Finding Optimism

[jayridescarbon]

You’re kidding me, Aj has eligibility left after this year? My god he’s gotta be close to 30. Certainly closer to 30 than college age.

Edit to add: he’d be 25 next year. Which seems younger than he should be somehow.

He’s crammed in a lifetime of messed up behavior for his young age.

 

[SpacemanSpifff]

You’re kidding me, Aj has eligibility left after this year? My god he’s gotta be close to 30. Certainly closer to 30 than college age.

Edit to add: he’d be 25 next year. Which seems younger than he should be somehow.

I think the mustache probably threw you off.

 

[AndreTheHawk]

You’re kidding me, Aj has eligibility left after this year? My god he’s gotta be close to 30. Certainly closer to 30 than college age.

Edit to add: he’d be 25 next year. Which seems younger than he should be somehow.

25 is the new norm for what used to be 21, 22 at most.

His case is different of course, but the age of some of these kids anymore entering College is bewildering (as nice as I could say it).

Hawks basketball has freshman Trey Thompson, who is still 17 I believe (?). His parents must really be tyrants!

 

[PUR158]

Well, he definitely can use some words to make it 5......November, December, January, February, March.........Even going strictly chronological it is MORE than 4 months going 11-17 through March 21st......

Ahh got it, you would be the one to rationalize that.

 

[PUR158]

What? He never wrestled for Iowa.

Yeah but he did give hundreds of hawk fans the double bird splits...so hawk at heart right?

 

[MSU158]

Ahh got it, you would be the one to rationalize that.

 

[HawkeyeInOlathe]

Hoping the first half vs OSU was the anomaly.

There is a lot to find optimism about right now. I'm going glass half-full and it will probably sound polly-anish. Don't care about that, would rather try and feel hopeful.

MO could be a beast. Seems fast, athletic, strong and like a dog on a bone. Loved seeing a Buchanan like blast double.

Peterson and DeLuca both looked good.

Angelo is a warrior. Loved how hard he competes. Flexibility off the charts. Matt IQ through the roof. He is a stud.

Ryder Block looked like a guy who will score points for us.

Caliendo can still get this done. He's a tough SOB.

Kennedy looked good. Another guy who can get on the podium.

So we've got multiple guys that can get to the finals and all but one of the weights looks like they would score right now.

65 - HWT really solid.

It's not a stretch that we can beat OSU in February.

The recruiting recently has really been excellent. Bright, bright spots for the future.

Our coaches will figure out how to get our guys to finish those singles. I gotta believe it will happen.

This message is off the top of my head and disjointed. Sorry for that.

Let's go

Exactly.

And the event is the absolute best date it can be. It felt like NCAAs with all the ranked matchups, the freshmen with big wins, every match mattering. And tournament format gives everyone a chance to see who a guy really is. Single dual meets will always have outliers, weird wins, but a tournament (tough one) shows who you are match after match.

With it this early - in general, you're going to have less injuries, and you have plenty of time to get your seeding back. It's nice to see a bunch of coaches making these kids compete - which has been the antithesis of dual meet season of late.

Here's the truth:

125 - Peterson looks exactly like what he is. A R12er. Until he decides to open up his offense, this is who he is.

133 - Drake struggled early last year (L to Knox). It's frustrating to see him lose like that to a freshman, but he'll right the ship. 133 is as good as 2019. Just wow.

141 - Bailey is going to be fine. In-match attitude is a bit worse than I expected, but hoping its because he just felt out of shape. He's got an entire season to get his top game going again.

149 - I tried to told you guys that the weight cut was killing Block. Getting hurt didn't help, but the cut definitely made it worse.

157 - Same as Bailey. The level of competition has risen and he's going to have to rise with it. He will.

165 - Caliendo is fine.

174 - Like death and taxes

184 - Yeah. He definitely could do more and shoot more. He's so much more athletic than everyone he wrestles.

197 - Told ya. Athleticism wins out. He's ahead of where I thought he would be. Thought it would take 10-15 matches to really acclimate.

285 - get healthy soon Big Ben!

I hope the teams that competed in this are rewarded in March as they’ve already taken on a couple tough matches to start the year out.P

133 is adding in Jax forest according to Willie so it's not going to get easier for Drake.

freestyle is not folk style. We’ll see how the freshman does in the down position.

 

[HawkeyeInOlathe]

I think the old guard will reel in some of these super freshman as the season goes on. Coachs have 4 or 5 years of scouting on these seniors and zero matches of scouting on these freshman. That will even out some as the season wears on. That isn't saying guys like Dee and Davino aren't really good, it is saying they will come back to earth some once guys get 20 matches of film on them.

How much scouting / video watching does Iowa do?

 

[VakAttack]

he (AJ) could come next season, but you CANNOT wrestle for two teams in the same season. He's already (officially) represented Nebraska.

it's not happening lol.

Didn't someone transfer mid-season last year? A hwt?

 

[Corby2]

Didn't someone transfer mid-season last year? A hwt?

You can do that as long as you didn't compete for the team in the 1st semester . You can graduate and transfer for grad school easily

 

[WillieTheBrain]

Didn't someone transfer mid-season last year? A hwt?

yes. Owen Trephan from NC State to Lehigh. But he didn't wrestle attached for NC State first semester.

 

[HawkeyeInOlathe]

Exactly.

And the event is the absolute best date it can be. It felt like NCAAs with all the ranked matchups, the freshmen with big wins, every match mattering. And tournament format gives everyone a chance to see who a guy really is. Single dual meets will always have outliers, weird wins, but a tournament (tough one) shows who you are match after match.

With it this early - in general, you're going to have less injuries, and you have plenty of time to get your seeding back. It's nice to see a bunch of coaches making these kids compete - which has been the antithesis of dual meet season of late.

Here's the truth:

125 - Peterson looks exactly like what he is. A R12er. Until he decides to open up his offense, this is who he is.

133 - Drake struggled early last year (L to Knox). It's frustrating to see him lose like that to a freshman, but he'll right the ship. 133 is as good as 2019. Just wow.

141 - Bailey is going to be fine. In-match attitude is a bit worse than I expected, but hoping its because he just felt out of shape. He's got an entire season to get his top game going again.

149 - I tried to told you guys that the weight cut was killing Block. Getting hurt didn't help, but the cut definitely made it worse.

157 - Same as Bailey. The level of competition has risen and he's going to have to rise with it. He will.

165 - Caliendo is fine.

174 - Like death and taxes

184 - Yeah. He definitely could do more and shoot more. He's so much more athletic than everyone he wrestles.

197 - Told ya. Athleticism wins out. He's ahead of where I thought he would be. Thought it would take 10-15 matches to really acclimate.

285 - get healthy soon Big Ben!

Does anyone know what Drake weighs in the off-season?

 

[EvilMonkeyInTheCloset]

Iowa > Penn State

That's all that matters.

 

[Praguehawk]

So….. things have not gone as hoped in the OP.

This season has sucked so far. Could it turn? Maybe, but odds seem low at this point.

I feel ****** saying this, but it’s time for a big change. Would love if TnT could support that and we find some grace in this situation. Bringing in JB or another big name. Have Askren consult somehow. His health will not allow travel or contact at the level needed by a head coach.

Hold on to DeLuca, Gabe, AF, BK, etc and then pick up some new names. Get some juice going on offense. Find angles, take shots and f’ing finsh. The performance from neutral for this team is exasperating. Start turning people. Or at least trying. I want to love the way our guys compete and I don’t feel that way right now. I am okay with the AF knee down thing, but he needs to mix it up. There is some good talent in this team that needs unleashed.

The RTC might have a good showing this coming weekend to provide a bright spot, but it needs attention as well. I hope that Spencer especially can get whatever support and partners he needs to get a world and Olympic championship. He could seamlessly transition into a coaching role if he wants.

Have Bob continue to support the program (thanks Bob for all that you do). Build some excitement among fans that will also help contribute. I have continued to donate at the level I can, but it is hard to be excited about the result the last 2 months