I actually felt the same way about Shumate. He looked quick too. Big Mo just ended up getting the better of it, but Shumate put up a great fight for an unranked guy. Kudos to both guys for putting on a show.
National Duals Championship
- Thread starter dtripp26
- Start date
Bailey and Williams still have to learn how to have the guts and grit that is expected from an Iowa wrestler. They have all the athleticism needed to be champions, but they both seem mentally weak. Hopefully the Brands mental toughness and guys like Kennedy run off on them soon. Other than tOSU, many individuals wrestlers had a surprisingly tough weekend. We will be fine. tOSU is very talented as always, and will probably come back down to earth and underperform like usual. Even though the duel is at their place, I don’t see us getting blown out of the water again.
His real shot was at 125, against Figs.
He looked broken already in the 1st period against Webster. Think Brands is protecting his delicate mental game, and also sending a message that there is some competition for the spot. We really have no one to even pretend to challenge for 133, Bailey knows he’s safe.
No doubt. I’m not counting him out yet but it’s going to be a much harder hill to climb this year at 133.
#10 Peterson (2-1). Beat #16 & #2, pinned by ~#9. High ceiling but high variance. Should stay ranked around #10, maybe up a spot depending on other 125 results. Needs to work on offense & controlling the pace, less reliance on scrambling.
#3 Ayala (2-2). Beat #20 & true frosh phenom Ramirez, losing to #1 & #8 frosh Davino. No longer looking like a potential finalist, probably falls to #5. Needs to work on dictating the pace and scoring in the 1st. Step on the gas! Move your feet!
#9 Bailey (2-2). Beat #22 and unranked, lost to frosh Vega in SV & TF by #1 Mendez. Vega will move into the top 8 and Bailey will drop a spot. Needs to put his car in gear and get serious.
UR Block (2-1). Beat #16 & #4, lost to #10 in a close, winnable match. Moves into top 10. Almost a great weekend for Block. Needs to work on widening the scoring gap.
#7 Williams (1-1). Beat unranked, majored by #9. Getting majored by a fringe AA is troubling. Will move down a few spots. Must work on mental toughness. Did he tweak something or just in the doghouse with Tom?
V Voinovich (0-2). Lost to #4 & #9, both by MD. Tough opponents, but painful to watch.
#2 Caliendo (3-1). Beat #11, #9 & #16. Lost to #4 Lockett 7-3. No longer the clear #2. Showed vulnerability vs. #16. Pick it up.
#2 Kennedy (4-0). Beat #16, unranked, #10 & #9, all close. Finds a way, but 4 close matches against guys not ranked in top 8. Needs to work on widening the gap, scoring earlier.
#2 Ferrari (4-0). Beat #9 Sinclair (who will move up), unranked, #4 Ryder, & #7. Tough weekend. Showed grit. Probably moves to #1 since McEnelly got beat. Sinclair & Ryder are the real deal. But so is Ferrari. Widen the gap!
UR Endene (4-0). Pinned #14, beat #21, #9 & ~#14. Should move into top 10 in rankings after beating 4 guys in the top 21. Keep going! Widen the gap!
Overall: Some good, some bad, some ugly. But I didn't feel the world was ending. Suck it up, get mean, move forward. And BTW, that was some GREAT wrestling, just not always by Iowa.
#3 Ayala (2-2). Beat #20 & true frosh phenom Ramirez, losing to #1 & #8 frosh Davino. No longer looking like a potential finalist, probably falls to #5. Needs to work on dictating the pace and scoring in the 1st. Step on the gas! Move your feet!
#9 Bailey (2-2). Beat #22 and unranked, lost to frosh Vega in SV & TF by #1 Mendez. Vega will move into the top 8 and Bailey will drop a spot. Needs to put his car in gear and get serious.
UR Block (2-1). Beat #16 & #4, lost to #10 in a close, winnable match. Moves into top 10. Almost a great weekend for Block. Needs to work on widening the scoring gap.
#7 Williams (1-1). Beat unranked, majored by #9. Getting majored by a fringe AA is troubling. Will move down a few spots. Must work on mental toughness. Did he tweak something or just in the doghouse with Tom?
V Voinovich (0-2). Lost to #4 & #9, both by MD. Tough opponents, but painful to watch.
#2 Caliendo (3-1). Beat #11, #9 & #16. Lost to #4 Lockett 7-3. No longer the clear #2. Showed vulnerability vs. #16. Pick it up.
#2 Kennedy (4-0). Beat #16, unranked, #10 & #9, all close. Finds a way, but 4 close matches against guys not ranked in top 8. Needs to work on widening the gap, scoring earlier.
#2 Ferrari (4-0). Beat #9 Sinclair (who will move up), unranked, #4 Ryder, & #7. Tough weekend. Showed grit. Probably moves to #1 since McEnelly got beat. Sinclair & Ryder are the real deal. But so is Ferrari. Widen the gap!
UR Endene (4-0). Pinned #14, beat #21, #9 & ~#14. Should move into top 10 in rankings after beating 4 guys in the top 21. Keep going! Widen the gap!
Overall: Some good, some bad, some ugly. But I didn't feel the world was ending. Suck it up, get mean, move forward. And BTW, that was some GREAT wrestling, just not always by Iowa.
Good summary! Was really fun watching Block and Endene and seeing the potential at those weights. Block definitely locked down that weight for now. Pretty disappointed in Williams and Baileys efforts this weekend, hopefully they get it in gear and the Brands get a fire lit!
Shumate and Geog would have the same ranking, it's a matter of who starts. Both would have probably been ranked top 12 before last weekend.
Well thought out analysis. Endene impressed me the most for good reason. D3 proved he can on the podium (somewhere)
Very well written, damn near fully impartial analysis. It was nice to see that without the sky is falling, Iowa sucks under Brands rhetoric steering it way negative.
One thing I would touch on is Kennedy. I get wanting him to widen the gap. But, in years past, he most likely would have lost at least one of those close matches. The fact that he found a way to win them all is still a pretty damn solid step forward. Maybe that keeps the confidence going and he actually moves even further forward, widening the gap.
With that said, I am pretty much full aligned with you on each guy. As far as their stock after this tournament I would say:
Stock down- Ayala, Williams, Voinovich. Hopefully Ayala can get right by March. 2x Finalist gets the benefit of the doubt. I didn't see enough of Williams to really gauge if he can bounce back. Voinovich is a fill in only wrestling like that. He would be lucky to win a match or 2 in the consis in March.
Stock holding even-Peterson, Bailey, Caliendo. Peterson looked like he belongs in that same group of 10-12 guys that can all beat each other. Bailey showed me can AA, but damn does he need to get his gas tank right. If I am reading the gas tank wrong and it doesn't considerably improve for when it matters, then his stock should drop considerably. Caliendo is still a stud. A couple of weird situations that went against him that easily could have gone the other way. He peaked perfectly last season and I would expect the same in March.
Stock up-Block, Kennedy, Ferrari, Endene. I didn't have any idea what to expect from Block at 149. I was impressed and even enough so to think he now has a legit shot at challenging for a podium spot. Kennedy found ways to win, instead of finding ways to lose. A big step forward, proving his 4th place finish wasn't a one off. Ferrari wrestled a gauntlet and got it done, proving he belongs near the top. Endene is the guy I am most impressed with so far. Having no idea how his wrestling would translate from DIII, he did a ton to make people believe.
Incomplete-Kueter. Hopefully he can get healthy when it matters. 285 is pretty wide open with Feldman beating Ferrari. Iowa needs him to take advantage of that in a huge way!
I noticed a theme here Tarp.......widen the gap.
Our lack of 1st period takedowns was alarming, you're not gonna widen any gaps without scoring in the longest period in the sport. Boo!
The guys that have that ability to widen that gap is short I believe.
#1 - Ferrari - this guy looks on the smallish side of the weight to me, but he's fast, powerful and has a high mat IQ. Gas tank is good. He's got all the tools from his feet to let it fly and wreck people. Never feels like he's in trouble, but why put yourself in position where one bad thing can get you beat? Beast.
#2 - Probably gonna surprise some people with this, but Ryder Block. He probably should have been undefeated this weekend. He hung tough all weekend, didn't back down from anybody, and his length is a strength. Showed a lot of grit after a tough year for him. Maybe he regresses, but the potential sure looks promising. He'll take his lumps most likely, but if he learns from that, look out. Jury still out, but what once looked like the weak link looks a whole lot better today.
#3 - Massoma Endene - this guy is entertaining if nothing else. Moves in slow motion, until it matters, then BOOM! Should have had 2 falls, quick and powerful. This will be interesting. Don't think you can rattle this guy. Arrow pointing up for Big Mo. He's gonna be a fan favorite on his one chance at this.
#4 - Patrick Kennedy - True definition of a grinder. 1st period takedowns will be huge for him, and his tank appears to be great, that's where he can widen that gap some. Has some top game at his best. I think his size/length/speed limits him some, but lack of effort won't be a concern. I can't picture him as a NCAA Finalist, but stranger things have happened I guess.
Bailey and Williams can only hope they get better, there is no gap for them to widen at the current rate. Frankly the "want to" sucks at this point in time. Take some pride in wearing that Black and Gold singlet, and remember the ability you have that allowed that to happen.
Lot of year left, go get'em boys.
On another note, anyone else really enjoy the Gable/Smith/Blades commercial?
That was the right call imo. Vega is really good on top. He rode the piss out of Ryan Jack the day before. Over 2 min of RT on Hardy in the 3/4 dual.
Bailey is historically bad on bottom. In a random dual meet? Then I get what you're saying. But it's a high leverage moment in an event that matters. Try to win the match and develop later. That match probably ends 1-0 if Bailey takes bottom.
The talent logjam for OSU from 125-141 is insane btw. Would be a good place to look for transfers soon (cough cough Raneys cough cough).
125 - Spratley, Zinkin, Villasenor
133 - Sakamoto, Ramirez, Forrest, Raney, Hughes
141 - Vega, Jamison, McComas, Raney
He had that knee surgery and was back in under 5 months to win his 5th Kentucky State title and he still walks with a limp. It's Kentucky who cares about winning 6 but it matters to him and his family. I can see them not making the line up at Oklahoma st for a few years
Jax will be a 141 next year and Vega a 149. Robideau and Lockett are gonna have tough times holding 157 and 165 as well in the future
Then doubled down by going to Fargo. Dumb dumb.
BUT. I would imagine the WNO injury slowed him down.
Good points but then how about take top (arguably his best position)? If you can't turn him, cut him with a minute left and get your winning takedown then? Just a thought. I mean it's early, you had a chance to see if you could get out from the guy or turn the guy. I didn't realize Vega was good on top so I guess I would have chose top and figured out if that was a good choice going forward.