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Post by Werebeaver on Feb 14, 2016 9:19:43 GMT -8
Oregon State wrestling needs a Pat Casey or a Scott Rueck.
Jim Zalesky is on his 10th year as OSU coach. And we're still struggling at the fringes of the top 25.
Is that enough? I think this program is underachieving. |
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Post by ostate on Feb 14, 2016 10:37:07 GMT -8
I would have to disagree with you on this one squonk. I would contend that what Zalesky has done at Oregon State has been incredible. Given that there has never been a national title (team) won by a west coast school and that only one national title has been won by a school on this side of Stillwater Oklahoma (Arizona State in 1988); the fact that Zalesky has had the Beavs in the top 20 the majority of his tenure & has won multiple conference titles shows that this program is a west coast powerhouse. Also, the fact that wrestling is not a prominent high school sport here on the west coast (I would contend that skiing and/or lacrosse is more popular) the pool of talent is far smaller than that in the midwest and/or east coast - Zalesky gets many of the best wrestlers on the west coast (that don't go to Stillwater or Penn State, Iowa or Iowa State).
You may not know this but Casey didn't make it to the CWS until his 11th year as a coach - Zalesky's squad is ranked #7 and just took down a decent Oklahoma squad; this will probably be Zalesky's and the Beavers best chance to get an individual title and do really well as a team. Corvallis is not Stillwater but it's, without a doubt, the best wrestling school on the west coast...
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Post by baseba1111 on Feb 14, 2016 10:37:45 GMT -8
The more involved wrestling gurus can chime in, but from my casual observations:
>the caliber of wrestlers you need to recruit to be a D1 power are extremely few and far between. It's not football where you have a group of 4* and up that number in the 100+ kids;
>the elite school have the market cornered and it's tough to get a "group" of elite wrestlers at various weight classes. When I paid attention more, it seemed like some of our best from Oregon would make there way to the Iowa's, Iowa State and never see the mat they were so deep;
>Coach Z seems to have a good handle on the details... I'm not an expert by a long shot, but I've been around some excellent HS coaches, and although some had huge egos and would hesitate to admit it, you can make kids incredibly better in some areas (conditioning, technical skills, mental toughness), but you have to have the horses to be an elite level program. I do think this program lacks the cache' in the recruiting department.
Every so often you see a newcomer, but the top 5-10 powers have been pretty consistent since the early 80's and the top 25 pretty close to the same. But, the top 25 is one thing, to be a NCAA team contender is left to a very select few.
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Post by georgevonbeaverstrom on Feb 15, 2016 7:48:09 GMT -8
As counter-intuitive as it sounds, we need stronger programs out west and in the Pac-12. Having just Stanford and ASU really hurts IMO. Pac 12 vs Big 10 for example is a no brainer. Big 10 is an absolute buzzsaw and they are attracting national level elite kids. When you look at football - often times we get kids who would rather play Pac-12 ball vs Mtn West. When it comes to wrestling, we're essentially Mtn West in some respects...
That being said- this season as a whole - I'd agree that we are underachieving. A number of guys seem to have regressed or stalled. is it coaching? Health? Inflated expectations? Not sure. On the other hand, we return the bulk of the team next season and I think everyone recognized we MUST get stronger in the middle of the line-up.
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Post by abureid on Feb 16, 2016 10:24:13 GMT -8
great wrestlers need great competition, in the mat room, in the league.
PAC is generally weak, gets fewer invites to NCAA's, has fewer top wrestlers. We are not a "Power 5" wrestling conference.
Zalesky is an amazing coach and he has a great staff. If you don't believe, just watch them at practice.
It is exceedingly tough to remain a top team when you are in a marginal league.
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Post by georgevonbeaverstrom on Feb 16, 2016 14:07:22 GMT -8
We only lose Seth this season... I'm feeling pretty good about next year.
125: Bresser (so)
133: Palmer (JR)
141: Hathaway (SO)
149: Joey D. (JR)
157: AbeRod (SO)
165: Thomas (SR)
174: Chay (SO)
184: Griego (FR)
197: Crawford (SO)
HWT: Dhesi (SO)
Hoping Meeker and/or Dobler can contribute next year at 65/74. I think Griego is my early pick to make a big leap by next season, plus I think we'll get a healthy/improved Crawford next year.
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Post by abureid on Feb 17, 2016 9:16:11 GMT -8
This team could be really good for a couple of years.
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