Interesting info from the Big Finals

[JuanMogen]

27 minutes ago, Southend said:

What are you insinuating ?

Jimmy’s post sums it up. 

[Elevator]

9 hours ago, Antitroll2828 said:

Not at all , Ohio state is the only squad with a chance going forward especially if kerk leaves bc Feldman might dominate the weight for the next 3 years 

Feldman is interesting - but not ready to say he has shown dominance potential,  Let's see if he makes the NCAA semis and how he does - agree he could be a future champ.

[Elevator]

12 hours ago, Maxwell Smart said:

No individual titles with 1 wrestler in the finals. Michigan and Nebraska finish ahead and several teams have more in the finals. Ohio State's team is young and talented. National talent at an all time high with 5-6 year seniors and incoming freshman ready to go. Teams are passing the Hawkeyes, they were once trying to catch up. IMO

 

All true but just a perfect storm.  While they are not my team, they are still one of the very best programs and will be in the hunt at KC and at least a top 5 team next year.

[1032004]

14 minutes ago, PSULou64 said:

Nagao was not a projected "stud." His run the Big Ten Tournament and national tournament was not really on most people's radar.  Most of us thought he would benefit from the PSU wrestling room but also knew that he wouldn't catch guys off guard this year because they had wrestled him and seen his performances last year.  I know I was just hoping he would be a AA contender and get some bonus points when he catches under prepared bottom wrestlers.

Lol c’mon this is downplaying him big time.  His run was “unexpected” largely because he was a redshirt freshman.  He was 14-3 going into Big Tens last year with only one “bad” loss, and 2 dual wins over previous AA’s.

He was arguably the second biggest get of anyone in the portal (behind Mesenbrink) due to what he placed at NCAA’s and number of years of eligibility remaining.

If finishes lower than 5th this year it should be considered a disappointing season.

 

[1032004]

16 minutes ago, PSULou64 said:

 

Sorry double post 

Edited March 13 by 1032004

[Elevator]

8 hours ago, Wrestleknownothing said:

Not sure about the other two, but Griffith and Davison were perfect fits for holes at Michigan. Griffith is a big upgrade over Maylor. And with Parris graduating (and Cassioppi not yet suspended) UM was the perfect fit for Davison.

good analysis - culture of the team and school also could be a factor

Michigan gets transfers from Stanford, Northwestern, Princeton - have my doubts that Ok State and Iowa have the same attraction for their graduate school programs.   Might matter to some wrestlers when evaluating transfer choices.

[Dogbone]

Is there really a point to looking to next year with the transfer rule?  PSU has 2 guys who AA'd at other schools last year and a #2 seed who was RS at another school last year.  3 new AAs that no one would of predicted at this time last year.   Michigan brought in 5 AAs from other schools.  Iowa got 2 AAs from NDSU. 

Next weekend is more of a recruiting trip for some schools. 

[PSULou64]

"Lol c’mon this is downplaying him big time. His run was “unexpected” largely because he was a redshirt freshman. He was 14-3 going into Big Tens last year with only one “bad” loss, and 2 dual wins over previous AA’s."

He was not a top recruit out of High School and there wasn't really any knowledge about him last year.  He had a great record but it was a surprise to most everyone and a lot of guys who wrestled him weren't prepared for his top game.  I'm not downplaying that after his big ten and NCAA finishes PSU wasn't lucky to get him, or that he is a stud. I'm just saying he was an unexpected stud

[1032004]

1 hour ago, PSULou64 said:

"Lol c’mon this is downplaying him big time. His run was “unexpected” largely because he was a redshirt freshman. He was 14-3 going into Big Tens last year with only one “bad” loss, and 2 dual wins over previous AA’s."

He was not a top recruit out of High School and there wasn't really any knowledge about him last year.  He had a great record but it was a surprise to most everyone and a lot of guys who wrestled him weren't prepared for his top game.  I'm not downplaying that after his big ten and NCAA finishes PSU wasn't lucky to get him, or that he is a stud. I'm just saying he was an unexpected stud

 

2 hours ago, PSULou64 said:

"Lol c’mon this is downplaying him big time. His run was “unexpected” largely because he was a redshirt freshman. He was 14-3 going into Big Tens last year with only one “bad” loss, and 2 dual wins over previous AA’s."

He was not a top recruit out of High School and there wasn't really any knowledge about him last year.  He had a great record but it was a surprise to most everyone and a lot of guys who wrestled him weren't prepared for his top game.  I'm not downplaying that after his big ten and NCAA finishes PSU wasn't lucky to get him, or that he is a stud. I'm just saying he was an unexpected stud

But you were “just hoping he’d be an AA contender” this year?

[JimmyCinnabon]

3 hours ago, PSULou64 said:

"Lol c’mon this is downplaying him big time. His run was “unexpected” largely because he was a redshirt freshman. He was 14-3 going into Big Tens last year with only one “bad” loss, and 2 dual wins over previous AA’s."

He was not a top recruit out of High School and there wasn't really any knowledge about him last year.  He had a great record but it was a surprise to most everyone and a lot of guys who wrestled him weren't prepared for his top game.  I'm not downplaying that after his big ten and NCAA finishes PSU wasn't lucky to get him, or that he is a stud. I'm just saying he was an unexpected stud

I had never even heard of him before he wrestled RBY in the B1G finals last year. He was certainly a guy who came late to the party and really made a name for himself at the very end of the season last year. 

I expected him to be better than he has been this year but I am certainly biased as a PSU fan and alumni. He would only be a disappointment if you had bloated expectations for him like I did. He still took 3rd at the B1G. However, Nagao does have some vulnerabilities. His neutral defense is not good. Guys can get to his legs easily and once that happens he isn't very good at defending it. He also doesn't finish cleanly on his shots. He relies on the low single/double at the ankles too much. He is very quick and gets to the ankles of guys easily from that quad position but it allows a guy a chance to scramble. Those who are good scramblers will often stalemate it or simply beat him in the scramble for a TD. I thought he would get better from the neutral position as the year went on but he is pretty much the same.

I think he will AA again this year but the weight is pretty deep and him matching his placement from last year will be tough.

Edited March 13 by JimmyCinnabon

[WrestlingFan89]

3 hours ago, PSULou64 said:

"Lol c’mon this is downplaying him big time. His run was “unexpected” largely because he was a redshirt freshman. He was 14-3 going into Big Tens last year with only one “bad” loss, and 2 dual wins over previous AA’s."

He was not a top recruit out of High School and there wasn't really any knowledge about him last year.  He had a great record but it was a surprise to most everyone and a lot of guys who wrestled him weren't prepared for his top game.  I'm not downplaying that after his big ten and NCAA finishes PSU wasn't lucky to get him, or that he is a stud. I'm just saying he was an unexpected stud

He was a 2x California state champion and ranked 69 by flo his senior year.  

[lu_alum]

17 hours ago, Maxwell Smart said:

The nine PSU wrestlers either went undefeated or lost one match in the Big Ten Tournament.

In other words, they all placed in the top three.

[CHROMEBIRD]

17 hours ago, MLB9 said:

I actually think if a few things fall into place for Iowa(Glazier, Brands, a transfer or two) and Starrocci and Kerk don’t come back, Iowa will be competitive with Penn State next year. I’d chalk this one up to circumstance and lessons learned. They’d be the clear number two if their gamblers made better decisions.

Dat transfer portal tho 

[Southend]

17 hours ago, JuanMogen said:

How much alcohol does the average poster here consume in a day? It has to be in the gallons.

not me? 

[PSULou64]

2 hours ago, WrestlingFan89 said:

He was a 2x California state champion and ranked 69 by flo his senior year.  

I'm not sure if by posting this you are saying he was a top recruit or wasn't one to be honest.

I don't really consider being ranked 69th a "top recruit".   It doesn't mean he was a slouch or didn't have a great high school career but im there wasn't really any hype around him.

[Elevator]

6 minutes ago, PSULou64 said:

I'm not sure if by posting this you are saying he was a top recruit or wasn't one to be honest.

I don't really consider being ranked 69th a "top recruit".   It doesn't mean he was a slouch or didn't have a great high school career but im there wasn't really any hype around him.

I like 69 and consider it tops

[PortaJohn]

Just now, Elevator said:

I like 69 and consider it tops

69 is the international number for God's love.  Very fitting for Aaron Nagao

[CHROMEBIRD]

4 minutes ago, Elevator said:

I like 69 and consider it tops

Do you ever consider it on bottom tho?

EDIT: actually, don't answer that

Edited March 13 by CHROMEBIRD

[Idaho]

7 hours ago, 1032004 said:

If finishes lower than 5th this year it should be considered a disappointing season.

 

I used to think this as well... but now that we are seeing a major youth movement of high school kids who are college ready, I am not sure this as accurate as it used to be. I think it can be for some guys and some weights - like Woods for example. You have an influx of guys like Crookham, Bailey, VanDee Frost and Bouzakis in the weight and it's just as tough if not tougher than it was last year. Looking at the top 5, I am not convinced that it would be disappointing. 

[WrestlingFan89]

1 hour ago, PSULou64 said:

I'm not sure if by posting this you are saying he was a top recruit or wasn't one to be honest.

I don't really consider being ranked 69th a "top recruit".   It doesn't mean he was a slouch or didn't have a great high school career but im there wasn't really any hype around him.

He was a solid recruit for a program like Minnesota.  Most programs can’t pull 4 or 5 top 15 recruits each year.  I’m sure that Cael probably wouldn’t put much effort into recruiting that level of kid at the time when he already had Bartlett and Howard in the bag.  It becomes much easier to evaluate the talent once a redshirt freshman becomes an AA.  

I’d also add that he beat Mendez last year more convincingly at NCAA’s than he did at Big 10’s.  Guess he wasn’t able to figure him out after getting a feel.

 

[poorwrestler]

He was a solid recruit for a program like Minnesota.  Most programs can’t pull 4 or 5 top 15 recruits each year.  I’m sure that Cael probably wouldn’t put much effort into recruiting that level of kid at the time when he already had Bartlett and Howard in the bag.  It becomes much easier to evaluate the talent once a redshirt freshman becomes an AA.  

I’d also add that he beat Mendez last year more convincingly at NCAA’s than he did at Big 10’s.  Guess he wasn’t able to figure him out after getting a feel.
 

There is one school that can pull 4 or 5 top 15 recruits a year. Everyone knows that. Oklahoma state can maybe come close.

Eggum hired Brandvold and told him he gets three less than 50% scholarships, go find some guys under the radar and out of our comfort zone. He ended up with Nagao, Sparks, and Salazar. Brandvold has been off and running with recruiting ever since, getting several top recruits.


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

[JimmyBT]

Penn St wanted Nagao because of the way he was able to ride RBY. He’s an AA that most thought would be better because of the PSU room.  His ability on top was offset by the 3 pt td and IMO he didn’t improve on his feet like they thought he would.  Im on record after he left Minnesota saying he won’t finish as high as he did last year and I still feel that way.  

[1032004]

2 hours ago, Idaho said:

I used to think this as well... but now that we are seeing a major youth movement of high school kids who are college ready, I am not sure this as accurate as it used to be. I think it can be for some guys and some weights - like Woods for example. You have an influx of guys like Crookham, Bailey, VanDee Frost and Bouzakis in the weight and it's just as tough if not tougher than it was last year. Looking at the top 5, I am not convinced that it would be disappointing. 

He beat Phillippi, Byrd, Mendez twice, and Orine last year.  I still say it’s a disappointment if he doesn’t finish top 5, especially with the PSU bump.

[Southend]

10 hours ago, JuanMogen said:

Jimmy’s post sums it up. 

I don’t read his posts. Do you?

[AgaveMaria]

Iowa looks down.

They really did before wrestlin Oklahoma State... didn't they?