Will Iowa ever return to focusing on a homegrown roster?

[juniorvarsity]

2 hours ago, Southend said:

I’m here to say T&T have the ability to develop and deliver another championship before they retire. 

How cool would it be if Iowa wins the team title and they retire? Feels like it's gonna have to be in 2030 or later before they can win it again. I think the Bachmann and Kenny brothers are going to be good right away in college. Mocco will be a senior in 2031. So both Bachmanns, both Kenny's, Mocco, Borge, Amato, and whoever else they can recruit. 2028 recruiting class doesn't have many commits yet, so need to nail this one. 

They definitely have the ability. People saying they don't are just being too hard on them. But it's a steep hill for then to climb now. These top kids just want to go to Penn State, and OK State is trending up with tons of resources and well deserved hype and vibes. 

[AgaveMaria]

Without Tom opening up to a few new ideas on training and actually developing guys in the room it won't make a difference.

After getting wiped out in some duals I figured he would finally be open to some changes. Not really, just some more effort and 'same old, same old' with a hard push for Nationals.

Then we have Warner as a new assistant. Good or poor choice? It could be good as he was a hard worker who might help instill a bit more of his observations to be used by wrestlers and help with a different view compared to The Terrible Two & their All World credentials. It can go either way - am hoping his work ethic is helped with picking up helpful training techniques from other top programs. We'll see.

The imports and buying talent is here & in the open.(finally) Relying on it is not the same as pushing and developing further the already talented guys they have in the room.

Hope Iowa does well - it is good for the Sport. It won't really happen unless the Coaches open up and incorporate a few newer ideas and actually push them.

 

[fishbane]

Iowa has never been the best at recruiting out of HS under Brands.  PSU, OSU, and Ohio State have routinely out recruited them. If anything Iowa is recruiting at an all time high right now and in the recent past.  The only exception to that is the class of 2026 where they had Bassett flip late after putting a lot of resources into getting him.

Iowa has won in the past by getting less out of high school, but doing more with it.  That is harder to do today because the top high school wrestlers wrestle each other more and have greater access to high level coaching.  It all makes ranking and recruiting more efficient.  

Still Brands and Iowa have a great track record in getting the most out of their recruits.  It's been over 10 years since a top 20-25 guy went to Iowa out of high school and failed to make the podium at NCAAs.  A recruit not living up to expectations at Iowa is someone like Keuter on pace to be a 4x AA but not being a title contender, Patrick Kennedy only AAing 2x (3rd and 4th), or Alex Marinelli placing at NCAAs 3x but never winning it.  Compare that with all the guys that were top 10 out of high school and washed out completely at other top programs.

[ionel]

20 hours ago, juniorvarsity said:

How cool would it be if Iowa wins the team title and they retire? 

... or never win again and never retire?   

[juniorvarsity]

13 hours ago, fishbane said:

 A recruit not living up to expectations at Iowa is someone like Keuter on pace to be a 4x AA but not being a title contender, Patrick Kennedy only AAing 2x (3rd and 4th), or Alex Marinelli placing at NCAAs 3x but never winning it.  Compare that with all the guys that were top 10 out of high school and washed out completely at other top programs.

I think I know where you're coming from, and I agree. Kueter preseason #1 next year as a junior. 

[alex1fly]

16 hours ago, ionel said:

... or never win again and never retire?   

I'd love to see any Brands Bro matside in a walker. That'd be pretty funny

[Yugdab]

Not sure that would solve the issue. Is there enough top end talent in IA to make a top 4 team? Not trying to be a jerk just asking. Back in the day it was about taking the highest end talent you could get and develop. Now its about getting those elite youngsters in the room. and the portal. I think they probably need tome young name to come in and coach the brands don't seem to resonate with the young guys. 

 

Not sure who that would be 

[Nak21]

I’m not sure they can.
Recruiting, minus the one most recent class, has been subpar compared to several other schools they desire to compete with and seems to be a weak point for a while now.

Couple that with development concerns - real or perceived; health issues at the end of the season - again, real or perceived; an overall style and approach that seems outdated and doesn’t seem to work as well as others…they seem almost locked into this cycle now of having multiple major lineup holes that have to resort to the Portal and SlumLord millionaire coming in to patch holes every season with bags of money. And even there the ROI is hit or miss…some major success, some “hey thanks for the cash, I’m gonna phone it in from here”.

They have a problem on their hands, it’s a problem 70+ schools would love to have but it’s Iowa, they don’t wrestle for team trophies, they expect championships and they’re currently miles away. 

As for them winning another one before the Brands retire…I’m not sure they can with the current model. At the very least a major shake up in assistants (Telford for Kennedy is NOT it) and style is needed to have a chance. Otherwise it’s likely continue to wait for Hawkeye fans until the Brands go and it’s a complete overhaul, a major splash hire and better utilization of SlumLords cash.

[CHROMEBIRD]

It's more than just replacing the guy at the top. Root cause imo is the culture of the program. The Hawks have a strong identity and way of going about things, but it's time for a refresh. Even if Iowa replaced Brands and fixed recruiting, NIL, training, and all the other problems, guys like Gable, Ironside, Alger, Nicholls, etc. (incl the fans) would need to back off for a minute, stfu, and give the new person some space to work. The biggest challenge for a new coach is to get the wrestlers, alumni, and fans to be open to a different way of doing things, but without disrespecting them or the program's history. Not easy to do at a place like Iowa.

[Nomonarchy]

As someone who lives in one of Bobs complexes I just wish people knew how absolutely criminal this guy is. Might honestly be one of those worst slumlords in the country, trash, broken glass, and dirty mattresses all over the property. Shootings and stabbings basically weekly. Literal crack pipes all over the playground. Here’s a video of the guy talking about raising rent for his tenants cause he knows they have nowhere to go.https://www.facebook.com/

[CoachB]

1 hour ago, Nomonarchy said:

As someone who lives in one of Bobs complexes I just wish people knew how absolutely criminal this guy is. Might honestly be one of those worst slumlords in the country, trash, broken glass, and dirty mattresses all over the property. Shootings and stabbings basically weekly. Literal crack pipes all over the playground. Here’s a video of the guy talking about raising rent for his tenants cause he knows they have nowhere to go.https://www.facebook.com/