Bono NEEDS to go

[ThreePointTakedown]

On 2/20/2024 at 5:11 PM, TexRef said:

Taylor Walsh? He is a Jersey guy. 

Looked around. Couldn't find him on a staff. Is he still competing or coaching? 

Indiana looks like they are in need of an assistant. 

[dragit]

37 minutes ago, wrestlingfanforlife said:

Nicolar Rivera, the current Badger at 133, is rumored to be going down to 125 for next season.

Too bad. If Seabass could've gone another year he could have combined some NIL money with his social security and lived quite comfortably. 

[Southend]

3 hours ago, ThreePointTakedown said:

Looked around. Couldn't find him on a staff. Is he still competing or coaching? 

Indiana looks like they are in need of an assistant. 

Indiana is doin fine. Don’t need another assistant. 

[HungusMungus]

I was all in on Bono and crew when he was hired, 5 years and a big crap sandwich later, i am fully on board with change.

I really like Reader, but he and Bono seem like hype men and nothing else. Biggest accomplishment since arriving.... Mat side seating at the Fieldhouse...time to move on! 

 

[Southend]

Sure , it seemed like a good hire at the time, Barry was fading on the recruiting trail. But seems AD’s don’t spend a lot of time vetting coach replacements in non revenue sports  Unless they have a background in that sport. This is what you get sometimes.  Not a good fit. 

[bnwtwg]

What exactly do all the Bono haters expect? B1G titles?

No one is competing with Gable/Iowa 2.0 in Carl/PSU. It is one of the best programs in the world. Not NCAAs. THE. FREAKIN. WORLD.

Iowa is consistently a trophy-winning program that includes a recent team title

Michigan and Ohio State have deeper pockets than anyone else

Minnesota has a strong history and has been able to continue performing after JRob stepped down

Nebraska has a strong program that pumps out the occasional world team member

Right there you are hoping Wisconsin finishes top 7. Anything better is overachieving. It's not a bad thing, it's just facing reality.

[Southend]

I think there’s a lot of truth in the above statement 

[Jim L]

41 minutes ago, bnwtwg said:

What exactly do all the Bono haters expect? B1G titles?

No one is competing with Gable/Iowa 2.0 in Carl/PSU. It is one of the best programs in the world. Not NCAAs. THE. FREAKIN. WORLD.

Iowa is consistently a trophy-winning program that includes a recent team title

Michigan and Ohio State have deeper pockets than anyone else

Minnesota has a strong history and has been able to continue performing after JRob stepped down

Nebraska has a strong program that pumps out the occasional world team member

Right there you are hoping Wisconsin finishes top 7. Anything better is overachieving. It's not a bad thing, it's just facing reality.

Losing the home grown athletes is what is causing discontent. Especially with the state produces so many studs. Final straw for FB and BB coaches at big time programs that are struggling for a few years has been failing to land the big time instate recruit

[bnwtwg]

11 minutes ago, Jim L said:

Losing the home grown athletes is what is causing discontent. Especially with the state produces so many studs. Final straw for FB and BB coaches at big time programs that are struggling for a few years has been failing to land the big time instate recruit

Was Wisconsin previously getting recruits at this level?

If yes, what was Wisconsin doing to them that capped their growth?
If no, what has changed about the Wisconsin program?

Ask this in a different way...

What changed? Wisconsin University or the success of Askren Wrestling Academy?

 

Now also take in mind that Askren holds one hell of a grudge. It is what propelled him to a dominating NCAA career and becoming an Olympian. He seem like a laid back doofus that dabbles in the devil's lettuce while wasting his money on crypto while throwing bangers and getting skinny on the frisbee golf course, but you think someone at his level is actually chill? Nah. Bono is just Barry to him.

[jchapman]

4 hours ago, bnwtwg said:

Was Wisconsin previously getting recruits at this level?

If yes, what was Wisconsin doing to them that capped their growth?
If no, what has changed about the Wisconsin program?

Ask this in a different way...

What changed? Wisconsin University or the success of Askren Wrestling Academy?

 

Now also take in mind that Askren holds one hell of a grudge. It is what propelled him to a dominating NCAA career and becoming an Olympian. He seem like a laid back doofus that dabbles in the devil's lettuce while wasting his money on crypto while throwing bangers and getting skinny on the frisbee golf course, but you think someone at his level is actually chill? Nah. Bono is just Barry to him.

Where is Wisconsin University?

[bnwtwg]

10 hours ago, jchapman said:

Where is Wisconsin University?

in 7th place?

[Jim L]

15 hours ago, bnwtwg said:

Was Wisconsin previously getting recruits at this level?

If yes, what was Wisconsin doing to them that capped their growth?
If no, what has changed about the Wisconsin program?

Ask this in a different way...

What changed? Wisconsin University or the success of Askren Wrestling Academy?

 

Now also take in mind that Askren holds one hell of a grudge. It is what propelled him to a dominating NCAA career and becoming an Olympian. He seem like a laid back doofus that dabbles in the devil's lettuce while wasting his money on crypto while throwing bangers and getting skinny on the frisbee golf course, but you think someone at his level is actually chill? Nah. Bono is just Barry to him.

Until maybe the last 5 or so years, I don't remember WI producing nationally ranked wrestlers that were  winning word medals in HS and going to immediate NCAA success. It hurts for fans to see the top ranked wrestler from their state go somewhere else, but if they are a top national recruit and have immediate collegiate success that has to be at another level of frustration.

 

 

Edited March 1 by Jim L

[JimmyBT]

Extend Bono NOW!   

[CalWrestler]

Didn't Bono get paid a lot of cheese to elevate the program?  I thought his salary was about fifth highest when he signed on.  Given what the AD paid and the bumper crop of studs from Wisconsin's backyard and Bono's inability to land any stud from Wisconsin with the lone exception of Eric Barnett during his tenure, Bono has surely been a disappointment.

[NormMacDonald]

19 hours ago, bnwtwg said:

What exactly do all the Bono haters expect? B1G titles?

No one is competing with Gable/Iowa 2.0 in Carl/PSU. It is one of the best programs in the world. Not NCAAs. THE. FREAKIN. WORLD.

Iowa is consistently a trophy-winning program that includes a recent team title

Michigan and Ohio State have deeper pockets than anyone else

Minnesota has a strong history and has been able to continue performing after JRob stepped down

Nebraska has a strong program that pumps out the occasional world team member

Right there you are hoping Wisconsin finishes top 7. Anything better is overachieving. It's not a bad thing, it's just facing reality.

Yeah we are dealing with the same thing in Indiana. We had 2 guys win it all last year and neither IU or Purdue had a chance of keeping Lee or Parris in state. If I’m Wisconsin, I seriously think about hiring Askren. It would take someone with a big name like that to keep the very top guys in most states. 

[bnwtwg]

Umm don't look now on the international board but Bono brought a potential olympian out of retirement. Teched some scrub from Penn State by way of Indiana.

[wrestle87]

So really, Bono is just suffering from burning one very important bridge.  That tracks and is fair, but it sounds like really Wisconsin has risen on the national level during his tenure, and all the best kids, who by all accounts didn’t exist before, are getting actively steered away from Wisconsin.  

Wouldn’t be the first time somebody had everything they worked on go down the toilet bc of one series of bad decisions. 

[tbert]

11 hours ago, CalWrestler said:

Didn't Bono get paid a lot of cheese to elevate the program?  I thought his salary was about fifth highest when he signed on.  Given what the AD paid and the bumper crop of studs from Wisconsin's backyard and Bono's inability to land any stud from Wisconsin with the lone exception of Eric Barnett during his tenure, Bono has surely been a disappointment.

2.5 X    what Davis was making

[ionel]

22 hours ago, CalWrestler said:

Didn't Bono get paid a lot of cheese to elevate the program? 

 

10 hours ago, tbert said:

2.5 X    what Davis was making

Don't forget, Davis got half his salary in doughnuts not cheese.   

[Ivan Stankowski]

Good thing Gomez got to work with Bono for a couple of years!

[Rassling]

Relax gents - Bono isn’t going anywhere.  I would like to see Mr Gomez win it all then thank Chris among others during the interview.

Edited March 2 by Rassling

[Nightcrawler]

On 3/1/2024 at 11:15 AM, NormMacDonald said:

Yeah we are dealing with the same thing in Indiana. We had 2 guys win it all last year and neither IU or Purdue had a chance of keeping Lee or Parris in state. If I’m Wisconsin, I seriously think about hiring Askren. It would take someone with a big name like that to keep the very top guys in most states. 

From Illinois here and mother of god do we have this problem too. Ramos, Ragusin, Gomez, Lewan, Hamiti, the list goes on. 
 

Poeta is doing a better job and the announcement of new facilities to come will help but still, we lose a lot of great out of state guys. Mendoza just announced his commitment to Mizzou. 
 

As far as Wisconsin goes, I think Bono needs to go, but with bridges being burnt, Askren doesn’t seem likely. But one thing I know is that while a homegrown coach helps, a big name is a big name. If Wisconsin could get a big enough name with no connection, they would still be better than Bono. 
 

My observations have been that the wrestlers under Bono just seem to maintain, or progress at the same level as others - they don’t progress enough to move past their competition. Hamiti is the first name to think of but comparing him with Carr and KOT is a bit unfair. But has anyone else truly progressed at a surprising rate?

That’s why I’m not praising the recruits from IL he has coming  Kelly is damn good, but Bono’s track record doesn’t have me thinking he’ll be coming in and making noise. Johnson is a freak of nature but I *really* don’t see how he’ll be a contender when he will only be starting after football and, again, the track record. Kid has huge potential… and huge legs… but I also can easily see dropping wrestling if his progress stagnates and changing the physique to move to interior line.

Bono can absolutely help wrestlers develop. But he seems to lack that certain something to just get that 5th gear from his guys.

[NormMacDonald]

10 minutes ago, Nightcrawler said:

From Illinois here and mother of god do we have this problem too. Ramos, Ragusin, Gomez, Lewan, Hamiti, the list goes on. 
 

Poeta is doing a better job and the announcement of new facilities to come will help but still, we lose a lot of great out of state guys. Mendoza just announced his commitment to Mizzou. 
 

As far as Wisconsin goes, I think Bono needs to go, but with bridges being burnt, Askren doesn’t seem likely. But one thing I know is that while a homegrown coach helps, a big name is a big name. If Wisconsin could get a big enough name with no connection, they would still be better than Bono. 
 

My observations have been that the wrestlers under Bono just seem to maintain, or progress at the same level as others - they don’t progress enough to move past their competition. Hamiti is the first name to think of but comparing him with Carr and KOT is a bit unfair. But has anyone else truly progressed at a surprising rate?

That’s why I’m not praising the recruits from IL he has coming  Kelly is damn good, but Bono’s track record doesn’t have me thinking he’ll be coming in and making noise. Johnson is a freak of nature but I *really* don’t see how he’ll be a contender when he will only be starting after football and, again, the track record. Kid has huge potential… and huge legs… but I also can easily see dropping wrestling if his progress stagnates and changing the physique to move to interior line.

Bono can absolutely help wrestlers develop. But he seems to lack that certain something to just get that 5th gear from his guys.

Yeah, you guys have stud wrestlers consistently leave. I like the hiring of Poeta just like I liked Indiana hiring Angel. They are the perfect guys for the job but I’m not sure what more they could do recruiting wise. 

I’ve not followed the askren Wisconsin fued. But whatever happened, Wisconsin would be wise to try and make amends. 

[CircleofTruth]

Interesting thread so far. From a different Wisco perspective than most on here, a few things. 1. Bono and his assistants have been the most visible Badger Coaches that I'm aware of in any sport. They attend dual meets, Conf tournaments, Regionals, Sectionals. They are quick to reply if you have a question or a need. 

Let's remember a few things, 1. Badger Wrestling has a very unimpressive wrestling room. Most D3 colleges have better digs. It's a factor no matter what your opinion is. 2. Askrens are Mizzou Alum. It's simply insane to think that they are going to begin whole heartedly supporting and pushing for Badger wrestling.  3. Almost immediately upon his arrival, Bono reached out to Ben and offered him the RTC coaching position. I'd say that was a pretty huge olive branch. Egos and opinions of Ben's MMA training and time spent at AWA sites were bigger than the wrestling room. It didn't work out.  I know that Bono and assistants have traveled to AWA training sights, and have certainly done what they can to repair the riff, but let's face it, there's zero need or reason for Askrens to support anything UW. So unless they are getting $$, it's nothing to them for the Badger program to go down the toilet and another coach to come in. Who would think otherwise? That would be like me having a great relationship and ties to my college program, and then pushing my kids somewhere else, why would I do that? 

Let's look at our neighbor MN. Sam Stol, Patrick Kennedy, Brock Berge, all from Kasson-Mantorville high school all went to Iowa instead of MN. Why? My guess is in large part that their coach wrestled at Iowa and absolutely has no interest in helping the Gophers, and has direct ties with Iowa. Additionally two other Berge's (from K-M), Hall, Glazier, all left the state.  Saying that Eggum can't develop talent and that's why those guys left would be dumber than 10 dumb things.  Are MN fans peeved that they haven't been in the trophy hunt since J.Rob had teams stacked with MN and N.D. kids? Yeah, but is that Eggum's fault? Not entirely. Had K-M's head coach not been fired for recruiting violations, and his assistant, who wrestled at Iowa took over, then it may have been likely that five K-M guys go to the Gophers, and that might have kept Hall, and then MN is a top tier program which maybe keeps Glazier and perhaps Kirkvliet.  

I think that the bottom line is the people calling for Bono to leave are simply AWA disciples. They dream of Ben being the Badgers coach, which, I highly doubt he would ever be interested in doing. Why give up the freedom to do what he is doing? Why take the chance of failure? Why have to follow NCAA rules, guidelines and scheduling? He's a club coach with no interest in UW. I don't see that changing. 

[BuckyBadger]

@CircleofTruth great post. 
I agree that those saying Bono can’t develop talent have some blinders on. His time at SDSU speaks to his ability to develop talent.

But when you say Askren has no interest in helping UW because he is a Mizzou alum, I think that’s a bit different than actively discouraging his guys from going to UW. There are plenty of successful club coaches that go to school in a different state where they reside and plenty of their guys go to their state school. Askren seems to do everything he can to steer his guys away from UW.

I remember an interview with Sinclair where he was asked where UW figured into his recruiting. His response was something like “There are 82 DI programs so UW is 83”. I’m guessing that isn’t coming from some bad experience he had with Bono and his staff.

It’s obvious UW won’t reach their potential or even close to it unless they can keep most of the top in-state recruits and that isn’t happening, whether Askren is being fair or not.