Pitt wrestling 27 NC State 7
- Thread starter bwh05
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Right now it looks like an if instead of a when. Asked a member of the coaching staff this weekend and was told that he is still adjusting and the quote "right now he's still a football player" was used. Also heard that Tasser currently gets the best of him in the room, but that was from a different source. Don't underestimate the adjustment period. Also, given the qualification standards for earning an automatic bid for nationals - ie 75% win percentage, RPI and coaches rankings which require a min of 17 d1 matches - it might not be smart to wrestle him, even if he does beat Tasser. If Tasser earns a bid, which right now it looks like he has an above average shot, wrestling Rizzo at the conf tournament instead would take that bid away from the ACC, and he would have to beat one of the 3 top 20 heavies at the conf tournament to qualify as opposed to Tasser getting in automatically.
Yeah, first time seeing them in Pittsburgh this season and they were thorough, to say the least. Z & Mack set the standard early and everyone fed off that Friday. The whole weekend was a treat, really. I feel the same way I felt after watching them at Maryland - the ACC title is there for the taking.
Couple observations/thoughts:
* We get Max back and then lose Bonaccorsi to injury right when Nick was making some moves nationally. Sucks. I loved how the staff openly demanded takedowns out of Nick on Friday. As much as I loved his courage in finishing the Duke match when he was clearly in pain Saturday. Especially rough, because Wilps' influence on Nick was becoming quite
evident, particularly in his work on top. They don't want him to win, they want him to dominate. Hopefully he can regain his health relatively soon and do just that.
* After 3 losses to ACC HWT's, P.J. finally broke through against Duke. If Rizzo was gettingin this year - you couldn't present a better point of entry than Buffalo or Davidson. That he didn't get in against them makes it hard to see him cracking the lineup this year, even with P.J's less than stellar record vs ACC HWT's. It didn't even look like he was the #2 - it looked like Gregory was. I read a lot about Rizzo's conditioning - respectfully, that's there. It's the reps & the mindset that are the hurdles here. If it were me, I'd take my chances with Rizzo, but I get why they're doing what they're doing, and recognize that having Western PA kids like Cody & Rizzo around for the extra year has long-term benefits.
* Nyama-Cutler was around the Field House for the NC State match. I don't know what that signifies or if the ship that sailed can ever be returned to port, but it caught me by surprise. Loved the kid's story and hope he finds a way back to the mat, if not at Pitt, then elsewhere.
This post was edited on 1/17 10:34 PM by singregardless
Couple observations/thoughts:
* We get Max back and then lose Bonaccorsi to injury right when Nick was making some moves nationally. Sucks. I loved how the staff openly demanded takedowns out of Nick on Friday. As much as I loved his courage in finishing the Duke match when he was clearly in pain Saturday. Especially rough, because Wilps' influence on Nick was becoming quite
evident, particularly in his work on top. They don't want him to win, they want him to dominate. Hopefully he can regain his health relatively soon and do just that.
* After 3 losses to ACC HWT's, P.J. finally broke through against Duke. If Rizzo was gettingin this year - you couldn't present a better point of entry than Buffalo or Davidson. That he didn't get in against them makes it hard to see him cracking the lineup this year, even with P.J's less than stellar record vs ACC HWT's. It didn't even look like he was the #2 - it looked like Gregory was. I read a lot about Rizzo's conditioning - respectfully, that's there. It's the reps & the mindset that are the hurdles here. If it were me, I'd take my chances with Rizzo, but I get why they're doing what they're doing, and recognize that having Western PA kids like Cody & Rizzo around for the extra year has long-term benefits.
* Nyama-Cutler was around the Field House for the NC State match. I don't know what that signifies or if the ship that sailed can ever be returned to port, but it caught me by surprise. Loved the kid's story and hope he finds a way back to the mat, if not at Pitt, then elsewhere.
This post was edited on 1/17 10:34 PM by singregardless
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