger favorites for the 2021 season because Penn State was graduating Cenzo and Hall. Iowa was only graduating Lugo with Jaydin set to fill in at 141/149.
 
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I have no clue what kind of NIL deal Franek got, but maybe it was because Franek and Caliendo were a package deal? Only one year with Franek but, 3 years with Caliendo, so someone was willing to throw some extra money at Franek.
Memory here - $100K and $30K for Caliendo. Franek was offered $30K by on OU allum.
 
Memory here - $100K and $30K for Caliendo. Franek was offered $30K by on OU allum.
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Covid really hurt the Lugos, Cenzos and Mark Halls. The 2020 seniors did not even get the opportunity to wrestle in 4 NCAA’s, despite earning it on the mat. Then, the NCAA gives everyone else an extra year. It makes no sense. Conjecture about what would have happened in 2020 NCAAs is just that, conjecture. All that is know for a fact is a whole class of wrestlers got a raw deal compared to everyone else.

True. Although I think 2020 was a slam-dunk - they were a few days away healthy and prohibitive favorites. 2021 was a year away, with any kind of potential hiccups that could have messed the season up.

The one individual who I really think got hurt was Spencer. He was absolutely on top of his game, and I think was poised to win a spot on the Olympic team and win a gold medal. On the NCAA front, he was going to breeze through NCAA's, and then he would have just needed one more healthy season (instead of two) to get his 4th title. His career reputation would have been very much enhanced.

He also could have started training for freestyle earlier, and IMO could have been the Olympic prohibitive favorite right now.

His career really got jacked-up, just days away from his 3rd title.
 
Everyone has different opinions on the issue of replacing the head coach. However, an overwhelming majority on here agree with getting rid of Morningstar and Telford. Why not at least start there. Brands wants yes men. Make that change first, and see if there is any truth to it. I understand that's not as simple as it seems, but that's where I would start.

A name that doesn't get tossed around, is Cenzo. I would place him in a recruiting/portal position. He's been in several programs, and has trained and been connected with so many guys around the country. Has a good presence in wrestling media and a platform already. I would also bring in Hayden Hidlay. He's in the coaching world already, and clearly a very smart individual. Both of those guys have enough respect in the community that could maybe balance out the craziness that the recruits currently see. It's not the crazy shakeup, but it would go a long way to showing where the problem lies. I believe they would be two outsiders that Brands might actually listen to. If not, then you get to clearly see if Brands is that stubborn and the root of most of the problems.
Haven’t we already done the changing assistants experiment?
 
Everyone has different opinions on the issue of replacing the head coach. However, an overwhelming majority on here agree with getting rid of Morningstar and Telford. Why not at least start there. Brands wants yes men. Make that change first, and see if there is any truth to it. I understand that's not as simple as it seems, but that's where I would start.

A name that doesn't get tossed around, is Cenzo. I would place him in a recruiting/portal position. He's been in several programs, and has trained and been connected with so many guys around the country. Has a good presence in wrestling media and a platform already. I would also bring in Hayden Hidlay. He's in the coaching world already, and clearly a very smart individual. Both of those guys have enough respect in the community that could maybe balance out the craziness that the recruits currently see. It's not the crazy shakeup, but it would go a long way to showing where the problem lies. I believe they would be two outsiders that Brands might actually listen to. If not, then you get to clearly see if Brands is that stubborn and the root of most of the problems.
Fire "yes men" to hire more "yes men"? I don't follow the logic.
 
I respect your opinion. It was frustrating watching NCAA’s this year. Losing on our own shots in scrambles. Most of the time we worked hard and got countered. I don’t know why we hit low singles and stop. If I was Ayala, I would have walked back to the middle of the mat instead of chasing Figs around. Caliendo did about as well as you could expect.
Most importantly my buddies and I had a great time. The only NCAA we’ve missed since 01 was New York City.

I don’t have any real answers, however I am frustrated.
I was happy to see caliendo have a competitive match with Otoole, especially when he was down big in 1st period. Fig’s should have been losing points with stall calls by the 3rd period, but since that’s his style, refs just swallow the whistle. I’ve seen them call stalls on a few of our guys while they were actively shooting. The bias can be amazing. Caliendo wrestled all the best 65 this year, and was only dominated twice, at the beginning of the season against Carr, and the second match with MM. Nobody really matches up good with MM. Even Carr barely squeaked it out. If MM goes to 157, Caliendo may want to stay 165, think he matches up better with Haines.
 
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I have no clue what kind of NIL deal Franek got, but maybe it was because Franek and Caliendo were a package deal? Only one year with Franek but, 3 years with Caliendo, so someone was willing to throw some extra money at Franek.
Big base pay and then heavy bonuses for winning.
 
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Haven’t we already done the changing assistants experiment?
I thought Tom fired Zadick to bring in Morningstar because of his recruiting skills. If he had the guts to can a popular Hawk like Zadick, ending the Morningstar experiment should not be that hard. With Telford, it’s probably harder to find heavyweight coaches, just like it’s hard to find good heavyweight wrestlers. The guy from Minnesota was pretty good, but he left on his own, which lead to Telford.
 
I thought Tom fired Zadick to bring in Morningstar because of his recruiting skills. If he had the guts to can a popular Hawk like Zadick, ending the Morningstar experiment should not be that hard. With Telford, it’s probably harder to find heavyweight coaches, just like it’s hard to find good heavyweight wrestlers. The guy from Minnesota was pretty good, but he left on his own, which lead to Telford.
Zadick wasn't good at playing a yes man.
 
Fire "yes men" to hire more "yes men"? I don't follow the logic.
I think the idea behind Cenzo and Hidlay is that they wouldn't be yes men brought through the same system, but for it to work, TnT would have to be open to listening to outside opinions. If they are too set in what they are doing, then the outside voices will just fall on deaf ears.
 
I think the idea behind Cenzo and Hidlay is that they wouldn't be yes men brought through the same system, but for it to work, TnT would have to be open to listening to outside opinions. If they are too set in what they are doing, then the outside voices will just fall on deaf ears.
I get what you're saying...as Wahlberg pointed out, I feel like we've tried this approach before, and those "outside opinions" don't seem to last very long. That's why, IMO, trying it again would be futile.
 
The roster we should have had for the 2020 and 2021 championships was essentially the roster we ended up having in 2021 and 2022; because everyone but Lugo got an extra year.

As you even appear to understand, we had the roster in 2022 (thanks to all of our guys having an extra year of eligibility) but didn’t win. That is exactly the same roster we would have had in 2021. So if that roster did not win in 2022, why do we think it’s a given they would have won in 2021? We could have had similar injuries and other misfortunes.

Essentially the same.... except no Spencer Lee in 2022. That's a pretty big piece to be missing Most people are pretty confident that Iowa was rolling in 2020. I even had my first NCAA championship tickets EVER. Then they run it back in 202q, when they really underperformed, but still won the title.

Pretty likely Lee is the champ in 2020 and 2021. Giving his no ACL speech after being a 4 time champ. Freaking COVID.

I'm not sure what different roster moves PSU would have had, if COVID wasn't a thing. That'd be the only way you'd convince me that they WOULDN'T have won in 2021, if 2020 wasn't cut short
 
I thought Tom fired Zadick to bring in Morningstar because of his recruiting skills. If he had the guts to can a popular Hawk like Zadick, ending the Morningstar experiment should not be that hard. With Telford, it’s probably harder to find heavyweight coaches, just like it’s hard to find good heavyweight wrestlers. The guy from Minnesota was pretty good, but he left on his own, which lead to Telford.
I heard Zadick’s popularity was part of the problem. I suspect dirty politics, but idk.
 
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