Gobblin, not calling you out by any means as I have no reason, or ability to, but I sure hope your source is creditable. I know this is only a message board full of a bunch of Hawkeye wrestling geeks, but comparing a potential recruit to a past recruit full of talent, but not as full of determination & commitment can be pretty damning.
Who Does Iowa get in the 2018 class?
- Thread starter madmax1191
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It's no secret... And I have no idea which direction the staff will go with an offer to Sasso, but the concerns are more than valid.
Since your going back and digging up old posts of mine, I suggest you go back and find one of my first mentions of Sasso... I warned everyone from the jump to proceed with caution on him. One of the first things I was told about him is that he's missed mat time due to academics and has a lot of growing up to do socially.
I can be all but certain the other programs currently recruiting him are doing the same thing... Some other programs also may, or may not be more willing to take the risk.. We shall see.
Gobblin, just doing the same due diligence on your post that you are saying the staff is doing on Sasso. I imagine others are in the same boat as me and disappointed in your analysis, so just verifying. What I gather is a fan in PA is filling you in, not anyone on staff. Just my hunch, and still not negating your information. I for one don't find anything you mention too alarming along with the fact that Sasso doesn't have a public "record" of any of your references. If what you say is true I think you can find a long history of Gable, and a shorter history of Brands taking "chances" on someone like Sasso.
I'm not sure how him missing mat time due to academics isn't a public "record". And I don't know anyone with info on Sasso from PA.
Seems like your taking this news personally and I'm not sure why. It is what it is and I've clearly stated I haven't a clue which direction the staff will choose to go with him. I will be excited if he commits and won't be suprised if he doesn't... Plain and simple.
When did that happen? As of 1/11 and 2/8, he was still going to Penn.
http://triblive.com/sports/hssports/wrestling/11768314-74/hong-prep-piaa
http://sportstown.post-gazette.com/...wrestling-ncaa-division-i-recruits-from-wpial
"Sasso missed mat time for academics" isn't supported by the data. To compare vs. other wrestlers at his weight at the same point in each season:
- 2015: final record 37-6 vs. Lee 44-0
- 2016: final record 44-1 vs. Pletcher 39-1
- 2017: thru D11 tourney, 28-0 vs. Moran 29-5
Track has all of his results -- he did not miss a single dual or tournament on Nazareth's schedule in his 3 varsity years.
- 2015: final record 37-6 vs. Lee 44-0
- 2016: final record 44-1 vs. Pletcher 39-1
- 2017: thru D11 tourney, 28-0 vs. Moran 29-5
Track has all of his results -- he did not miss a single dual or tournament on Nazareth's schedule in his 3 varsity years.
Interesting... I would've assumed my source was told this by someone who would have to know. I was given this info before the fOSU dual back in Janruary. Thanks for the data.
Again, I must stress that I have absolutely no axe to grind with the young man... I was just passing on info I got about him and his recruitment from a usually extremely reliable source... My hope is that he commits to the Hawks and is a 4x NCAA champ.
Speaking of
I personally lean on the side of taking a flyer on talent every once in awhile if you have enough tough leaders on the team. People who will straighten a guy out if he isn't all in. For all I know, Sasso could come in and be a great leader. The coaches are paid to figure that stuff out while we arm chair it and hope for the best.
Sasso would also have some good mentors in Kemdawg and Spencer Lee. I don't know anything about him, but imagine the coaches put a lot of thought into the total package. Skonz and others that flopped have affect the line up plans for years after they are gone.Don't know anything about him personally but I'm super high on him as a wrestler, the kid is going to be hammer and I hope he is wearing a hawkeye singlet in college. And hey he can't be as bad as Downey so how bad can it be
I personally lean on the side of taking a flyer on talent every once in awhile if you have enough tough leaders on the team. People who will straighten a guy out if he isn't all in. For all I know, Sasso could come in and be a great leader. The coaches are paid to figure that stuff out while we arm chair it and hope for the best.
His results up a weight leave room for doubt in the fan base.
The guys on the PSU board say the same thing as Gobblin regarding Sasso - great talent, but might be a risk, so I think Gobblin has good info
For the record - I hope he's a Hawk.
Sasso missed the Liberty match and the Beast for Nazareth this year. Crowell refused to comment about it for the Morning Call. Some speculated an injury, but most wrestlers knew why he wasn't wrestling. Taken by itself not a huge deal, a couple of bad grades which were quickly taken care of.
As far as "public record" incidents that Gobblin refers to - I doubt they are public record like we would think of if he were an adult, but there is was a pretty public incident at the state freestyle tournament last year (along with a couple of other wrestlers). If you were there or you knew someone there - well, then it was public knowledge. Again, taken by itself not a huge deal, pretty common with teenagers nowadays. But we are talking about allocating money that will not be able to be allocated to someone else in the same recruiting class. Risk/reward. Some programs will do that. Some won't.
My take - he's young for his grade and seems young when you interact with him. Some kids are very, very mature - abnormally, lol, so - at an early age. Some kids, maybe later. Myself, it probably took until I was around 26 or 27. He seems to be the typical teenager. But coaches have to make hundreds of thousands of dollar decisions about typical teenagers - which is scary.
Somebody is going to get a very talented 157/165 (he's going to get really big, maybe bigger than that) to wrestle for them. Whether it works out or not is a question mark - like it is with everyone.
On Hong - his decommitment from Penn was more of a Penn decommitting from Hong. He won't be going to Iowa, either. Not that hard to figure out given the timing of his leaving Kiski this year (2nd private school he has "left").
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I don't think anyone is worried about who the starter is going to be. It's just that so far in his college career he doesn't look like a national title contender. That might change.
And also wasn't a top 10 type recruit. He's a guy that can become AA level, but the recruits we are talking about are ones that walk in at AA level.
Zach Elam from Missouri is visiting Iowa for their football junior day. Anyone know anything about him? He's rated #15 at 195 on intermat.
This is on par with the info I received regarding Sasso... Almost verbatim. I was beginning to question my source after Jefes post. Thanks for reaffirming the credibility of the info dice.
No problem. It's a tricky thing to post on these boards but it's already well out there in the community and it's almost better if it is presented right.
Of course there will be posters that take it the wrong way. But the kid is really not a bad kid a all. In fact just the opposite - never met anyone who said a bad word about him, everybody really likes him.
People who are removed from having teenagers tend to forget the cross section of teenagers you have - and 99% of them are good kids. But they are still teenagers. Wrestlers are no different. No matter how much talent they have.
Kids like Spencer Lee, for example, are a rare breed. Unique wrestling talent AND extremely mature in his decision making process. Problem is, it is so competitive for wrestling scholarships at places like PSU, Iowa, etc. - coaches can afford to be picky and they reward the Spencer Lees, while assessing risk on everyone else. There are tons of distractions in the college environment.
Sometimes as a coach, you have to take a calculated risk based on your team + need. If you look at some of the guys Iowa have and and who the leaders are going to be, they are choir boys in terms of character. Lee, Kemerer, Marinelli, Young...and these are recruits that are on par or better than Sasso. Also guys that I'm sure will have no problem holding other dudes accountable.
Sasso would not be coming in as the alpha dog, i.e. a PD3. Plus, Brands do not equal KJ. Not every one of these kids are going to be perfect but I look at risk vs reward. Will a kid like Sasso flourish in the Iowa room? I think so. He wrestles everywhere, all year around.
As of 15 Jan, I know there was heavy interest but IAW Gobblin, that could have changed. However, if we get him and he ends up like Skon, then what are we really losing, at least at that weight which is pretty deep for us? I think we have the coaches and guys that will be a good influence and it will mitigate any risk.
Sasso would not be coming in as the alpha dog, i.e. a PD3. Plus, Brands do not equal KJ. Not every one of these kids are going to be perfect but I look at risk vs reward. Will a kid like Sasso flourish in the Iowa room? I think so. He wrestles everywhere, all year around.
As of 15 Jan, I know there was heavy interest but IAW Gobblin, that could have changed. However, if we get him and he ends up like Skon, then what are we really losing, at least at that weight which is pretty deep for us? I think we have the coaches and guys that will be a good influence and it will mitigate any risk.
This could end up being the case, but you minimize the fact that you are allocating money for a period of time that will not go towards securing other recruits.
No idea of the thought process of the Iowa coaches, but I'm sure the fact that Sasso is going to receive full offers weighs into this. Again, just spitballing, but perhaps the conversation in the coaches room is whether to allocate a 60% or 75% and if that will be worth the risk. When you do that you are not going to be able to take another outstanding recruit.
Hey, if he's going to walk on or take a quarter, no brainer. I'm guessing any program in the country would be happy to accommodate that as well.
And the situation could well change over the next six months (for the positive). Again, we are talking about teenagers. And none of the "knuckle-headness" has been of the anti-social variety, so there are lot of ways this could probably go. OTOH, the questions that have been raised (grades, knuckleheadness) do tend to have an effect on transitioning success to college, so it is probably wise to proceed with caution.
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Dice, thanks for the updates. Taking my crow in sushi form today.
A little bit of reefer never hurt nobody. Legalize that shit.
Maybe the issue is what Dice said at the end - that Sasso will end up at 57 or 65. Not a place we are looking to spend, especially with Nelson aboard.
His dad is a huge guy. Mom not little either. When you see Sasso, huge hands and feet, long frame. Kind of like a big ol' puppy. He's young also, he's either still 16 right now or just turned 17. He's going to be a big kid. I would be shocked if he and Nelson Brands ended up wrestling the same weight class in college (although I've been shocked before).
But he's talented enough that I doubt where he ends up weight wise is any issue.
I think I am the only one on here who thinks Brands is going down and not up. He is old for his grade. Looks fully developed (some have said he is still growing). And I think he is not cutting at West, as many of their top ranked guys in recent years have chosen to wrestle up. I think there's a chance he could be a 149. And I'd love to see Sasso here a weight or two higher. But someone will have to sit a year somewhere. Much like at PSU.
And excellent info from you Dice. I want to say you and PennState85 are a real benefit to our board. Glad you come over because I have no desire to visit the tools at BWI.
same as i was thinking moose at 149 more worth the risk, 57 and 65 not so much.we have the bull and kem for 3and 4 years,brandon only 1 more year, will need one of those a-listers after that.it could be murin.if sasso is not a 49 lber it could get crowded.
