Midlands Tourney - Sunday

[BryceC]

When Alex Thompson transfered to ISU, I don't remember hearing people on the Cyclone side calling him a traitor. In fact, quite the opposite. But since these guys are Hawkeyes, and are dominating on the mat, a few rival fans are jealous of what they don't have.

True, most of us were really apprehensive of bringing him on.

Also, I feel bad that VT didn't let the guys out of their scholarships. Coaches changing jobs goes on all over college sports, it's part of the game now and schools have to adapt to that as well.

As for being Jealous of Iowa... Can't say that I am. You guys finished first and we finished second. There is still a lot of time before nationals. We have just as much of an opportunity to win the thing as any other team out there. I love where we are as a program, and the team is still very young.

 

[jbhtexas]

While a funny comparison, it's a poor one. The fact of the matter is, wrestling at VT means next to nothing.

If wrestling at VT meant next to nothing, why did they hire Tom Brands in the first place? If wrestling really meant nothing to them, they would have went out on the cheap and hired some no-name who bigger schools wouldn't have gone after. Sorry, not buyin' it...

 

[SplitIdentity]

If wrestling at VT meant next to nothing, why did they hire Tom Brands in the first place? If wrestling really meant nothing to them, they would have went out on the cheap and hired some no-name who bigger schools wouldn't have gone after. Sorry, not buyin' it...

Yup, this makes sense.

Sorry, just because a sport isn't big at a school doesn't mean they don't try to win. They'll hire the best guy they can.

 

[1100011CS]

If wrestling at VT meant next to nothing, why did they hire Tom Brands in the first place? If wrestling really meant nothing to them, they would have went out on the cheap and hired some no-name who bigger schools wouldn't have gone after. Sorry, not buyin' it...

Yeah, not buying it either...

Recruiting class picks up another accolade

 

[SplitIdentity]

True, most of us were really apprehensive of bringing him on.

Also, I feel bad that VT didn't let the guys out of their scholarships. Coaches changing jobs goes on all over college sports, it's part of the game now and schools have to adapt to that as well.

As for being Jealous of Iowa... Can't say that I am. You guys finished first and we finished second. There is still a lot of time before nationals. We have just as much of an opportunity to win the thing as any other team out there. I love where we are as a program, and the team is still very young.

And nor should you be. ISU is a very good program right now, and will be in the future. Iowa just has the right pieces in place this year. I love the fact that both Iowa and ISU are the top two teams in the nation. That's how it should be.

But it's ridiculous how some people just can't get over the fact that these guys wrestle for Iowa, and they aren't being traitors for wanting to follow the coach that recruited them.

And here's a few examples of schools letting players go when they've asked to - and I'll use Iowa as the example.

Carlton Reed - to UNI
Alex Thompson - to ISU
Tyler Smith - to Tennessee
Dairese Gary - to New Mexico

Adam Haluska - to ISU

And those players mean more in terms of revenue in a sport than the VT wrestlers did.

 

[BryceC]

For the record Southern, were you jealous of ISU when they won the midlands last year? I mean just to point out how ridiculous your statement was.

Carlton Reed - to UNI
Alex Thompson - to ISU
Tyler Smith - to Tennessee
Adam Haluska - to Iowa

For the record as well, the schools that these players transferred from had no choice in the matter, and all of these guys were subject to transfer rules and had to sit out except for Smith who got a hardship waiver.

 

[cyputz]

Why would a University, VT or any other for that matter, state to a coach and any of his recruits: come here, and if the coach fines greener pastures, the coach and all his recruits can freely leave. It absolutley does not work like that, you could decimate a progam (and obviously bring to life another)

On the other side of the coin, what about the commitment Brands and his recruits made to VT. With the wrestlers having taken a redshirt year, VT received "0" for their commitment to the wrestlers (having given a year of out-of-state-education).

And the Alex T case as a comparison is nuts. If Alex would have transferred to New Mexico ahead of Alford, than you may be on to something. But, he transferred prior to any knowledge of Alford's departure.

Anyway, what is done is done, and it has made for some harsh feelings in the wrestling circles nationally on both sides of the argument.

 

[jbhtexas]

True, most of us were really apprehensive of bringing him on.

Yes, but I think a some (or most?) of that apprehension was due to his playing abilities, not that he was simply coming from EIU. It seems that the apprehension about his playing abilities was not completely unfounded.

 

[BryceC]

Yes, but I think a some (or most?) of that apprehension was due to his playing abilities, not that he was simply coming from EIU. It seems that the apprehension about his playing abilities was not completely unfounded.

That's what I meant. I was trying to make funny. This suit is black not.

 

[JonDMiller]

"Why would a University, VT or any other for that matter, state to a coach and any of his recruits: come here, and if the coach fines greener pastures, the coach and all his recruits can freely leave. It absolutley does not work like that, you could decimate a progam (and obviously bring to life another)"

Things work differently in the Olympic sports world, where scholarships are not always 100% funded.

But again, it doesn't matter. Four of the five kids that came to Iowa with Brands from VT were FROM IOWA. Metcalf is the only exception. They are back home, and doing just fine, and the beauty of this is that the Iowa-ISU wrestling rivalry is alive and well, and will be for years to come.

Just one more smack talk log to roll on the fire

 

[SplitIdentity]

For the record Southern, were you jealous of ISU when they won the midlands last year? I mean just to point out how ridiculous your statement was.

Carlton Reed - to UNI
Alex Thompson - to ISU
Tyler Smith - to Tennessee
Adam Haluska - to Iowa

For the record as well, the schools that these players transferred from had no choice in the matter, and all of these guys were subject to transfer rules and had to sit out except for Smith who got a hardship waiver.

The transfer rule would have applied - to these wrestlers as well. They had to sit out AND lose a year of eligability.

And no, I wasn't jealous, because as I said, wrestling is more than a rivalry thing to me. I love watching Iowa beat ISU, but when both teams finish in the top 2 of a top tier tournament for 2 straight years, I (and many other wrestling fans out there) have a high appreciation of that.

The comment isn't that ridiculous if you re-read some of the posts made by people about Perry and the VT wrestlers.

 

[chadm]

It is still about class. McDermott when he took the ISU job stated that all UNI recruits will not be recruited to ISU since they committed to UNI. (It was reported that Egleseder went to UNI for Coach Mac) And we could have used some of them.

 

[1100011CS]

It is still about class.

Ding, ding, ding. We have a winner. Brands has none. But, like I said in an earlier post, I'm glad ISU and Iowa are back on top of the sport regardless of how Iowa got there.

 

[CYVADER]

why are we making a big deal about those kids transferring again? what difference does it make to us? i would have done the exact same thing if i was in those kids position, and i would have done the same thing if i was in vts position. they wanted to learn from one of the greatest wrestlers of our era and should be able to do so. vt decided to be dicks about it, and now here we are a year later, they are wrestling for brands again, and kicking the crap out of everybody. if i was good enough in high school and brands wanted me on his team, i would have moved to antarctica to wrestle for him-same as cael, and if they decided to leave there after a year for siberia, i probably would have followed them there. vts coach now is kevin dresser who went to high school in iowa and then wrestled for iowa and won a national title. nice resume, but not even close to being on the level of brands. factor in the fact that 3 of the kids are from iowa originally, and it's obvious why they chose to transfer.

 

[CTTB78]

Iowa and ISU the top two teams in the country? Maybe. But I think the Vegas boys would probably go Gophers, Cyclones and then the rest when it counts in the NCAAs.

 

[CYVADER]

Iowa and ISU the top two teams in the country? Maybe. But I think the Vegas boys would probably go Gophers, Cyclones and then the rest when it counts in the NCAAs.

before yesterday i probably would have agreed with you, but the midlands is probably the 2nd most difficult tournament behind nationals, and iowa dominated-period. they looked every bit the part of the #1 team in the nation yesterday.

 

[isufbcurt]

before yesterday i probably would have agreed with you, but the midlands is probably the 2nd most difficult tournament behind nationals, and iowa dominated-period. they looked every bit the part of the #1 team in the nation yesterday.

BUT...the other heavy hitters weren't there, i.e. Minn.

 

[SplitIdentity]

BUT...the other heavy hitters weren't there, i.e. Minn.

The heavy hitters that ISU defeated last year?

Iowa and ISU are easily the top two teams in the nation, with Minnesota very close behind. PSU is pretty good this year too, but they're outside looking in.

 

[Cyclone62]

why are we making a big deal about those kids transferring again? what difference does it make to us? i would have done the exact same thing if i was in those kids position, and i would have done the same thing if i was in vts position. they wanted to learn from one of the greatest wrestlers of our era and should be able to do so. vt decided to be dicks about it, and now here we are a year later, they are wrestling for brands again, and kicking the crap out of everybody. if i was good enough in high school and brands wanted me on his team, i would have moved to antarctica to wrestle for him-same as cael, and if they decided to leave there after a year for siberia, i probably would have followed them there. vts coach now is kevin dresser who went to high school in iowa and then wrestled for iowa and won a national title. nice resume, but not even close to being on the level of brands. factor in the fact that 3 of the kids are from iowa originally, and it's obvious why they chose to transfer.

I agree. I was in no way surprised when those kids transferred after Brands took the Iowa job, I was pissed because I knew they were good, but it didn't surprise me. VT's reaction kinda did though, but I wonder if it was something Brands told them when they signed, and not the AD's.

 

[SplitIdentity]

I agree. I was in no way surprised when those kids transferred after Brands took the Iowa job, I was pissed because I knew they were good, but it didn't surprise me. VT's reaction kinda did though, but I wonder if it was something Brands told them when they signed, and not the AD's.

Now that could be.

Regardless of what they were told though, it's still right to release them from their schollies.