Suriano vs Fix: an illustration that coaching/room doesn't matter?

[Jimmy Cinnabon]

Suriano and Fix were two primo recruits coming out of high school who were as close as could be in terms of performance and pedigree.  They had a WNO match that lasted over 30 minutes until a winner was finally decided, so yeah they were 1a and 1b.

As we know, Suriano started at Penn State and then bounced to Rutgers and finally Michigan.  Rutgers and Michigan at the time were definitely a tier below Penn State in terms of coaching and room.  But yet he ended up winning 2 NCAA titles.

Meanwhile Fix stayed at Oklahoma State under the tutleage of the GOAT of lightweights Mr. John Smith (sorry Spencer) for literally 8 years and never won a title.  Honestly it's questionable whether he even improved at all from his freshman season.

So is this an illustration of how coaching/the room may not matter as much as we all think?

Edited August 29, 2024 by Jimmy Cinnabon