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Discussion Topic: Kenny Courts' bracket at the PIAA State Tournament
J.P. Barner added to this discussion on March 11, 2011
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Discussion Topic: Kenny Courts' bracket at the PIAA State Tournament
Roe Fox added to this discussion on March 11, 2011
Surprised to see Hills with six losses. Maybe Bob or Josh can give us some info on his season this year. Does he wrestle bigger tourneys or are those in-state matches?
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Discussion Topic: Kenny Courts' bracket at the PIAA State Tournament
Hank Kornblut added to this discussion on March 11, 2011
Courts had one bad weekend. It happens. A focused Courts will win it again easily (of course I just jinxed him). Seriously--this kid has crazy talent.
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Discussion Topic: Kenny Courts' bracket at the PIAA State Tournament
Jim Kessen added to this discussion on March 11, 2011
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Discussion Topic: Kenny Courts' bracket at the PIAA State Tournament
J.P. Barner added to this discussion on March 11, 2011
Has undefeated Bolich next - I've seen him wrestle and he's tough. Should be finals match, but PA does not seed the State tournament bracket. There were some great match-ups today in the 1/4's as a result.
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Discussion Topic: Kenny Courts' bracket at the PIAA State Tournament
John Ice added to this discussion on March 12, 2011
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Discussion Topic: Kenny Courts' bracket at the PIAA State Tournament
Alex Creech added to this discussion on March 12, 2011
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Discussion Topic: Kenny Courts' bracket at the PIAA State Tournament
Ben Golden added to this discussion on March 12, 2011
I see he faces another undefeated wrestler in the finals. Really seems to be a pretty tough bracket. The margins of victories in his last two matches leave a little to be desired of a superstar, but the final score only tells so much.
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Discussion Topic: Kenny Courts' bracket at the PIAA State Tournament
Jason L. Jackson added to this discussion on March 12, 2011
Ben, I would disagree on the issue of margin of victory. Would you still consider Ian Miller a "superstar", after he lost in the state finals? What about if he would have won 1-0?
The first opponent was good enough to have defeated Courts earlier in the year, and the second was undefeated. Maybe the competition is quite good.
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Discussion Topic: Kenny Courts' bracket at the PIAA State Tournament
John Ice added to this discussion on March 12, 2011
Last years state champ Steve Spearman did not make weight at districts.
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Discussion Topic: Kenny Courts' bracket at the PIAA State Tournament
John Ice added to this discussion on March 12, 2011
Last years state champ Steve Spearman did not make weight at districts.
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Discussion Topic: Kenny Courts' bracket at the PIAA State Tournament
Hank Kornblut added to this discussion on March 12, 2011
Jason Jackson: Good point. I've watched many state finals bouts and Miller is the best senior I've seen so far.
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Discussion Topic: Kenny Courts' bracket at the PIAA State Tournament
Ben Golden added to this discussion on March 12, 2011
Quote from Jason L. Jackson's post:
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"Ben, I would disagree on the issue of margin of victory. Would you still consider Ian Miller a "superstar", after he lost in the state finals? What about if he would have won 1-0?
The first opponent was good enough to have defeated Courts earlier in the year, and the second was undefeated. Maybe the competition is quite good."
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Well, I agree that there's only so much you can read into it. That's what I meant when I said that "the final score only tells so much." Not only does it not say anything about how the competition is, but the type of match that was wrestled. Maybe his opponents are brick walls and tough to score on--I really don't know.
All I really know is that Courts was ranked as a top 5 pound-for-pound senior a couple months ago, and the two opponents he beat by close margins are not ranked at the weight nationally. Are rankings definitive? Absolutely not. Maybe they've just not been to national events. I'm sure Josh could tell us something about those guys if he so desires. Nonetheless, you typically see guys like Courts (by that I mean incredible athletes who started winning major national tournaments as freshmen in high school) be a little more dominant in their state tournaments against non-ranked guys.
Do I think the sky is falling? No, not at all. I've seen some videos of Courts and think he's a tremendous athlete who's quick on his feet and a vice on top. Things happen that I am totally unaware of, and I recognize that. I still expected a bit more dominance, though. I remain very glad he's coming to Ohio State.
I also mentioned that it seems to be a tough bracket, since his semis opponent was undefeated and his finals opponent is, too. I'm not hating on Courts, just saying that his matches are closer than we typically see from guys like him.
As for Miller, I still think he will have a very good college career. His last match really doesn't change my opinion of him at all. However, I don't know that its quite the same thing. Courts has always been ranked higher than Miller in their class, and Miller was wrestling the #11 guy in the country at his weight.
With all this said, I'll repeat: I'm happy to have Courts at Ohio State and my opinion of Ian Miller remains that he is a great wrestler and will do great things at Kent State.
EDIT: I see Megaludis got taken to overtime. Another superstar with a close match. Tough tourney!
Hank: When you say Miller is the best senior you've seen so far, what do you mean?
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Discussion Topic: Kenny Courts' bracket at the PIAA State Tournament
Tommy Rowlands added to this discussion on March 12, 2011
Here is why I think blue chip recruits have countless close matches at there state tourney: PA is a GREAT wrestling state, has two divisions, and they will ride you no matter what the score of the match is.
I think we are so deficient as a state when it comes to mat wrestling because of how it is officiated. I don't think it is the officials fault per say, but rather our state's non verbal assumption of how mat wrestling should look, officials included.
I will be the first one to say that I enjoy watching the neutral position 10x more than mat wrestling, but the rules are the rules, and at the collegiate level, you have to get out when it matters most, and you have to hold someone down when it matters most, and stalling is only called for top man if it is PAINFULLY obvious.
As a state, in general, we are real bad at mat wrestling. I think it is because if you haven't propped the bottom man up on a 90 degree plain within 20 seconds, it is considered stalling. And very rarely can you ride someone out with a 1-0 lead going into the third without being called for stalling. Since it is so tough to stay on top of the guy without stalling, our kids cut people loose, and then the cycle starts of all of us being bad at mat wrestling.
It costs us at the collegiate level. It is a common topic amongst college coaches when you are recruiting an Ohio kid.
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Discussion Topic: Kenny Courts' bracket at the PIAA State Tournament
Ethan Moore added to this discussion on March 12, 2011
Tommy - I agree 100%. Great post.
It's interesting to me that college coaches mention it when looking at Ohio kids.
The D1 NQ numbers once again prove that PA produces the most college-ready athletes.
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