The baseball one is a real quandary more apropos to PSU's situation. BBall is easy - Jordan, Bird, Magic, Dr. J and Wilt (but really you'd put Bill Russell in there instead of Wilt, because with the other 4, you don't need more offense at the center position)
Future PSU Lineup discussions
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Right. If Duke takes a traditional RS year, then Kasak has the position this year and next year with 1 year of eligibility left. If Duke beats him for the spot as a RS FR, then Kasak has a choice to RS behind Duke for a year and get the spot back presuming Duke goes up to 165 when MM is done, portal out and wrestle a 4th year somewhere else ** cough Meatchicken **, or just back up for a year and graduate and move on with life. It's a decision that involves more than rabid fans calculating how everyone on the roster could be eligible until they are 27 so they use all four years. But, he certainly could opt to stay and RS and get back in when Duke moves up. That's probably what most would do.
Ryder wouldn't necessarily be "down" a class to 174. Only a few months ago, he wrestled at 79 kg (173.8 lb) at the U23 World Championships. A number of folks (me included) suspect that hi174 is his best weight for college.
Duke himself has stated (albeit 16 months ago) that he intends to start his college career at 157.
Would Kasak really be "down" at 149, where he wrestled in 2023-24 after SVN got hurt? I suspect a big part of Kasak at 157 this season is the presence of SVN at 149. And for perspective, last season people were saying Ksask bumped up a class to 149, even though 149 was clearly a better weight for him than 141.
Is Sealey really a college 174? Could be, but at this time it seems to just be guessing/projection.
In my view, only Barr would obviously be dropping a weight class to get to 184, after working hard to bulk up for 197.
Also, 197 clears out considerably after this season with only Ferrari and Little remaining. Edit: I forgot that Rocky Elam may wrestle next year if he applies and is granted a medical hardship waiver.
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Losing Beau, Carter and Kerk obviously will be a lot but ....
We replace Beau with Marcus Blaze and there's a chance Mendez is at 149 to make room for Davino/Bouzakis ... biggest names remaining at 141 then would be Stanich, Lemley, Hardy, Happel ... all good wrestlers but nobody I think Marcus can't beat after a year in the room
We replace Carter with Ryder in a cleared out 184, Arnold has been 5th all year and defaults to 2nd next year and we know how Ryder stacks up against him lol, even if you put him behind Ferrari and McEnelly, Zack is a high AA
We replace Kerkvliet with one of the Mirasolas I imagine in a very cleared out 285. Top names will be Yonger, Ghadiali, Feldman, Trumble, Kueter, Mullen, Pitzer ... based on what I've seen from Cole this year, don't see how he isn't an AA in that field at least
Luke, SVN, Kasak, MM, Levi, Josh all could feasibly be a preseason #1 after NCAAs with Levi, MM clearly being #1s ... and bring back Nagao/Davis
Thought Ono was our 133 next year...
I will say this, he appeared to be all in on the dodgeball game on Monday.
Hold your horses on Luke being preseason #1… he just lost to Peterson and hasn’t faced the cream of the crop at 125 yet.
Hence why I wrote after NCAAs, I think Luke will do very well there, I never expected him to go unscathed this year
I read what u wrote, ur basically predicting Luke to win nationals or at least make the finals(to become preseason rank1) It’s possible, but I don’t think that’s the fav to happen rn.
Doesn't make any difference what you think, it is McSorely's prediction.
???? He is talking next year my friend, and says "Luke, SVN, Kasak, MM, Levi, Josh all could feasibly be a preseason #1"
Honestly, I think you need to take a closer look at the last decade and a half of Cael's development program, then getty up partner. Get on that horse!
Yes preseason #1 next year is obviously next year. And yes every PSU wrestler could feasibly be preseason ranked next year, just like all of them could be finalist this year yes it can all possibly happen.
I just still dont get all the Luke hype tbh.. he has had many close matches to mid tier 125 pounders where he needed to win by a late takedown.. best win is Caleb Smith, loses to Peterson, has yet to face the top tier of 125, yet, most PSU fans still predict him to be a finalist this year I don’t understand that… I think Barr is much more likely to do this then Luke. I’ve said it for while now PSU’s weakest link to achieving 10 AA is Luke yet most still prolly think it’s Davis..
My point is I don’t get the hype on Luke still and how many here still predicting him to be a finalist this year. I mean we will see
Well, I totally get the hype!
Wrestling as a true freshman is no joke, and the learning curve is like climbing Mount Everest for most.
This kid is as battle hardened at the international level as any we have had in the past, and January Luke will be < March Luke no doubt.
Most of our greats whether true freshmen or redshirt take early losses - Mark Hall, Levi, Bo, Nolf, Cenzo, Brooks, Carter, ....
Anyone who has already written off Luke as a national champion possible contender this year is prematurely pessimistic. It's far too early to assess. Hold your powder until after Big 10s
As for next Year, pre season #1 remains entirely plausible.
As for the hype? Here is a resume' reminder:
Missouri native Luke Lilledahl comes to Penn State from Weldon Spring, Mo., by way of Pennsylvania’s Wyoming Seminary Preparatory School...2024 U20 World Champion at 57 kg, winning title in Spain this September, also won U20 Pan Am title in 2024...Won World Silver Medal at U20s in 2023, winning Pan Am title as well...2022 U17 World Champion...Won state titles in high school as well as PowerAde Championships...Two-time team captain, lettered four years...Two-time Junior Hodge Trophy Award winner, two-time Ironman Champion, two-time Super 32 Champion...
The hype on Luke is the history of what happens with elite talent in that room over the first year or so as far as learning and development. Plus, yeah he needed OT with Smith and he gave up a deciding TD to a very strong and mature Peterson yet he most certainly has never looked overmatched. The belief he will probably be more than ready by March and one of the favorites at the weight at the beginning of next year is not preposterous.
If this kid ever opens up and lets it fly it's going to be nasty. He needs a bo nickel mentality just say **** it and let it fly.
well we all think diff but when you watch LL in high school I can see him being right there!first yr not bad so far
I don’t think Luke is ever going to be the second coming of Bo, but DT, ER, CS. The guys who were more basic and just wrestled by initiating action and being tougher than nails.
I don't think that's a fair assessment of DT. I'd like to see Luke not to continue to wrestle like Beau, to whom he's shown a lot of similarity so far.
It still is Davis until he shows ability to completely lose the occasional composure loss in a match. It really doesn’t happen often, so that’s good. But in March at Nationals, it only really needs to happen once to be off the podium. Already popped up in the Van Dee match….which he had plenty of time to get back in control.
Luke has a history of winning literally everything. While he’s not yet pulling the trigger from neutral as much as we might like to see Luke doesn’t even give a hint of nerves or panic. Losing to Peterson, meh….doesn’t move the needle. $10 says he’s already a better wrestler because of it and it’s only Wednesday.
DT was great about scoring points, but it was hardly ever with something too far above just creating wrestling action. Granted at a level we haven't ever seen at PSU prior.
I don't think his perspective changed, it was more that it made sense given that he got paid $1mm. From what we have been told Kasak doesn't want to redshirt and I can understand why but maybe he would change his mind if he got paid.
I guess I was pushing for his speed combines to more action equals a lot of points. He needs to realize with his capabilities he can get taken down once or twice early and still come back
I'm not predicting it. Would it surprise me if he does reach finals? Not really..
I’m going on record now and saying LL makes the finals this year. There is no one that he can’t go with and I think he will continue making improvements throughout the rest of the season. He will be in plenty of close tight bouts but he has shown that he usually comes out on top in these matches even if he did just take a loss. 125 is wide open so with that being the case I lean towards the most talented kid with the best coaching and that is hands down Luke. I can see him taking another loss before NCAA’s but when the lights are the brightest that kid shows up and wrestles his best.
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How does everybody feel with Luke as compared to where Davis was at this point last year? I didn’t see Davis winning big tens and getting the 1 seed, but he did in a similar, wide open field. I think Luke is better, has a better pedigree, and is farther ahead at this point in the season. So I fully expect him to contend for both the big ten and NCAA titles
It's actually pretty close. Davis hadn't lost at the end of January and his best wins were Michael DeAugustino and Brandon Kaylor.
While Luke has lost, he has a better win in Caleb Smith. I weigh Smith higher because he actually is a returning AA whereas DeAugustino and Kaylor were more than a year removed and clearly not exactly the same.
So taking a L but having a better win is a wash for me.
However, February wasn't a good month for Davis:
1. Beat Kilkeary but everyone saw what happened at the end there, that was probably the starting sign of cracks in the foundation. Kilkeary is McCrone's backup for a reason.
2. Lost to Drake Ayala in Carver, not a bad L
3. Beat Peterson but once again, some controversy there where it looked like he might have given up 3 at the end of the dual
4. Got majored by Caleb Smith (not as lopsided as the final result though)
However as we know, he would end up winning B1Gs before going R12 at NCAAs.
The same. Luke to me this year is like Brandon was last year in my mind. In fact, Brandon is still in the same place in my mind this year.
With Brandon, he looks so young! That plays into my assessment. Also moving up to 133 is part of it. He has the talent and is fun to watch tho.
With Luke, I need to see more. But I agree he could win it all. Ramos is unpredictable. We know Figs and Brandon are even matched and I would extend that courtesy to Luke. Stevo beat Luke a few years back... but I discount that loss because it was so long ago.
Call me crazy but I predict Joey Cruz will give Luke a close match on Friday.. like a late one takedown type of match..
Ramos has jumped lvls this year, it’s clear.. heard Spencer Lee gave him a little extra motivation for this year. I think Figs will get low AA or possibly not even AA this year.. he had a pretty cinderally run to go from 8 seed to win.. he hasn’t had looked very impressive this season either.. Strevo a little overrated that’s probably a tossup with Luke rn.. NC state’s Robinson is dangerous so don’t count him out either..
Yeah. Cruz is an entirely different wrestler than he was earlier this season. 125 will be a very good bout.
I agree with you 100 percent. If someone refused to wrestle Nolf it was like he would sometimes just say the hell with this and dive in there, grab a leg and make the kid wrestle. Luke hasn't accomplished anything at the NCAA level yet, but everybody he wrestles either knows the resume and/or has wrestled him somewhere along the line. So people wrestle hm very cautiously
Rocco Welsh at 184 if the Inn wants him. If not, OSU but more orange than red. Book it!
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