2008-2009 Preseason College Rankings (D1)

legridder155 · 08-07-2008, 03:40 PM

Pre-season rankings mean nothing. It all comes down to tourney time.

Just as the Buckeyes Football are ranked lower than I believe what they truely are, I personally like flying a little under the radar.

ban basketball · 08-07-2008, 05:32 PM

Originally Posted by Herkey#1

I was at the Iowa meet when they lost by three. UNI wrestled out of their minds and Iowa wrestled like complete sh*t. How did they do this year against Iowa. Comparing to Iowa isnt fair though. How did they do against other teams in the top twenty? They should constantly be top fifteen if not ten.

Wrestlers wrestling above their seeds and finishing 20th just proves my point. Why are the expectations so low?

I love the team. I like watching Iowa kids wrestle too. BUt those same kids are getting gypped because the coaching is bad. Those kids have the ability to wrestle better on the national scene than they do. They were deffinately a better team when Manning was there. Hopefully the new AD can get someone in there that will bring this once storied program back to national prominence.

Care to fill us in on how difficult it is for UNI to get recruits, when Iowa State and Iowa are just down the road? Care to compare budgets? Care to compare draw and appeal that names like Brands and Sanderson are going to have on young kids? People need to stop thinking of the "UNI tradition;" it's nonsense in present day. Their day was in the 50's, when Iowa was not even a blurb. Along comes Gable (and ISU) and things changed. It's a new day.

It's ludicrous to expect otherwise. I don't think there's any Panther fan deluded enough to expect us to be able to draw recruits from Iowa and ISU. We have to be a bit more creative.

As for having "low expectations," the reality is is that's where UNI wrestlers were seeded last year, and that's where the team was ranked last year. If, on the whole, they wrestled above both of those, that isn't having "low expectations." It's being happy and having high expectations for bigger and better things. I'm already on record that their team will be tougher this year.

Anymore critique of UNI, "Panther fan?"

ban basketball · 08-07-2008, 06:15 PM

Gopher fans,

I saw where Safratowich is ranked at 157. Is that where he will be wrestling at this year?

LkwdSteve · 08-07-2008, 07:34 PM

"then promptly falls out."

Look for Kent State to do some "falling in".

JensenS · 08-07-2008, 07:40 PM

Originally Posted by ban basketball

Gopher fans,

I saw where Safratowich is ranked at 157. Is that where he will be wrestling at this year?

Yes. Safratowich will be at 157, Scott Glasser will wrestle 165.

ban basketball · 08-07-2008, 08:17 PM

Originally Posted by JensenS

Yes. Safratowich will be at 157, Scott Glasser will wrestle 165.

Thanks. Maybe it was just me, but he always looked a little small for 165, even though he did a good job at that weight.

JensenS · 08-07-2008, 09:54 PM

Safratowich has bounced all over the place through out his career, he was at 141 in 06 then was outsized for half of 07 filling in for CP Schlatter at 157 and then even more outsized when he moved up to 165 for his season and a half sojourn at that weight.

I'm assuming he's put on the size over the last year and a half to make him a respectably sized 57.

grapplefan · 08-08-2008, 09:47 AM

Originally Posted by ban basketball

Care to fill us in on how difficult it is for UNI to get recruits, when Iowa State and Iowa are just down the road? Care to compare budgets? Care to compare draw and appeal that names like Brands and Sanderson are going to have on young kids? People need to stop thinking of the "UNI tradition;" it's nonsense in present day. Their day was in the 50's, when Iowa was not even a blurb. Along comes Gable (and ISU) and things changed. It's a new day.

It's ludicrous to expect otherwise. I don't think there's any Panther fan deluded enough to expect us to be able to draw recruits from Iowa and ISU. We have to be a bit more creative.

As for having "low expectations," the reality is is that's where UNI wrestlers were seeded last year, and that's where the team was ranked last year. If, on the whole, they wrestled above both of those, that isn't having "low expectations." It's being happy and having high expectations for bigger and better things. I'm already on record that their team will be tougher this year.

Anymore critique of UNI, "Panther fan?"

I think that his critique was more of coaching, not of the wrestlers or recruiting. UNI wrestling gets good talent, and yes, they are underfunded.

Gold · 08-08-2008, 10:43 AM

Originally Posted by ODH

Ask some Gopher fans how much it hurts to lose a Top Heavy.
After losing only Conrad, they dropped from #1 to off the charts (#11?, any Minny fans remember?)

Yeah but they still started the season ranked #1. I am not upset about this, just surprised and I don't understand the logic.

ban basketball · 08-08-2008, 10:53 AM

Originally Posted by grapplefan

I think that his critique was more of coaching, not of the wrestlers or recruiting. UNI wrestling gets good talent, and yes, they are underfunded.

I know, as is much of the Iowa critique of UNI. However, I'm here to tell people that it isn't what it seems on the surface, nor is a coaching change going to be a quick fix for anything. Brands (and Gable, but I didn't follow college wrestling in those days) is, perhaps, the only exception that I've seen to this rule in mylife where a coach changed things overnight.

As is the case in all other sports, the coach is the most overrated aspect of athletics. For one, when a team is doing well, we talk about how "the athletes are just gelling right now, at the top of their games." When the team does poorly, suddenly we forget aboutthe athletes and start pointing fingers at the coach.

2008-2009 Preseason College Rankings (D1)

College Wrestling