steamboat_charlie

I mean, this is classic athlete speak. He sees Dake as the likely rep and a potential rival for the podium so he does mental gymnastics to downplay his accomplishments because it makes him feel good about his chances. He's trained with Burroughs, is friendly with him, and likely won't have to wrestle him, so he showers him with praise.

Sizable strength advantage, probably not. But I do think Brooks has put on meaningful size that could prove to be a difference maker in the match.

That guy either has extraordinarily generous parents, or the largest student loan balance known to man (unless this was like 30 years ago).

All time spin zone there. "We don't even care about the NCAA tournament." ..... surrrrrreeeee

Fair point. However, it's possible Frayer is a a year or two away from helming his own program, and Brewer preferred to make this jump now to accelerate his own progress and shorten the timeline to a HC role. If that's the case you might be able to lure a promising AC from another program that has an AHC ahead of them who's not likely to leave.

On the topic of Penn, I'm a little confused why they're able to skate by without criticism. They've brought in a number of talented recruits over the past 6 or 7 years and have what to show for it? Consistently disappointing performances at NCAAs. Plenty of resources and no results.

This is entirely dependent on what he wishes to do for a career, what he does with his time in college, and which environment he is better suited for. It's not like he eschewed Penn to enroll at a sub-par institution. UNC is a top 25 university with a top 10 undergraduate business program (assuming that is indeed what he wants to do). They have all of the resources there to launch a determined student into literally any career path. I'm not downplaying the value of Penn (or Wharton undergrad)--you won't find a better undergraduate business program anywhere. But it's not one size fits all. Some people will do better in other environments. The kid is from middle of nowhere central PA--perhaps he's more comfortable with the college town atmosphere and will perform better there, both on the mat and academically. Nobody here is qualified to say he made an "objectively bad decision." However, $36k for a degree from Penn is an objectively good deal.

No idea who they'll go after. Brewer is a guy that's transitioned really naturally into coaching. Definitely can see him running a program down the line. This being an Olympic year, will we see some guys hang it up that might also be poised to make a natural transition? Looking at lightweights... maybe Gilman, Richards, or McKenna? I could see all three being strong technical coaches and potentially good recruiters. If it's a lateral, hard to say who would go from an assistant gig to another assistant gig without a clear progression path, with Frayer already in the associate HC role (unless he's poised to leave soon for a HC job).

Has there ever been a more blatant troll account? At least try to be creative.

Just want to say, you boys are locked in. Posters must prepare for the Olympic year just like the athletes. Obviously you two are preparing to peak at the right time.

No question about his potential, he's going to be a complete menace. I was just surprised at the stark contrast between the two matches in terms of some of his flaws being easily exploited.

Bassett looks incredibly sloppy when he's not smothering guys with his frantic pace. Arms all over the place, poor situational awareness there in that final. Forrest looks like a natural. Was more comfortable than NATO in every position there.

IntEresting. I hadn't heard that. It will Probably pay off fOr them.

I don't think it's quite as simple as "a rising tide lifts all boats." There are limited spots at the Olympics and World's, we're currently seeing this play out in front of our eyes.

Johnny Sebastian did undergrad and MBA at Northwestern, then a masters in higher ed from Wisconsin. Doing IB now. Griffith and Davison did 1 year real estate program at UM.

Ah yes, David Taylor. Always most humble in victory and gracious in defeat.

The transfer portal is fine. It’s the transfer portal existing in concert with NIL that causes issues.

Is Bryan Snyder not HC in waiting there?

NIL refers to “name, image and likeness.” Historically, NCAA athletes were forbidden from profiting off of their NIL. A few years ago, the rule was eliminated due to a court ruling against the NCAA. What it’s supposed to be is an athlete profiting off of what the name suggests (their NIL). E.g. commercials, marketing deals, brand partnerships, etc. Schools are still prohibited from paying players directly. Coaches or members of a program cannot technically offer an athlete an NIL deal, and NIL deals are not supposed to include any pay for performance. What it is in practice is a workaround for coaches to line up boosters with athletes in order to pay them to play (or wrestle) at their school. Where KOT gets his money from, I have no clue. Could be NIL, could be parents, or anything else. Not our business.

Sounds about right. The mention of Keckeisen as a potential transfer is a nice touch. That’ll get somebody in a tizzy. If this is the lineup and everyone is healthy I’d say you’re looking at 120 points as the floor.

If he can just get back on the mat and compete at all it'll be an amazing story.

Fix came into college a nearly finished product. Did he get too conservative over time? Definitely. Did he wrestle this entire tournament to not lose rather than to win? Yes. I don't think that means John Smith forgot how to coach. These guys shouldn't be in college for 7+ years.

@VakAttack @lu_alum Thanks to you both for organizing and putting this on. Terrific work, smooth from start to finish. Shout out to Kasak and Berge for fighting all the way back on the back side and winning it for me.

I'm aware, I would just like the name of the award to appropriately reflect what it is. I'm not saying give Cael the award every year--just that this year was exceptional, even for them. Nothing against Erisman, either.

IMO they need to rename all “coach of the year” awards to something like “coach who overachieved” or “coach who had the nicest story” award. The award rarely goes to the best coach. This year obviously reinforces that. Same reason Belichick didn’t win COTY for like 10 straight years despite winning 3 titles.