Head Coach Ben Askren

[ionel]

5 hours ago, Gus said:

If he took a head coaching job somewhere he would have access to the hammers that his brother, coach Mesenbrink and the other AWA coaches are putting out. That pipeline would certainly help out. I think he would be a successful college coach as long as he could play nice with the administration on things. As a wrestling mind, he is one of the best. 

Part of being successful is knowing what you are good at and what you should delegate.  I think we know his comparative advantage is not in administrative things or dealing with administration.  His very first action should be to hire a top assistant who has experience and tact in this area.  

[pokemonster]

I just can't see him working within the bounds of an NCAA program and having to appease admins and boosters. I'd love to see it, but feel like he'd do the same as he did when he got the RTC job - didn't see eye to eye with others and quit. 

[JimmyBT]

6 hours ago, 1032004 said:

It doesn’t seem like he wants to move. I can’t imagine he goes anywhere but Wisconsin, if anywhere 

This  

[bnwtwg]

Askren isn't leaving to coach. He's just leaving. Unless it's some weird ass NAIA school which knowing Askren wouldn't be a shock that's he's playing close to the vest still.

He won't find a competent assistant in his deficiencies because they are all ready for the next step and the overlap is too much for Askren's expectations (Scott, Ramos, Jaggers, etc).

If he does go to college it's going to be an NAIA or D2 school that doesn't care about him being weird on a professional level.

[JimmyBT]

He’s on record saying he’s not sure he could work under someone else (administration).  He’s also said that he’s not far from making what elite wrestling coaches in college make while Enjoying the benefits of being his own boss and writing his own schedule. On the Flo 1000 show there was a segment where he discussed how he wanted AWA to become the best wrestling academy out there and how proud he was that they’ve got to this point without any move ins.  Kids from all over the country coming to his academies sounded like where he wants to take things going forward.  He’s also got younger kids just getting going in the sport and I can’t see him  not being involved (in charge of how they’re handled) in their futures.  I would love to see him take on the college challenge but IMO I don’t think it’s in the cards.  If by chance he did it would have to be very close to home.  

[bnwtwg]

Askren will never be the best with little kids because he is one of the rare ones that understands running kids into the ground with 140 matches is an awful benchmark.

Oh wait...

[Yellow_Medal]

I could be wrong, but I didn’t take his comment this way at all. I just thought he was meaning he wants to focus more on his AWA

[AgaveMaria]

Take a good look at him and listen to him. Then put yourself in the place of a University President and see if you can really justify him as Head Coach material?

Doe he have the organizational experience or skill he can bring to the job? How well will he look at the public face of the University as head coach? He has no experience, no resume as a coach. Watching him on some videos won't impress most administrators. Maybe an AD or two, but it takes more than that.

If he can get an assistant position and show a few years of progress and successfully taking on more responsibilities maybe he has a chance. It isn't like he can pick and choose among the many openings. For now he is a major league gamble. Nothing more.

[Rassling]

24 minutes ago, AgaveMaria said:

Take a good look at him and listen to him. Then put yourself in the place of a University President and see if you can really justify him as Head Coach material?

Doe he have the organizational experience or skill he can bring to the job? How well will he look at the public face of the University as head coach? He has no experience, no resume as a coach. Watching him on some videos won't impress most administrators. Maybe an AD or two, but it takes more than that.

If he can get an assistant position and show a few years of progress and successfully taking on more responsibilities maybe he has a chance. It isn't like he can pick and choose among the many openings. For now he is a major league gamble. Nothing more.

I listened well and liked everything he said. I say he would be a magnet to draw talent and succeed at coaching them. Look at Brands - they couldn’t motivate me to do anything yet look at some of their achievements over the years. This guy is respected by the ones doing the wrestling much more than many realize.

Edited February 17 by Rassling

[billyhoyle]

He is one of maybe three people who could bring Iowa back to what it should be. 

[FanOfPurdueWrestling]

1 hour ago, Rassling said:

I listened well and liked everything he said. I say he would be a magnet to draw talent and succeed at coaching them. Look at Brands - they couldn’t motivate me to do anything yet look at some of their achievements over the years. This guy is respected by the ones doing the wrestling much more than many realize.

Great tangentially related point! Those dudes (the Brands Bros) put out for their kids and vice versa. 

[FanOfPurdueWrestling]

52 minutes ago, billyhoyle said:

He is one of maybe three people who could bring Iowa back to what it should be. 

Iowa seems like a school that will only hire Iowa wrestlers

[billyhoyle]

11 minutes ago, FanOfPurdueWrestling said:

Iowa seems like a school that will only hire Iowa wrestlers

Yeah, like that Iowa wrestler Dan Gable. 

[SocraTease]

2 hours ago, AgaveMaria said:

Take a good look at him and listen to him. Then put yourself in the place of a University President and see if you can really justify him as Head Coach material?

Doe he have the organizational experience or skill he can bring to the job? How well will he look at the public face of the University as head coach? He has no experience, no resume as a coach. Watching him on some videos won't impress most administrators. Maybe an AD or two, but it takes more than that.

If he can get an assistant position and show a few years of progress and successfully taking on more responsibilities maybe he has a chance. It isn't like he can pick and choose among the many openings. For now he is a major league gamble. Nothing more.

Askren has been coaching for years at Askren Wrestling Academy (AWA) with his brother.  Supposedly, it is one of the best clubs.   He's helped to produce a whole bunch of elite guys:  Kegan O'Toole, Mesenbrink, Keckheisen, etc.   He goes to tournaments with his kids and has fed many of them into the best college schools.

https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCo6F2kLzD59li40zNKSeX7g/videos 

[bnwtwg]

2 hours ago, billyhoyle said:

He is one of maybe three people who could bring Iowa back to what it should be. 

This one puts the gold in black and gold.

Shut it down this isn't just comment *of the day, no... this COTY

Edited February 17 by bnwtwg

[scourge165]

15 hours ago, VakAttack said:

I mean...we've been discussing Bono's tenure at Wisconsin....and that's the only job I would imagine he would want (although I would love to get him at Iowa, I think there's no shot). The only thing is, I think there's a cap at Wisconsin, I'm not sure they can realistically compete for a natty, but I don't think that's something Askren would agree with.

I was JUST talking with a very close relative to someone pretty high up in UW's athletic department.  So this is filtered through someone not named McIntosh, but it sounds like Wisconsin is a non-starter from their perspective. Sounds like that bridge is burned.

Could that be because they know he's very unlikely to leave a pretty lucrative gig running his own business and he's spoken less than glowingly about the program since he was a recruit? No clue.

 

Going back to the original question, name recognition? It may not be there with Taylor, JB, Snyder or Dake nationally, but it sure is in Wisconsin. So he'd probably get most of the kids that come through AWA. Now developing them? I think you'd have as much confidence in his ability to develop College Wrestlers as anyone else who hasn't proven they can do it yet. He played pretty significant role in changing College Wrestling...so I can't imagine why he'd have trouble taking a stud recruit and developing them. So I think he could turn around the program(or elevate most programs).

I also heard he made a VERY substantial offer to the Crass brothers to buy their program(plus an agreement to keep them on to run it). They turned it down...but that one was filtered through more people, so the number that I heard was probably much higher than it really was, IF it happened. 

 

 

[scourge165]

7 hours ago, AgaveMaria said:

Take a good look at him and listen to him. Then put yourself in the place of a University President and see if you can really justify him as Head Coach material?

Doe he have the organizational experience or skill he can bring to the job? How well will he look at the public face of the University as head coach? He has no experience, no resume as a coach. Watching him on some videos won't impress most administrators. Maybe an AD or two, but it takes more than that.

If he can get an assistant position and show a few years of progress and successfully taking on more responsibilities maybe he has a chance. It isn't like he can pick and choose among the many openings. For now he is a major league gamble. Nothing more.

I don't disagree that he isn't the best face for a program at first glance, but...winning can do a WHOLE lot to alleviate those concerns. 

He doesn't have any criminal issues/background. He is a little...arrogant. Feels like you could deal with that. 

The organizational experience or skill? The skill is a no-brainer. Yes. He has that. Dealing with the kids, the boosters, NIL...he'd have to have the right people around him(Max actually seems like he'd be excellent at that, but he has no experience either). 

 I think if a program wanted him, they'd do the things needed to make it work. 

He may be a major gamble...so you take out the premiere programs. But, again, the most likely, Wisconsin? What's the gamble there? They're regressing under Bono. 

 

But again, I don't think it'll happen and my guess would be the focus on coaching was much more AWA-related (as others have said).

[billyhoyle]

8 hours ago, AgaveMaria said:

Take a good look at him and listen to him. Then put yourself in the place of a University President and see if you can really justify him as Head Coach material?

Doe he have the organizational experience or skill he can bring to the job? How well will he look at the public face of the University as head coach? He has no experience, no resume as a coach. Watching him on some videos won't impress most administrators. Maybe an AD or two, but it takes more than that.

If he can get an assistant position and show a few years of progress and successfully taking on more responsibilities maybe he has a chance. It isn't like he can pick and choose among the many openings. For now he is a major league gamble. Nothing more.

This is true if you ignore the existence of Tom Brands. 

[1032004]

8 hours ago, AgaveMaria said:

Doe he have the organizational experience or skill he can bring to the job? How well will he look at the public face of the University as head coach? He has no experience, no resume as a coach. 

The only real concern with him is if he makes a stupid political comment or something.   But he has a great resume as a coach.

A team of AWA alumni might get 2nd at NCAA’s (Keckeisen, O’Toole, Mesenbrink, Peyton Mocco, Matty Bianchi, Greyson Clark, and that’s with Clayton Whiting and Noah Mulvaney on the bench). He just needs to work on developing lower weights — maybe he would be a good fit for Iowa after all  .

[Rassling]

7 hours ago, FanOfPurdueWrestling said:

Iowa seems like a school that will only hire Iowa wrestlers

and PA wrestlers too!

[Interviewed_at_Weehawken]

17 hours ago, ionel said:

B12 finals.  Pendleton put Askren in a cradle, taking him to his back Askren reversed Pendelton out of the cradle to his back with his own.  Pendleton controlled the rest of the match going takedowns, had winning td at the end on the edge but time ran out.

Now you'd think because of that move Pendelton would've been cautious at NCAA finals maybe just go takedowns but he wasn't, he attacked Askren like always and controlled the match. 

Except for that one move one time he owned Askren.

Wrestled him in freestyle when both were pursuing the Olympics.  Askren absolutely embarrassed Pendelton and was talking to him during the match.

[ionel]

50 minutes ago, Interviewed_at_Weehawken said:

Wrestled him in freestyle when both were pursuing the Olympics.  Askren absolutely embarrassed Pendelton and was talking to him during the match.

We talk'n about freestyle.

[Rassling]

1 hour ago, Interviewed_at_Weehawken said:

Wrestled him in freestyle when both were pursuing the Olympics.  Askren absolutely embarrassed Pendelton and was talking to him during the match.

Lets see the replay - that should be fun to watch again!

[Tigerfan]

Lots of good discussion/speculation on this topic. One thing that doesn’t often get mentioned is his mental mentorship. Ben’s mindset is special, if not unique. He guided Mark Ellis to his Championship by moving in with him when Ben was a grad assistant at Mizzou. The following year, when Askren was gone, Ellis took 6th, much more in line with what what most wrestling experts would have predicted given his skill set. The difference, the biggest of all differences, was Ben in his ear that whole season his Jr year. To me, THAT speaks volumes about his ability to coach people and get the very best out of them. His creative wrestling mind is a distant 2nd, maybe 3rd after his recruiting prowess, to his greatest asset, which is his mindset. How many other elite athletes of his level would show the video of his record-quick KO loss in UFC to his kids at practice and have a good laugh? Never be afraid to lose was the lesson. Mindset is what separates the champions at NCAA level, not wrestling skill. 

[Rassling]

2 minutes ago, Tigerfan said:

Lots of good discussion/speculation on this topic. One thing that doesn’t often get mentioned is his mental mentorship. Ben’s mindset is special, if not unique. He guided Mark Ellis to his Championship by moving in with him when Ben was a grad assistant at Mizzou. The following year, when Askren was gone, Ellis took 6th, much more in line with what what most wrestling experts would have predicted given his skill set. The difference, the biggest of all differences, was Ben in his ear that whole season his Jr year. To me, THAT speaks volumes about his ability to coach people and get the very best out of them. His creative wrestling mind is a distant 2nd, maybe 3rd after his recruiting prowess, to his greatest asset, which is his mindset. How many other elite athletes of his level would show the video of his record-quick KO loss in UFC to his kids at practice and have a good laugh? Never be afraid to lose was the lesson. Mindset is what separates the champions at NCAA level, not wrestling skill. 

“Mindset is what separates the champions at NCAA level, not wrestling”

One of my favorites phrases is “where the mind goes the body follows” Nothing like a confident wrestler with the skills to back it up.