Originally posted by jack66:
Originally posted by 1stplacehawk:
Iowa had 12 bonus point wins to PSU's 6 at nationals. The Iowa just stands around and clings to 1 point wins narrative is old and inaccurate for the majority of our lineup. I believe the champion buckeyes only scored a couple more bonus point wins than the Hawks
You are obviously a loyal Hawkeye fan, I respect you for that, but I think you are guilty of a little rationalization.
Since you have come over to our board to discuss wrestling, I have a few questions for you. I'm not trying to be a smart-ass and hope it doesn't come across that way.
As I'm sure you know, Iowa had the #1 ranked recruiting class 5 years ago. Didn't it bother at all when 4 of the 5 seniors went out in the 1st round this year? Doesn't it concern you that Evans showed so much potential as a Freshman, but then became more and more conservative each year? Don't you wonder about the staff's ability to develop wresters when Dziewa, Balliweg, Kelly and Moore never became AAs even once? Correct me if I'm wrong, but I think a 4th place finish by Telford last year is the best the class has to show.
You guys have some nice young talent on the team, but if I were a Hawk fan I would be wondering if they will continue to progress, or will they get 'Branded'.
Of course I speak from a BlueWhite perspective ... this is our board after all.. but I welcome honest answers to these questions from a few loyal Hawk fans like yourself.
This post was edited on 3/23 9:13 PM by jack66
This post was edited on 3/23 9:16 PM by jack66
An Iowa fan's perspective.
In taking a look at the departing senior class, I break them down into three categories
Mike Kelly - while I appreciate eveything he had to offer and the effort he gave, I am pretty sure everyone can agree he was not a highly sought after recruit.
Telford and Evans - Highly sought after, top notch recruits. A cursory glance suggests under-performing, or not wrestling to their best abilities, or maybe even "regressing." A closer look suggests they may have been wrestling in the two deepest weight classes in the NCAA in their career. Evans had three years of Kokesh (3x AA), Storely (4x AA), Brown (champ, 3x AA) Heflin (runnerup, 3x AA), Perry (2x champ). One of the things that is often brought up about Evans is lack of offense, and how he was not able to ride as well as his career went on. Is this regression or familiarity with opponents? I am sure people will have differing opinions. My larger question is why did a guy who made the semis two years in a row lose out the rest of the tournament? As for Telford, the sheer amount of times he has had to wrestle the likes of Nelson, McMullan, Coon, Medberry, Zach Rey, Coon, Chalfant, etc. These guys are all very talented, and the gap between top notch talent is even smaller at HWT, as there is less room for error. All this, and Telford was still most likely an injury away from being a 4x AA. While he didnt reach the pinnacle, I highly doubt anyone would claim his career unsucessful or a let down.
Dziewa and Moore - Color me perplexed. Outside of an injury to Moore this year, and pulling too much weight his 1st year, I dont really know how to explain these two. To me, it almost seemed as if they only had confidence in their bread and butter moves, and would not make adjustments.
As for some others that were mentioned or hinted at, I find it difficult to place blame on some others that may have had issues, such as Jake Ballweg deciding not to wrestle anymore, Marlin not fitting in at Iowa, Skon being homesick, etc. There are some things that are just unavoidable, and you will have that with 18-22 year old kids.
As for the young talent, I like what I am seeing already for improvement in Gilman, Clark, Sorensen, Grothus, Meyer, and Brooks. Gilman has opened up and been more offensive this year. Clark appears to have worked through any perceived mental blocks. Sorensen has proved his toughness from his redshirt year, and I have no doubt the offense will be increasing as he matures. Grothus has shown his ability (prior to injury) for competing with and beating some very good wrestlers. Meyer beat multiple qualifiers and AAs this year, and Brooks has made considerable strides (side note - incredibly tough draw for him this year).
Long winded, but I feel comfortable with the strides the youngest guys are taking, and while the senior class may not have lived up to expectations, I feel maybe some opinions of some of them are kind of skewed.
