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Discussion Topic: Ohio State v. Rutgers - January 24, 2021
Jason Fair added to this discussion on January 23, 2021
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Sasso and Romero feel like strong AA bets. I would bet the over though on two AA’s. I think between Smith, Rocky, Singletary (my assumption is he ends up being the guy at 197) and Orndorf, at least one will sneak into top 8.
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Discussion Topic: Ohio State v. Rutgers - January 24, 2021
Jim Kessen added to this discussion on January 24, 2021
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Ok I’ve seen enough of Decatur and Cleary. I would rather bucks FF then watch either of
them.
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Discussion Topic: Ohio State v. Rutgers - January 24, 2021
Rob Wagner added to this discussion on January 24, 2021
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I try not to look too far into future seasons, but man, you'd have to hope 1 of Smith, Kharchla, or Paddy could man 157 moving forward. Even if you bump up Sasso, I think that leaves holes at 141 and 149.
I hate to count out Decatur but he just aint it at 133. Zero depth there as well. Transfer portal?
Hope we can pull off this dual in the second half.
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Quote from Jim Kessen's post:
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"Ok I’ve seen enough of Decatur and Cleary. I would rather bucks FF then watch either of
them."
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Discussion Topic: Ohio State v. Rutgers - January 24, 2021
Jim Kessen added to this discussion on January 24, 2021
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Quote from Rob Wagner's post:
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"I try not to look too far into future seasons, but man, you'd have to hope 1 of Smith, Kharchla, or Paddy could man 157 moving forward. Even if you bump up Sasso, I think that leaves holes at 141 and 149.
I hate to count out Decatur but he just aint it at 133. Zero depth there as well. Transfer portal?
Hope we can pull off this dual in the second half.
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Quote from Jim Kessen's post:
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"Ok I’ve seen enough of Decatur and Cleary. I would rather bucks FF then watch either of
them."
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"
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Add Rocky to that list.
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Discussion Topic: Ohio State v. Rutgers - January 24, 2021
Jared Ball added to this discussion on January 24, 2021
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So far in this early part of the Big Ten dual season the Bucks have absolutely looked the part of the 15th ranked team in the country. Illinois is probably not as good as they looked last week (even though they're 3-0), and the Bucks may or may not be as bad as they're ranked. This dual was absolutely an exciting dual to watch with multiple upsets on both sides. In the end Ohio State did just enough to escape with the win.
What's to like?
Malik Heinsleman is starting to resemble the guy everyone thought the Bucks were getting when they recruited him. His near major decision over Aguilar was an absolute statement to the rest of the Big Ten. Malik's toughest matches are still ahead of him (that goes without saying) but he's finishing shots and matches that eluded him last year. His added muscle seems to be paying dividends. Malik sits eighth in the Big Ten rankings, and outside of Spencer Lee I don't think you can count him completely out of any match. Schroder (Purdue) and Foley (MSU) have historically been better, and Ragusin (M) looks legit. It's good to see Malik make some jumps.
165 could certainly be worse off. Losing Karchla for the season was a blow, and to be honest even prior to this I was concerned that Carson might struggle with health issues. He had multiple injuries during the early part of high school, and missed a little time during his redshirt year when he tweaked his knee during senior nationals last year. Let's hope for health! Ethan Smith is more than capable. I liken his loss last week to weight loss. Remember that this guy wrestled as high as 184 as a RS and was slotted to wrestle off at 174 this season. 165 is no easy cut. At his best, Ethan could absolutely be a R12 or low AA with the right draw.
Steady Eddie. You have to like Kaleb Romero's consistency right out of the gate. Romero is absolutely deserving of his top five ranking, and given the right draw and match I think he could push higher. I think he gets over the hump with Labriola this year, and I think anything can happen with Starocci and Kemerer. Likewise, Sasso just continues to win. I thought he could've won a little more handedly today, but against a crafty fifth year guy. You take what you can get.
Great to see Gavin Hoffman get a big win today! He continued to attack and finished his shot when it was necessary. Hopefully this win is a springboard to bigger and better things in a wide open weight class.
Concerned?
I'm not going to beat a dead horse about Decatur. He is what he is right now. Sammy Alvarez did not look as sharp as normal today, and he still put up huge points. I really like Alvarez, and I think he might win a title at some point, but probably not this year. Decatur sits at eighth in the conference. We don't need him to be an All American. He needs to focus on qualifying first. 133 is not as deep as it has been in recent years. Jordan should've beaten Lucas Byrd, and should've beaten Boo Dryden last season. He needs W's over both those guys to stand a chance at qualification. I don't see many wild cards getting put through this season. Guys are going to have to go the route of automatic qualification.
Likewise with Elijah Cleary. He is what he is. 157 continues to be a black hole for the Buckeyes. 1 AA finish in the entirety of the Tom Ryan era, and that was when Micah Jordan was wrestling out of weight. It's a real curiosity why this continues to be the case.
Rocky Jordan seemed to be trending upwards at the end of last season. He had a handful of solid wins, and rightfully earned an automatic qualification spot. Let me be clear, the kid from Rutgers that he lost to today (a true freshman) will be an absolute stud in the coming years. But Rocky Jordan should not, and cannot lose matches like that. That's two matches in two weeks where his offense has become a liability, and he fails to close out matches. These are mental lapses. Hopefully he gets it together sooner rather than later.
A win is a win in this shortened Big Ten season. It hasn't been pretty, but at least we're wrestling!
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Discussion Topic: Ohio State v. Rutgers - January 24, 2021
J.P. Barner added to this discussion on January 24, 2021
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On the plus side, it appears Malik has made a positive jump in level this year. Handled a guy that beat him badly a year ago.
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Discussion Topic: Ohio State v. Rutgers - January 24, 2021
Jack Muni added to this discussion on January 24, 2021
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I was a little disappointed that we didn't get to see Echemendia, Stickley, Wilcox and Singletary in the exhibition matches.
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Discussion Topic: Ohio State v. Rutgers - January 24, 2021
Roe Fox added to this discussion on January 25, 2021
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I missed 25-41 but give Decatur big props for wrestling in an extra match. Going from all world in HS to this has to be humbling. At least he knows he needs to do more. That’s a start.
Clearly is perplexing to me. He has more talent than his results show.
Ethan physically looks like a beast at 65. If he can keep his stamina up he may surprise a few people.
I agree with Jared: I think Kaleb gets past Labs, and maybe more. But not Kemerer. But that’s why you wrestle the matches.
Great win for Hoffman.
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Discussion Topic: Ohio State v. Rutgers - January 24, 2021
Roe Fox added to this discussion on January 25, 2021
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I missed 25-41 but give Decatur big props for wrestling in an extra match. Going from all world in HS to this has to be humbling. At least he knows he needs to do more. That’s a start.
Clearly is perplexing to me. He has more talent than his results show.
Ethan physically looks like a beast at 65. If he can keep his stamina up he may surprise a few people.
I agree with Jared: I think Kaleb gets past Labs, and maybe more. But not Kemerer. But that’s why you wrestle the matches.
Great win for Hoffman.
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Discussion Topic: Ohio State v. Rutgers - January 24, 2021
Hank Kornblut added to this discussion on January 25, 2021
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Bucks look good at 125, 149 and 174. Smith is solid at 165 but has obvious limitations. I like D'Emilio at 141 as a prospect. He wrestles hard and shows technique in all positions.
Unfortunately, the rest of the lineup is pedestrian. Rock Jordan is an enigma. Honestly, I think his struggles seem to be with the mental part of the sport and that's such a difficult battle to wage. Hoffman looked better yesterday so let's hope he's on the right track. Orndorf doesn't ride well and doesn't seem to have the requisite explosive attacks on his feet necessary to stand out at 285. Not sure why he was so highly regarded to this point but one hopes he will show us.
Decatur can't finish his shots or get out on bottom. Part of it could be the weight cut but that's the best I can offer in terms of an explanation. It wasn't that long ago that Dylan Koontz was 4th in Vegas. Why can't he start?
Cleary came on last season but the staff botched it by siding with higher recruit/project Kinner. I thought that was a mistake at the time. Cleary gassed hard yesterday which is not what you want to see out of a guy you need to overachieve.
Bucks look like a middle of the road Big Ten team. Kharchla would help but they need more than that. Suddenly, this team is pedestrian at several weights, or, worse yet, underachieving. Michigan has been building for years and is now the squad the Bucks used to be. Sadly, it's not as if this team has a bunch of stud prospects in redshirt unless Echemendia can instantly develop a mat game and launch himself into the title picture at 141...and that's not likely to happen. If Hoffman, Rocky and Orndorf can catch some fire it would help a lot.
Last thought--I just wonder if the staff dislikes Singletary? Because based on past performance, wouldn't he be an improvement over what we're seeing at either 197 or 285?
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Discussion Topic: Ohio State v. Rutgers - January 24, 2021
Jim Kessen added to this discussion on January 25, 2021
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Quote from Hank Kornblut's post:
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"Bucks look good at 125, 149 and 174. Smith is solid at 165 but has obvious limitations. I like D'Emilio at 141 as a prospect. He wrestles hard and shows technique in all positions.
Cleary came on last season but the staff botched it by siding with higher recruit/project Kinner. I thought that was a mistake at the time. Cleary gassed hard yesterday which is not what you want to see out of a guy you need to overachieve.
I disagree here. If memory service me right Kinner wrestled PSU dual and maybe 1 other one but Cleary wrestled B10s.
Last thought--I just wonder if the staff dislikes Singletary? Because based on past performance, wouldn't he be an improvement over what we're seeing at either 197 or 285?"
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Not sure what they do here. Singletary wanted to go 197 and lost wrestle off. I think it would be hard for him to now move up to 285. You are right it wouldn't hurt to put him out there at least once to see what he can do. But if you believe in Gavin and need to get him going sitting him probably wont help.
But I agree with the rest of your post especially about Koontz at 133.
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Discussion Topic: Ohio State v. Rutgers - January 24, 2021
Jack Muni added to this discussion on January 25, 2021
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OSU has a Fri./Sunday weekend (MSU/Maryland)coming up so maybe TR will let Singletary & Echemendia wrestle one of those matches without disrupting the momentum of the team.
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Discussion Topic: Ohio State v. Rutgers - January 24, 2021
Hank Kornblut added to this discussion on January 25, 2021
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MSU might give us a hard time.
Jim--I don't know how much wrestle offs matter in decision making. But, you're correct to note that Singletary needs to assert himself as the best option to get the spot. As always, I can only offer opinions based on what I observe. There's always plenty behind the scenes of which I'm unaware.
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Discussion Topic: Ohio State v. Rutgers - January 24, 2021
Jared Ball added to this discussion on January 25, 2021
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Think about what the Buckeyes have lost over the last three years....Snyder, Tomasello, Bo, Myles, McKenna, Kollin, and Luke. 5 national titles, 10 finals appearances, 25 All American finished.....in three years!!! No one, not Iowa, not Okie State, certainly not Michigan has lost even remotely that level of talent. It’s taken Iowa three years to build to this point, same for Michigan. That includes transfers and the right combo of recruits. This may finally be the long awaited down time. It does not bell that our very young team didn’t get a chance to earn accolades to build off of going into this year. It’s highly likely that Sasso would’ve made the NCAA finals last year, maybe even won it. It’s pretty likely that Kaleb would’ve earned AA honors as well. Ethan, Rocky, and Orndorf would’ve been in the hunt for R12. I think these coaches have earned a little bit of patience from us. Orndorf will be just fine. I know he hasn’t looked the part yet, and I’m sure he knows it. New team, new state, new conference. It may take a while. I’m also confident that Rocky will improve, he’s got the pedigree. Will we compete with PSU and Iowa, not this year. Can we do with just about anyone else, yes we can. I’d rather take lumps in January and be battle tested through the big ten then steam roll a bunch of cupcakes like Missouri does every year. Mark my words, Mizzou, Okie State, and NC State will crap the bed come March. Book em Dano!
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Discussion Topic: Ohio State v. Rutgers - January 24, 2021
Rick Wasmer added to this discussion on January 25, 2021
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I think Missouri is the real deal.
I agree with you about Okie State.
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