Recent content by TarpHawk1

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    Portal April 1st

    Quick note on MSU158: good guy, knowledgeable, wrestling fan. I disagree with his opinion of what constitutes acceptable performance by Iowa, and I think he drives his points into the ground by repeating them over and over. But the first sentence is the key with him. MSU is just an opinionated...
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    Portal April 1st

    We finished 89 points behind the championship team at NCAAs, and 38.5 points behind the runner up. We finished 11-6 in duals. Both performances are unacceptably crappy for a storied program like Iowa. Everything else is apologetic spin.
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    157 next year

    I prefer the JW to the VV drug. One is a hallucinogenic that can be a good trip or a bad trip. The other is just a downer.
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    157 next year

    1. Re JW: I'm happy to see it, though I know that opinion is not universally shared. I'd like to see him succeed at Iowa. 2. Uh-oh. Another flareup of bad blood, and this time the evil Drake Ayala is to blame? Sorry, not buying it anymore. This level of bad blood isn't normal or healthy, and...
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    157 next year

    Re JW: 1. The talent is there. 2. The desire is there (he clearly still wants to wrestle, based on last weekend). 3. His off-the-mat issues have alienated him from Tom, and vice-versa. 4. How do they get a fresh start? What will motivate him? What will de-motivate him? Get some second opinions...
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    US Open entries rolling in - including Lee, Kilty, DeSanto, Buchanan (and more)

    Does anyone have inside knowledge (I'll also accept rumor, innuendo, and baseless speculation) about why the following are not wrestling this weekend: DeLuca, Bailey, Block, V Voinovich, Estrada, Schubert, Arnold, Ferrari, Ludington, Keuter?
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    Carter Schubert commits to Iowa

    We had a great NCAA tourney relative to our seeds. Part of the reason our seeds were low was because Ferrari & Arnold didn't wrestle enough matches, and partly because guys like Block and Keuter looked mediocre most of the season. I'll take a crappy NCAA performance like 2021.
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    Carter Schubert commits to Iowa

    Two weeks ago we were looking at Jace Rhodes at 133 and Joseph Kennedy at 165. We're still stuck with "Tom's Secret Weapon" Victor Voinovich at 157, and 25-30-ish Ludington at 97, but we've gone from 4 ice cream breaks to 1 or 2. And I haven't given up on Ludington. (Sorry, VV.) Still looking...
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    Portal April 1st

    A few close wins over top-10 types, a few close losses to top-15 types. He is unlikely to score many NCAA points, but who knows, I said the same thing about Block and Kueter 3 months ago. At minimum he could contribute much-needed dual points.
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    Iowa lands Ryan Crookham

    Excellent addition. Those who say Brands can do no right are as stubborn as those who say he can do no wrong.
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    Iowa's best 2x champ?

    Time for an offseason poll?
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    NEWS: Jordan Williams to enter transfer portal after one season at Iowa

    All reasonable points. This may well be entirely on JW. Likewise, the Endene situation may be entirely on Endene, and the Bassett situation entirely on the Bassetts. If it were 2009 I wouldn't question any of it. Now my mind immediately goes to, "Okay, what did Tom do this time?" Not entirely...
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    NEWS: Jordan Williams to enter transfer portal after one season at Iowa

    I've lost confidence in Brands and no longer give him the benefit of the doubt. I think it was a bone-headed decision not to put the best guy out there when you need every point you can get. JW had a high ceiling and a low floor, while VV had a low ceiling and low floor. To claim VV had the...
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    NEWS: Jordan Williams to enter transfer portal after one season at Iowa

    Tom showed: (a) he's the boss (b) proving you're the boss is more important than finding ways to motivate your athletes (c) proving you're the boss is more important than putting your best team on the mat at NCAAs, which may have something to do with why you've only scored 100 points at NCAAs...
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    Tale of the Tape

    Respectable (average) finish to a bad year. 4th place NCAAs, 7 AAs, 1 finalist, 91.5 points. Adding 2026 NCAA stats to career tallies: Avg NCAA Points: Brands (19 seasons) = 90.0 Zalesky (9 seasons) = 91.3 Gable (21 seasons) = 120.7 Sanderson (16 seasons): 128.9 Taylor (2 seasons) = 116.75...
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