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Discussion Topic: CSU by the Numbers
Hank Kornblut added to this discussion on August 19, 2009
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Cleveland State's website roster says 2008-09 but appears to be updated. Marcus Effner is listed so I'll assume he received a medical redshirt and has been granted a 6th season. That's a huge lift for this squad.
Now for the numbers:
34--team members listed
20--freshman
13--number of wrestlers listed who are from out of state
6--wrestlers on roster from NE Ohio.
My thoughts:
It's good to see that CSU has bolstered their roster. This program desperately needs youth and depth and they've added a lot in a single season for a D1 school. What I find perplexing, however, are the last few numbers. First, why bring in so many out-of-state wrestlers? I'd understand that strategy if some of these kids were big time prospects. But they look at first glance like wrestlers you'd expect to find on a D3 roster. I don't claim to have the knowledge of a Bob Preusse or Josh Lowe (or a Mike Rodriguez). But who are these guys? This appears to be the drag net approach to recruiting. Bring in a bunch and hope a few pan out. I hope, hope, hope I'm wrong.
And why are so few CSU wrestlers from the Cleveland area? I found six on the roster (including Barberton and Geneva). The other 15 are from other sections of the state. It occurs to me that maybe CSU has to recruit from outside the area because too many local kids don't want to go to school in Cleveland. But isn't the coaching staff's job to convince kids to stay home? Recruiting is sales. It seems that CSU has decided their strategy will be to look primarily outside NE Ohio. If the frosh they brought in prove to be good students with a lot of upside then I'll accept this strategy. But at this moment I'm perplexed. I just think that it's smarter to try to get kids in your talent laden region than run around the state and country looking for kids of similar (maybe) ability.
Other thoughts?
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Discussion Topic: CSU by the Numbers
Dan Cosimi added to this discussion on August 20, 2009
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Hank,
I will ask Marcus if he got a sixth year. It certainly looks like he did. If he did, that would be great because I think he will be a very good influence on the team and a leader on a very young squad. I had a couple classes with him and I know he has already graduated, so he would be going to grad school if he's going to wrestle.
As for the state of Cleveland State wrestling, I'll go point-by-point.
34 team members listed. There is a limit to how many athletes can be on the team, though I'm not certain of what the limit is. As a fan, I really like the fact that Stehura is maximizing his numbers. I remember from talking to him last year that he had a huge number of wrestlers on his team at Limestone. I don't believe that he'd be expecting less of them just because there are more available wrestlers, so if a lot of wrestlers want to join and are willing to put in the work to be on a Division 1 wrestling team, I see no reason why he should turn them away.
20 freshman. New wrestlers were needed and numbers needed to be bolstered. The program forfeited 197 pounds almost the entire season last year and, if I remember correctly, didn't have a whole lot of depth at multiple weight classes.
13 wrestlers from out-of-state. Thirteen out of thirty-four seems like a pretty good number, doesn't it?
6 wrestlers on roster from northeast Ohio. Alright, in my opinion as a fan of wrestling in northeast Ohio, this is very noticeable (and not in a good way). There are probably many reasons for this -- Ohio State, Kent State and especially Notre Dame College being three major ones -- but one would hope for this six of thirty-four number to change considerably in the near future. As Marcus pointed out to me, though, it is very difficult to recruit from this area because it is such a hotbed of high school wrestling.
I do not think this is Stehura and staff bringing in a bunch and hoping a few pan out. I really don't. I think it is a beginning of a new era. And almost every time this happens to programs in any sport, the start is a bit rough. Heck, even Notre Dame College wasn't the national powerhouse they are now until this past season.
One of the biggest challenges Stehura, Coleman and Mladenovic are facing will be to bring top-notch local talent to Cleveland State University.
I think I have an idea for an interview...
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Discussion Topic: CSU by the Numbers
Hank Kornblut added to this discussion on August 20, 2009
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DC: Glad you responded as it's important for CSU wrestling to be discussed.
I agree that bolstering numbers is terrific. I remain surprised by the number of out of state kids. According to my solar calculator, 13 represents 38% of the squad. That's a lot. Ohio is one of the largest hs wrestling states in the country. There are a lot of kids here that can wrestle but are not good enough for Kent, OU or Ohio State. Why not recruit more Ohio state placers? CSU is still a D1 program and that fact ought to help them win the recruiting wars against Ashland, Findlay and NDC. Right now, it isn't. Why?
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