Bono at Wisconsin

[AgaveMaria]

I keep reading about Chris Bono coaching in Wisconsin and most of it is negative.

He was hell on wheels on he mat and seems to be producing some guys who are pretty good.

What is it that has so many going after his scalp?

[flyingcement]

Wisconsin youth stars like O'Toole, Mesenbrink, and Hopke finding homes else where because Bono hasn't developed good relationships with Askren and others who are influential on the local youth scene.  

Outgoing AA Transfers: Evan Wick, Austin Gomez

The whole Burwick thing was so unnecessary and certainly a reputational black eye for the program.  

Hamiti appears to be the exact same guy they got as a true freshman and continues to be stuck a level or two below championship contender.  

I think they're doing a reasonable job for a college program in a vacuum, but since their youth scene is so strong, the people of Wisconsin are right to have higher expectations for their college program.  Might be time for a fresh look to make sure that is more aligned.

 

Edited January 29 by flyingcement

[silver-medal]

In the BT, you've got:

Tier 1:  PSU

Tier 2:  Iowa, tOSU, UM, Nebraska 

Tier 3: Minny, Wiscy, Rutgers

Tier 4: MSU, Illinois, Purdue

Tier 5: Indiana, NW, Maryland

Just how I see it.  And schools like Minny and Wiscy hate not being in Tier 2.  

[VakAttack]

The problem with the Askrens is something that is on Bono to fix.  That may not feel fair to him, but losing access to the best in-state prospects who are continuously generating high level talent is something the head coach has to find a way to fix.

[Hammerlock3]

To summarize, because I've been a little surprised myself at the criticism, there just aren't any signs of life.

[TexRef]

46 minutes ago, silver-medal said:

In the BT, you've got:

Tier 1:  PSU

Tier 2:  Iowa, tOSU, UM, Nebraska 

Tier 3: Minny, Wiscy, Rutgers

Tier 4: MSU, Illinois, Purdue

Tier 5: Indiana, NW, Maryland

Just how I see it.  And schools like Minny and Wiscy hate not being in Tier 2.  

I agree with your assessment, until Tier 3. I would swap out Wiscy for Purdue and then move Maryland up to Tier 4. Just sayin....

[bnwtwg]

49 minutes ago, TexRef said:

I agree with your assessment, until Tier 3. I would swap out Wiscy for Purdue and then move Maryland up to Tier 4. Just sayin....

Wisconsin produces AAs regularly. Purdon't just had their first AA in like thirty years in 2023 and should be glad to be considered Tier 4. If anything, they should swap with Northwestern who regularly produces AAs and the occasional champion.

[Antitroll2828]

Doesn’t help that Wick had a lot of negative things to say when he left and pretty much directly came out and said bono was running him into the ground and his body was destroyed from wrestling at Wisconsin 

[jchapman]

56 minutes ago, Antitroll2828 said:

Doesn’t help that Wick had a lot of negative things to say when he left and pretty much directly came out and said bono was running him into the ground and his body was destroyed from wrestling at Wisconsin 

Yet he didn’t place any higher when he left.

[Antitroll2828]

2 hours ago, jchapman said:

Yet he didn’t place any higher when he left.

But he felt better doing it 

[Le duke]

3 hours ago, Antitroll2828 said:

Doesn’t help that Wick had a lot of negative things to say when he left and pretty much directly came out and said bono was running him into the ground and his body was destroyed from wrestling at Wisconsin 

Is this on record anywhere? I'd be interested in reading/watching this.

[MizzouFan01]

Hypothetically speaking let’s say Bono gets fired, Askren, Ben or Max are hired. How long would it take for them to be Tier 2 behind PSU? 2/3 recruiting cycles? How many former AWA wrestlers hit the portal to comeback home? As stated before by others who knows if the Askrens even want to coach college. We know Ben more so than Max like the freedom to do things their way. But if I’m the Wisconsin AD, I’m making strong push. Those 2/3 years of mediocrity, what they are now,  have to be worth it if flips the program around. 

[de4856]

3 hours ago, Antitroll2828 said:

Wick had a lot of negative things to say when he left and pretty much directly came out and said bono was running him into the ground and his body was destroyed from wrestling at Wisconsin 

Is there an article or video of this? 

[TexRef]

14 hours ago, bnwtwg said:

Wisconsin produces AAs regularly. Purdon't just had their first AA in like thirty years in 2023 and should be glad to be considered Tier 4. If anything, they should swap with Northwestern who regularly produces AAs and the occasional champion.

Chris Fleeger was an AA for Purdon't back in 2006. But I would say that your assessment was good enough for government work. They do have a cool looking mat though. 

[JimmyBT]

Extend Bono!!!!   

[JimmyBT]

Bono is too proud to try fix the rift with Askren. Until he does he’s going to suffer for it on the recruiting trail in Wisconsin.  

[Antitroll2828]

12 hours ago, de4856 said:

Is there an article or video of this? 

Should be on flo or Rokfin , he starts off by saying something about how at Wisconsin he’d had to wake up for 5 am runs everyday and never got the proper amount to sleep and recovery and that his body was falling apart 

[BuckyBadger]

12 hours ago, MizzouFan01 said:

Hypothetically speaking let’s say Bono gets fired, Askren, Ben or Max are hired. How long would it take for them to be Tier 2 behind PSU? 2/3 recruiting cycles? How many former AWA wrestlers hit the portal to comeback home? As stated before by others who knows if the Askrens even want to coach college. We know Ben more so than Max like the freedom to do things their way. But if I’m the Wisconsin AD, I’m making strong push. Those 2/3 years of mediocrity, what they are now,  have to be worth it if flips the program around. 

Would any DI program, not just Wisconsin, hire a new coach that has no recent experience coaching in college, and also working with administrators in a college athletic department?

I think Askren would have the program competing in the top tier, and would love to see him get a shot but I don’t see a school like UW hiring someone who isn’t coaching in college right now.

And this doesn’t even touch on Askren speaking/tweeting his mind on various issues, which would likely get him in trouble at UW.

[steamboat_charlie]

1 minute ago, BuckyBadger said:

Would any DI program, not just Wisconsin, hire a new coach that has no recent experience coaching in college, and also working with administrators in a college athletic department?

I think Askren would have the program competing in the top tier, and would love to see him get a shot but I don’t see a school like UW hiring someone who isn’t coaching in college right now.

And this doesn’t even touch on Askren speaking/tweeting his mind on various issues, which would likely get him in trouble at UW.

You'd hire Max, not Ben.  But who knows if either would even want the job.  

[steamboat_charlie]

They're not doing anything particularly well at the moment.   

There are 7 top 100 overall recruits currently in high school in Wisconsin.  Not a single one of them is committed to Wisconsin.  Minnesota, Missouri, and PSU are eating their lunch.  

[jchapman]

5 minutes ago, steamboat_charlie said:

They're not doing anything particularly well at the moment.   

There are 7 top 100 overall recruits currently in high school in Wisconsin.  Not a single one of them is committed to Wisconsin.  Minnesota, Missouri, and PSU are eating their lunch.  

I would say they aren't recruiting big time in-state recruits well.  Barnett is from Wisconsin, but wasn't a huge recruit out of high school and Hamiti is from out of state.

[Winners Circle]

15 hours ago, jchapman said:

Yet he didn’t place any higher when he left.

Hard to say he didn't progress though. 165 was much tougher his senior year, when he took 3rd, than it was in years past. 

[BuckyBadger]

24 minutes ago, steamboat_charlie said:

You'd hire Max, not Ben.  But who knows if either would even want the job.  

Same issue with Max, he has no college coaching experience (or if he does it’s not recent), and no experience dealing with athletic department admin issues, alumni fundraising, etc. I just don’t see UW hiring either of them. But I’d be happy to be wrong.

[Bigbrog]

Didn't Ben coach at Missouri and AZ State?

[bnwtwg]

27 minutes ago, steamboat_charlie said:

They're not doing anything particularly well at the moment.   

There are 7 top 100 overall recruits currently in high school in Wisconsin.  Not a single one of them is committed to Wisconsin.  Minnesota, Missouri, and PSU are eating their lunch.  

Bono isn't well-liked in many circles but it's not like he is doing a terrible job on the recruiting scene. Now to steal your lunch and eat it in front of you:

PSU gets whoever they want. That's just the way the world works and there is nothing any of us can do about it. They're Thanos and they are inevitable. That's why Messenbrink transferred there and Dake moved there and they win everything all the freaking time.

Missouri literally created the Askren pipeline and preaches our now-commonplace legpass style that a long time ago used to be called "junky funk" and put each other on the map. Askren could have been born in any state and you're having this same argument about "XX State University isn't landing in-state AWA recruits". Breaking up a very fruitful 20 year relationship is a very difficult thing to do unless you're a divorce attorney.

Minnesota got Hopke because there isn't a better room for heavyweights. He has big aspirations so why would he choose anywhere but the best opportunity for himself?