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Brooks' loss, a gift?

GogglesPaizano

Well-Known Member
Feb 6, 2018
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Worthy of it's own thread, maybe?

1) Losing - On balance I think when our very best lose a match, it is the best opportunity for learning and ultimately a good thing. Whether it be our unrealistic expectations as fans, or the kid's view of their own abilities, the margin for error against podium competition is very narrow. We need a constant reminder to remain focused, motivated and sharp.

2) The Hodge - Unless Spencer implodes, the Hodge is probably his anyway. Brooks was a leading candidate for sure but he still has next year. If Spencer falters I think Carter, RBY and Kerk remain exceptionally strong candidates.

3) Unbeatable - It's all too easy to look at some of our greats as 'sure things', and forget that one small mistake against a solid opponent can take out anyone. Never forget DT got pinned in the finals, Bo missed out on being our only 4xer due to a momentary lapse, Nolf was inches away from losing to somone who really isnt close to his stratosphere, Carter got Darnelled. I hate to say it but we could have a year where every finalist loses. Losses happen to everyone not named Cael Sanderson (PS he lost too), because wrestling is such an unforgiving sport. One moment of being out of position, an instant of lack of concentration, one ill-advised half hearted attempt at a move, and the match can be over. A 6 point deficit in wrestling is not like 6 point deficit in football. Hail marries in the closing 30 seconds of a match are close to impossible in folk when everyone knows what's coming.

Face it, podium level wrestlers are just plain friggin good. With Max and Aaron checked off, do you think the whole team is now on notice? I do. Just pulling on a blue and white singlet is a photo op but it ain't winning you any matches

So, I am really bummed for Aaron. I viewed him as our strongest 'sure thing', and wrestling once again proved that notion is complete nonsense.

Resumes don't mean a whole lot in wrestling. Every year is a new year and you have to earn what you want to achieve.

Do I think Aaron will work even harder now? Will he be even more focused, more motivated, and more dominant in March? You can take that one too the bank!
 
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I've had a change of heart about the Hodge and Spencer Lee. At this point in the season, RBY is the clear Hodge favorite. 100% bonus, longest win streak in the nation, 2X Champ. Barring a loss for Roman, or a lot more Decisions in the weeks to come, Spencer would probably have to wrestle a nearly full B1G schedule, IMO, to win it.
 
AB will be back better and more focused than ever. He is a great kid and this will add alittle more fuel to his already burning fire. He will win the NCAA Title at the end and that is a fact
 
Seeding wise, All Star won't count for stuff like RPI, win % and H2H but AB's match against Keck will be recognized by the coaches as having had happened so AB will likely stay #1 there assuming he wins out but Keckeisen will likely get the 1 seed since he owns the other factors. I think the issue with Mark and Zahid in 2018 is they both had equal scores in everything but Coaches Rank pushed him ahead.

That being said, AB's draw doesn't matter, he had to go through Keck and Hidlay in the semis the last 2 years anyways and it didn't matter. Hell, you can argue you'd rather him face someone like Keck or Hidlay who he knows well vs an unknown like Coleman (as of yesterday) who will throw the kitchen sink at you.
 
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I've had a change of heart about the Hodge and Spencer Lee. At this point in the season, RBY is the clear Hodge favorite. 100% bonus, longest win streak in the nation, 2X Champ. Barring a loss for Roman, or a lot more Decisions in the weeks to come, Spencer would probably have to wrestle a nearly full B1G schedule, IMO, to win it.
If O’Toole, Griffith, or Carr runs the table at 165, and knock off 2 former national champs, wouldn’t they be a strong candidate as well?
 
If O’Toole, Griffith, or Carr runs the table at 165, and knock off 2 former national champs, wouldn’t they be a strong candidate as well?
I think the "lifetime achievement" aspect (even if informal) of the Hodge Trophy typically means, all else relatively equal, the guy in his last year of eligibility is probably going to win.
 
If O’Toole, Griffith, or Carr runs the table at 165, and knock off 2 former national champs, wouldn’t they be a strong candidate as well?
I guess we will find out soon since Missouri, Stanford, and Iowa State are all scheduled to be at the Southern Scuffle. And then we will get it at Nationals too.
 
I think RBY, if he runs the table again (beating out Fix and Arujau) has almost as strong a field to beat, but he has more accolades, a longer win streak, and if the trend holds, better bonus%. But otherwise, yeah, I'd look at the winner of 165 next.
 
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I've had a change of heart about the Hodge and Spencer Lee. At this point in the season, RBY is the clear Hodge favorite. 100% bonus, longest win streak in the nation, 2X Champ. Barring a loss for Roman, or a lot more Decisions in the weeks to come, Spencer would probably have to wrestle a nearly full B1G schedule, IMO, to win it.
Kerkvliet also with all bonus wins. Doesn't have the 2 titles that RBY has, but if he starts pinning everyone he could be right there. Starocci does have 2 titles and his latest win is his only non bonus win, so IMHO it is a long way until we have a clear leader for the Hodge. Don't see how Lee should even be considered if he only wrestles a couple of matches.
 
Kerkvliet also with all bonus wins. Doesn't have the 2 titles that RBY has, but if he starts pinning everyone he could be right there. Starocci does have 2 titles and his latest win is his only non bonus win, so IMHO it is a long way until we have a clear leader for the Hodge. Don't see how Lee should even be considered if he only wrestles a couple of matches.
If I’m Kyle Snyder, I’m getting pretty salty if Lee wins it by beating about 10-11 bums at 125. Snyder wasn’t even considered due to his low number of matches and he was killing most guys at a much tougher weight
 
If I’m Kyle Snyder, I’m getting pretty salty if Lee wins it by beating about 10-11 bums at 125. Snyder wasn’t even considered due to his low number of matches and he was killing most guys at a much tougher weight
Kinda harsh calling someone who is willing to work hard and wrestle a bum. Maybe untalented. Lol 😂
 
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See Googles thread here got a mention over on Willie's board. I could be wrong but I don't think some of them over there like us very well. Lol
Just read through it.

Shouldn’t a board dedicated to a specific team be expected to support the team’s wrestlers and typically take a glass half full attitude?

Otherwise, it’d just be a cesspool.
 
See Googles thread here got a mention over on Willie's board. I could be wrong but I don't think some of them over there like us very well. Lol
Yeah, slight mischaracterization of the board. They haven’t seen us take Cael to task about the program giving us less news than the Soviet citizenry got from the Kremlin back in the day.

I mean, it’s absolutely insane that we are generally sanguine about the outlook for this season. We clearly live in some sort of fantasy land because, as objective observers well know, Cael sucks and can only recruit.

It was funny that a few people specifically dunked on Ironbird, though.
 
The real reason for the shade:

jealous bbc one GIF by BBC
 
Worthy of it's own thread, maybe?

1) Losing - On balance I think when our very best lose a match, it is the best opportunity for learning and ultimately a good thing. Whether it be our unrealistic expectations as fans, or the kid's view of their own abilities, the margin for error against podium competition is very narrow. We need a constant reminder to remain focused, motivated and sharp.

2) The Hodge - Unless Spencer implodes, the Hodge is probably his anyway. Brooks was a leading candidate for sure but he still has next year. If Spencer falters I think Carter, RBY and Kerk remain exceptionally strong candidates.

3) Unbeatable - It's all too easy to look at some of our greats as 'sure things', and forget that one small mistake against a solid opponent can take out anyone. Never forget DT got pinned in the finals, Bo missed out on being our only 4xer due to a momentary lapse, Nolf was inches away from losing to somone who really isnt close to his stratosphere, Carter got Darnelled. I hate to say it but we could have a year where every finalist loses. Losses happen to everyone not named Cael Sanderson (PS he lost too), because wrestling is such an unforgiving sport. One moment of being out of position, an instant of lack of concentration, one ill-advised half hearted attempt at a move, and the match can be over. A 6 point deficit in wrestling is not like 6 point deficit in football. Hail marries in the closing 30 seconds of a match are close to impossible in folk when everyone knows what's coming.

Face it, podium level wrestlers are just plain friggin good. With Max and Aaron checked off, do you think the whole team is now on notice? I do. Just pulling on a blue and white singlet is a photo op but it ain't winning you any matches

So, I am really bummed for Aaron. I viewed him as our strongest 'sure thing', and wrestling once again proved that notion is complete nonsense.

Resumes don't mean a whole lot in wrestling. Every year is a new year and you have to earn what you want to achieve.

Do I think Aaron will work even harder now? Will he be even more focused, more motivated, and more dominant in March? You can take that one too the bank!
David Taylor lost on the world stage. What happened next? I wouldn't want to be the one to face Brooks after yesterday.
 
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The one criticism I have of Brooks (nit picking of course) is that he doesn't seem to wrestle with enough attitude when facing some of the better guys at his weight. He's such a good guy that I think it can seep into his wresting from time to time. They next time he faces one of the higher ranked opponents, I would like to see him implement CStars approach who takes it personal and wrestles angry when his opponent has the audacity to think he can win.
 
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Seeding wise, All Star won't count for stuff like RPI, win % and H2H but AB's match against Keck will be recognized by the coaches as having had happened so AB will likely stay #1 there assuming he wins out but Keckeisen will likely get the 1 seed since he owns the other factors. I think the issue with Mark and Zahid in 2018 is they both had equal scores in everything but Coaches Rank pushed him ahead.

That being said, AB's draw doesn't matter, he had to go through Keck and Hidlay in the semis the last 2 years anyways and it didn't matter. Hell, you can argue you'd rather him face someone like Keck or Hidlay who he knows well vs an unknown like Coleman (as of yesterday) who will throw the kitchen sink at you.
Coach's rank is 15x points where 'Common Opponents' is 10x pts. What other factors does Keckeisen own?
 
I wanna see Lee wrestle again. In all my recollection I can't seem to remember Kyle Snyder gassing against a backup in 2 minutes.
 
Thanks didn’t really know if poster knew of taylor losing in ncaas thanks for the info on taylor’s career at worlds didn’t follow him so close after he moved on from PSU
 
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