Jones actually called for a stall against Jax in the first period
Official Big 12 Championship Thread
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We had a review go against us earlier
Two great days of wrestling until Dee’s no show. Larkin has the frame for the 174 weight. Lando gets him next time as he knows to watch for the ankle pick. Facundo learned a lesson about grabbing legs on a rangy guy and not letting go. Troy was solid and I’m so glad he has the monkey off his back. His sprint back to the dressing room was pure joy to watch. Saderski is wrestling so well, I’m proud of his performance both days. KD showed Bastista that he couldn’t be muscled or intimidated, KD just doesn’t have the quickness to counter Bastista.
What can be said about Jax and Sergio that hasn’t been said. Jax was easily the OW with his performance and many fans comments from other schools showed that they are on the Jax bandwagon now. Sergio’s match was epic and intense. You could feel the tension in the arena as both wrestlers battled. Both guys gave it their best and left it on the mat.
What can be said about Jax and Sergio that hasn’t been said. Jax was easily the OW with his performance and many fans comments from other schools showed that they are on the Jax bandwagon now. Sergio’s match was epic and intense. You could feel the tension in the arena as both wrestlers battled. Both guys gave it their best and left it on the mat.
Get Dee talking to the same sports shrink that helped Plott last year. And/or more time with coach Roper. I really think that some of Dee’s timidity is a (incorrect) lack of trust in his stuff. Once he can get over that mental hurdle, he’s going to be so much more fun to watch because he can and will be a big points scorer.
Get Dee to quit thinking like a high school guy who is superior to most and only thinks he has to wrestle the last 30 seconds of a period to make a move and score.
He'd better figure things out, or there are others out there who will. You can only put up with this for so long.
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And should be if he doesn't want to compete at 100% all of the time.
Great championship. Hope upper weights do better in ncaas. But overall very proud of the team.
Really there was only one match that IMO was disappointing with the effort and that’s Dee. Thats becoming too often the case.
KD wrestled well, semi finals his paced slowed too much but I’m going to give him a good B+/A- tournament.
Ryder gets an incomplete grade but an A+ for toughness. Sucks he was injured but still picked up some bonus points.
Alex looked sharp and hate that he got caught but he got caught trying to get the reverse so I’m not down on him for that. Fought back and went down swinging. Feel good about him AA at nationals.
Wipe out that Dee final and I’m happy with the weekend effort.
KD wrestled well, semi finals his paced slowed too much but I’m going to give him a good B+/A- tournament.
Ryder gets an incomplete grade but an A+ for toughness. Sucks he was injured but still picked up some bonus points.
Alex looked sharp and hate that he got caught but he got caught trying to get the reverse so I’m not down on him for that. Fought back and went down swinging. Feel good about him AA at nationals.
Wipe out that Dee final and I’m happy with the weekend effort.
A lot of “Dee” hating for a freshman competing in mid-upper weight. A bit different than competing in lighter weights in my opinion. I trust our coach will make this right. Disappointing yes, but he has had very good year for a freshman.
If it were mid season I'd say make him stand up on both feet anytime he isnt wrestling in the practice room. No sitting down, no flopping down to both knees, just stand and wait. Now since it is the post season he is what he is, maybe next year ...
My problem with Dee is that he hasn’t improved this season. Swiderski, Facundo, and others have made marked improvements this season while Dee is not much better than his first match.
Not hating just my observation after watching every single match this year. After he lost last night he chunked his head gear. He only had himself to blame. He continually looks for a big move in the last 30 seconds. Great if you get it and in high school the superior guy gets that move a lot but not so much in elite college wrestling. Also he argued and went against David’s orders in OT. To be great, he’s going to have to change his attitude. He’s a bit stuck on himself right now. About 5 minutes before the finals last night, he runs out in a tshirt and just his tights, jumps on the mat and runs in a circle then jumps down and runs off. Only reason for that is to let people “see” you. It kinda gave AJ vibes. Show me you’re great by being great, no antics required.
How did he go against DT in OT? Are you referring to going neutral? If so, it sure looked like that’s what DT was calling for.
...Dee needs to continue his learnings to get to best, not his "showings"..........disappointments cure or can kill....................remember he still has a term to reach 20........and muscle with mental maturity will amend his historical travel...........best to all..........rs
Agreed. He is trying things on. True freshman. Has wrestled very well at times, less well at other times. Very good on top, stingy defense, hard to hold down. Trust that coaches will work on him and he’ll make changes. Calls for him to get booted off the team are a little premature. I don’t get “my way or the highway” vibes from Dee. Might just be a little stubborn lol
It's well warranted. Feel free to watch his matches this past summer. Kid looked like he could go with MM.
This version? Getting teched.
He was a finalist at the beginning of the year, and somehow decided he didn't want to score points anymore. It's ridiculous and an affront to his talent.
Dee has a lot to work on. holding him to the standard of competing with MM is an absurd standard though.
We just missed tying the record by .5 with 4 Freshman in the Finals. Four #1's, Four #2's, one #3 and a #8 that was a pretty gutsy showing considering and we are complaining about one guy.
I am telling you guys, he is playing a game. He is trying to make the opponent think he is gassed, so his explosive flurries are a surprise. I mean we had these conversations about Parker Keckeisen last season after Vegas...it is a real thought process with some guys.
Can he pile up the points? Yes and without looking, I am pretty sure Dee went 3-1 this weekend with two majors and the longest match in NCAA history that shouldn't be a barometer for anything? He got to the finals, just watched his buddy get beat and tightened up. It is nothing more than that.
On not doing what David wanted...that's not true. Dee wanted to go down (which I am unsure why) and David said neutral. Dee did offer some resistance but ultimately did what his coach told him to do.
It will all be fine. My only concern moving forward is how we get 10 champs/10 AA's and enjoying the end to a very fun season.
I am telling you guys, he is playing a game. He is trying to make the opponent think he is gassed, so his explosive flurries are a surprise. I mean we had these conversations about Parker Keckeisen last season after Vegas...it is a real thought process with some guys.
Can he pile up the points? Yes and without looking, I am pretty sure Dee went 3-1 this weekend with two majors and the longest match in NCAA history that shouldn't be a barometer for anything? He got to the finals, just watched his buddy get beat and tightened up. It is nothing more than that.
On not doing what David wanted...that's not true. Dee wanted to go down (which I am unsure why) and David said neutral. Dee did offer some resistance but ultimately did what his coach told him to do.
It will all be fine. My only concern moving forward is how we get 10 champs/10 AA's and enjoying the end to a very fun season.
I mean Dee lost by 10 in that match. So that showed he should compete with MM in folkstyle?
Dee is so much better than he has shown at times this year. Would never argue against that. Saying he should have been able to compete with MM as a true freshman is just setting up the kid for failure though.
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Dee is a huge talent with a deep bag of tricks. I don't like his attitude and lack of enthusiasm during some of these big matches he's been in. This is what's being describe as tactics for throwing off his opponents. That's fine if it works, but if it's not there needs to be some mental adjustments during the match. He tried that blast double several times with no success, reach into that deep bag of tricks and try something else. That's exactly what Robideau did, couldn't finish the single leg so eventually got to the double and got a TD. Unfortunately, Robideau ran out of time but showed the mental focus to adjust mid match.
I think this is spot on. Ruiz went into the match and decided he was not going to do a thing. Dee went for it early and when it didn't work he had no idea how to counter or what to do. Ruiz didn't want to wrestle and Dee was perfectly fine letting him.
No. It's not. While it's clear now that it won't happen, Dee in high school, showed that he had the athleticism and gas tank to stay in front of MM. He had multiple opportunities to score in that match.
And that match showed a completely different guy than one that is on mat now. Couple that with the reports out of the room, and its just a recipe for exactly how he is competing lately.
I have been disappointed with Dee this year and I absolutely hate it when he gets down on his knees but he is a freshman and he will get better. I certainly am no expert but I believe it is way more mental than physical that is holding him back. I look forward to a more mature Dee in future years and I believe he will be a multiple AA and a national champion. I do not believe it is lack of effort on his part and to be honest I think my disappointment is really based on a ridiculously high expectation. Any talk of replacing him is just WRONG. LETS GO POKE!!!
A little perspective on 165. Matty Bianchi from Little Rock was upset in the semis of the Pac 12 tournament by a RS/Freshman and that wrestler gets decisioned by Olguin of Oregon State in the finals. Pac 12 was only allocated 1 wrestler for 165 to go to the NCAA's. Little Rock fans might be a little more disappointed about their fate at 165. Bianchi was ranked as high as #5 prior to the tournament and apparently will not go to Nationals.
This is one area I don't know how to articulate?
When you step on the mat at this point in the season, every opponent has the ability. There are no easy matches in a sense and being hard on a guy here is concerning to me. These guys are high level Wrestlers, with dreams and it is nut-cutting time...for every guy. Every match is scrutinized prior and gameplans can be great or miscalculated. This is the toughest sport on the planet.
Yes, we can all agree we want to see what Dee can do in a flow state. Dee wants it as well, I guarantee you that!
MM was/is regarded as the best wrestler in college and its not all that close (Him or Mendez). So your expectation was that Dee might be the best wrestler in college from day one because he only lost to MM by 10 in a freestyle match two years ago?
It is your viewpoint. You can have whatever expectations you want. Dee was always going to disappoint, though, if that was your expectation.
You are correct, he argued about neutral or top for so long, the ref threatened a stall. He needs to let David coach him. You can tell by the way David acts around Dee that he truly thinks Dee can be special. Dee just needs to trust the process and wrestle. Stop with trying to be flashy. There were some of his former teammates and competitors sitting behind us talking about how much he has changed the past few months. They were begging to just wrestle and stop with the flashy stuff. He has it in him to be great but it is a decision he alone has to make. Just look at his 2 teammates, Jax and Sergio, they are special and they let their work on the mat do the majority of their talking.
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Both things can be true.
We all watched Patrick Glory get teched by Spencer Lee in their first match - and yet everyone said he was going to be a future problem for Spencer/NCAA champ.
At the beginning of the season, and especially after Dee beat Caliendo - we ALL said he was the 2nd best wrestler in the weight. And with his athleticism, ability to ride (you have to shorten the match with MM), offensive output and gas tank - he looked like he could possibly challenge MM.
And yeah dude. 2 years ago he was in HIGH SCHOOL. People make improvements and an all timer is the type of talent that Dee has and showed. Since beating Caliendo? He decided he didn't want to work that hard in matches and THAT PART is disappointing.
I never expected him to beat Mesenbrink this year. After he beat Caliendo with skill and toughness. Very impressive win, maybe his victory over Downey, last second flash was bad for Lockett. He has not been the same since. However, I did expect him to beat Ruiz who was behind Routledge the whole match until the last seconds. Ruiz likely has improved but Dee should have been able to figure out how to score. Also coaches maybe could have prepared him better. I did think by his 2nd year he might be able to wrestle with Mesenbrink. I hope that he jumps levels soon but his 1st year he has not progressed. I want him to stay a cowboy, but he needs to become more sponge like. Our performance at Nationals could set us up nicely for next year and actually compete with Penn. St. I would love to see us take Cael down.
Ruiz pulled a Blaze in that match and just got into and ultra low stance with a hand on the mat and did nothing the whole match. It's very hard to score on a good wrestler when he does that.
