BruceyB

Regardless of what happens legally or in relation to Cael's status as head coach, I think all of this news really shifts the view of what it means to commit and attend PSU as a wrestler. I don't have children, but if I had a blue-chip son, this would be a deal-breaker for me. As mentioned above, we now have the Snyder sting, Aaron Brooks failing a drug test, and most shockingly the allegations surrounding one of their stars that somehow stuck around for 6 years without any word of incident. It's horrible if the coaches were privy to any of the allegations and didn't do anything, and it's still very concerning if all of these things are taking place and the coaches have such little awareness of what is taking place in their own practice facility. Before recently, PSU was a place believed to develop you into the best wrestler you can be, and they were also very grounded in their morals, faith, and dedication to the "wrestling lifestyle." The latter certainly will be in question moving forward, and I would think many parents will have some hesitation moving forward with a program that has been staying in the news for all of the wrong reasons.

The Brands clearly have fallen behind several schools when it comes to high school recruiting. They have been bringing in basically 1 true blue-chip recruit each year, and that is obviously not a sustainable way to build a program. But who on the Iowa staff is going to excite a current HS recruit? You have Tom and Terry who are in their late 50s, and then you're getting recruited by Ryan Morningstar and Bobby Telford? Almost every major program has at least one assistant that brings more youth, recency, and excitment to their program. The Brands simply aren't good at managing relationships long-term. Ramos, Gilman, and Metcalf were about as ride-or-die Iowa style, Tom and Terry proteges while they were in college as they come. Now, all of them have personal issues with the Brands. This makes it difficult for the Brands to bring in more recent successful Hawkeyes to help their recruiting, because many of them tire from the environment and leave. With that being said, I don't think that the Brands could very easily bring in outside up-and-coming assistants to Iowa. If you didn't go for the Brands recruiting pitch as a high-schooler, I doubt you'd have a lot of interest in going and coaching for TnT post-grad. It's hard to imagine that Iowa has the #6 recruiting class in 2024 #7 recruiting class in 2025, and #11 in 2026 (1 recruit). SUMMARY: Say whatever you want about the Brands ability to develop, their recruiting hasn't been working since pre-2020, and if you can't recruit, you aren't going to be successful long-term. Iowa would be better of having any coach that can recruit right now than continuing forward with TnT. TnT are losing the recruiting battle with the power, money, and prestige that the black and gold has in the wrestling community. It's hard to imagine any successful college coaches out there would fair worse in recruiting than the Brands have since 2018.

Do you watch current college wrestling? A wrestler has a lead with 30 seconds to go in the third period and they immediately back up to the edge, then circle along along OB line, and they dare the referee to interfere with the outcome of the match. The problem is that referees have let wrestlers abuse stalling for so long that it's now considered standard and a part of the game. Referees should be less afraid to make potentially outcoming changing calls, and as they continue to do so, people will be more reluctant to stall at the end of matches because they know the ref is going to hit them.

FILA went to 2pt takedowns after the step-out was implemented IIRC. It didn't make sense to reward a takedown and a push-out equally.

Once again. You lack reading comprehension. He was Wrestling 95 during his hold back year. This means that if he would have wrestled as a freshman that year, he would have weighed in at 11 pounds under 106 at Super32 just a month and a half before the high school season, not a year. Honestly, do you even try to understand what you're responding to? Side Question: When has Bo ever cut a significant amount of weight? He's jumped weights every year of high school and only sought out the toughest competition. Please don't try to answer because I'm sure you're as clueless on this topic as any of the others regarding him. I'm not even a Bo Bassett guy, but the way you and the rest of the ignorant haters make false statements about him, his age, and his "advantages" is just absolutely ridiculous.

It is a dumb rule. Who cares if a kid wants to take a 2 hour flight vs 4 hour drive to train.

If I'm not mistaken, Bo wrestled at 95 pounds at super 32 during his holdback year. His holdback was not to gain a "competitive advantage" but to avoid a massive disadvantage that would be wrestling as a notably undersized 106 as a freshman. @Caveira thinks this is among the more deplorable acts in human behavior. I simply disagree and say let the kid make the most of his high school years in athletics. High school wrestling was some of the best times I've had in my life, and to hold back and extra year due to being behind maturity wise (which is how any 15 year old weighs less than 100 pounds) is fine with me.

I think you lack comprehension skills. You've been told by several people now what the reality is, and you like to exaggerate it and complain about it on every post involving Bo. The bit is tired, put it to bed.

Funny thing about 19 year old Juniors... Bo Basset isn't one of them. He is currently 18 and has completed his Junior year. You all really love to argue without taking the time to even know the argument you're engaging in.

I just went back to check. I'll be curious to see who gets their's first.

I thought the same thing. Amy releasing her statement, and then undoubtedly giving one of Ben's closest friends, of over 20 years, the okay the use Flo's platform to provide a thoughtful, personal, and emotional account of what has been taking place for the last several weeks was undoubtedly the way this should have gone. Minnow trying to squeeze in was gross.

I wasn't able to find any sources that I'd consider "credible" but if you do a simple good search, it suggests that nearly all high school juniors are 16 and will turn 17 during the school year with the exception being early starts/those who skipped a grade/those held back (which is a negligible number as a whole) there is not a remote chance that 20% of high school juniors are the same age I was as a traditional freshman.

That is absolutely not true. I would almost guarantee that more students have a delayed school start than are started early. Try a new AI service.

Is this a random AI google search because you didn't want to find a credible source? So 77% of Juniors are 16 or 17, and 3% are 18 or older.. where are the other 20%? Also, how do you "define" what age a kid is when they are more likely than not to have a birthday in the given school year? The standard Junior begins the year at 16 years old, and turns 17 at some point during the school year, so are they a 16 or 17 as a junior? And never once have I said that Bo is "normal" age for his class. I have always stated that he is 1 year and 1 month older than a typical senior with a September birthday (like I was myself) in his class. He is not 2 years older than his class (or more) as people like to suggest. Honestly, I shouldn't have bothered responding. You'll continue to fixate on his age "advantage" despite the fact that he has had significant success in freestyle where he has won multiple world medals competing against his own "age" and was actually a first year 20u wrestler when he won a bronze medal.

Doug Schwab ain't moving the needle.

I don't think any legitimate sources have confirmed or denied that OKST is paying for Jax's travel to and from Stillwater. Likewise, there haven't been any confirmed sources that have said the Bassett's were expecting their travel to be paid for, and/or who's expenses they wanted covered. The only things that seem to be facts at this point is that Jax has been spending a good amount of time training at Oklahoma State, and when Bill reached out to Brands wanting Bo (and likely Melvin and Keegan) to have similar training opportunities at Iowa, he was told they couldn't due to a compliance issue. If the numbers that Bo was supposedly going to make through NIL at Iowa are remotely true, a few planes tickets seems like a pretty trivial reason to decommit from a school you have been heavily endorsing since February. Especially when you're a family that flies all over the country year round to attend every major tournament.

a 99lber freshman placing 4th at PA States up at 106 isn't too bad, no? He's ranked #7 at 106 while being undersized. He likely wouldn't have even been able to compete in high school last year if he's still able to make 99. Man, the holdback whining is so worn out.

Fire as usual WKN.

That's valid, and I'll respect your opinion. From my point of view, high school wrestling was the most fun I ever had as an athlete, and most of my closest friends to this day are old high school teammates. I would absolutely encourage my son to make the most out of his high school competitive years, because as you said, there likely isn't a lucrative end in this sport. Be as competitive as you can in high school and hopefully college. A hold back isn't going to make you a greater wrestler or human, but it might allow you to have more enjoyment out of the last competitive years as a high school athlete.

You are missing a large part of the point. It isn't about monetization, and it isn't about having a "competitive advantage." Most of the kids that do a hold back year are too small to compete at 106lbs as a freshman. Many of these kids get into the sport at 5-8 years old and set a goal of being a 4x state champion, and to go on to be a competitive college wrestler. Puberty/growth spurts range greatly in males, and if a kid hasn't hit a growth spurt to be competitive at 106lbs as a freshman, and he and his parents decide to skip a year so that he can have a chance to reach his goals, what is the big deal? Bo Bassett specifically is not someone that has achieved "physical matureness" over his opponents. I don't think he even has to shave other than maybe a few whisps on the chin. This is especially common in the lighter weights. I never once shaved in high school, and I didn't have hair in my armpits my senior year. And as I said in a previous post, I was "old" for my grade with a September birthday. I had teammates shaving before matches in junior high. Age isn't the advantage, it's about physical development which happens at various ages for each individual. And lastly, these kids.. even if that graduate at 20.. they will have college and then 45+ years of being in the working world. Just let them enjoy athletics and let's stop nitpicking about birthdays. Sheesh.

It was just a joke about your excitement. Excitement often triggers the python.

I don't this doesn't come out as off-putting, but IMO we should just keep this thread to actual updates on Ben's health while avoiding playing doctor by trying to explain why, how, or what is going to come of Ben's current situation. I know that we are all on the same team, but we should stick to what we know based on the information that has been made public. I know that's not typically the spirit of a forum, but in this critical time, I don't think any of us want to give "opinion" on what may or may not be transpiring. This is an absolutely horrible situation, and I think we would all be best giving it space. Please continue to share updates, but let's not bring opinions or speculation into the picture anymore than necessary.

Keep that python in your pants, Mr. PB.

As someone who has wrangled carts in his life, I didn't mind it. It gave me something to do, I got to get outside, and it changed the pace. But do not lie to yourself and act like you're doing anyone a service by being lazy and self serving by ditching your cart wherever is convenient for yourself. It's not something that would ruin my day, but every time I grabbed a cart from somewhere it didn't belong, I thought the person who left it there was a lazy a**hole. You know that old adage; grocery carts are the greatest litmus test of whether people are capable of self-governing. Everyone knows the correct thing to do, and there is no penalty if you choose to break the societal rule. You can convince yourself of whatever justification for breaking the rule you want, you're still breaking the rule because you're a lazy a**hole.

This just isn't true. My birthday is in mid-September, my cousin's birthday is August 30th. I started kindergarten in 1996, and he started kindergarten in 1995 because he turned 5 before the school year started. He was among the youngest in his grade and I was the among the oldest. Summer birthdays (like Bo has) make things more ambiguous when it comes to the proper start year. You're saying that my cousin would be a "hold-back" if he started kindergarten the same year as me despite us being two-weeks apart in age? Bo is 1 year and 1 month older than what would be considered a normal high school age. If he was born in September, then he would be a traditional 1 year hold back that just happened to be old for his grade.