OU Wrestling Drops Bedlam in Norman

[Pistolp]

An article in the DOK says that the OU wrestling coach decided to no longer hold duals with OSU in Norman as OU is not competitive. In the future there will be a dual meet in Stillwater, but no dual at all in the years scheduled for Norman. I didn't know it was possible to not wrestle a conference opponent. I think this is an odd move and bad for wrestling at both schools.

 

[CPTNQUIRK]

An article in the DOK says that the OU wrestling coach decided to no longer hold duals with OSU in Norman as OU is not competitive. In the future there will be a dual meet in Stillwater, but no dual at all in the years scheduled for Norman. I didn't know it was possible to not wrestle a conference opponent. I think this is an odd move and bad for wrestling at both schools.

This is for the traditional non conference meeting between the squads. The conference match will still occur.

 

[65POKE]

Still a very strange move to make on the coach's part.

 

[#1 Pokes Fan]

Still a very strange move to make on the coach's part.

But on the bright side, Vagasil stock went through the roof and their wrestling team will get a participation trophy at the end of the year.

 

[jac1599]

I went to bedlam in Stillwater last week...I was shocked at how uninvolved their coach was through the entire dual. It wasn't until he threw his little challenge noodle that I realized the old guy dressed like a slob was their coach.

OU used to have a decent program...but I imagine it won't be long (with this guy as coach) before they decide to just nix the program altogether.

 

[RxCowboy]

 

[andylicious]

Kreuger just asked how he could get that done for the rest of basketball season

 

[Tommy Gunnz]

I went to bedlam in Stillwater last week...I was shocked at how uninvolved their coach was through the entire dual. It wasn't until he threw his little challenge noodle that I realized the old guy dressed like a slob was their coach.

OU used to have a decent program...but I imagine it won't be long (with this guy as coach) before they decide to just nix the program altogether.

you must not follow wrestling much, their "slob" coach is excellent, it is just a rebuilding job and why embarrass themselves twice against their rival if they don't have to and hurt morale and recruiting? I'm not saying I agree but I actually can understand his thought process.......and he will have 0u as a top 10 team again in less than 5 years

 

[jac1599]

I went to bedlam in Stillwater last week...I was shocked at how uninvolved their coach was through the entire dual. It wasn't until he threw his little challenge noodle that I realized the old guy dressed like a slob was their coach.

OU used to have a decent program...but I imagine it won't be long (with this guy as coach) before they decide to just nix the program altogether.

you must not follow wrestling much, their "slob" coach is excellent, it is just a rebuilding job and why embarrass themselves twice against their rival if they don't have to and hurt morale and recruiting? I'm not saying I agree but I actually can understand his thought process.......and he will have 0u as a top 10 team again in less than 5 years

You’re right, I don’t follow wrestling like I used to. But others that do have said he was just an “ok” hire. And an excellent coach doesn’t avoid embarrassment by pulling out of competition. An excellent coach gets better and beats the competition.

Imagine if Gundy said “Historically, we haven’t been real competitive with OU so we are just going to not play them in Norman any more.”

I realize it’s a little different because football plays once per year, but I think it’s still a valid comparison.

Running away from competition is cheap and something that will kill the sport.

 

[RxCowboy]

You’re right, I don’t follow wrestling like I used to. But others that do have said he was just an “ok” hire. And an excellent coach doesn’t avoid embarrassment by pulling out of competition. An excellent coach gets better and beats the competition.

Imagine if Gundy said “Historically, we haven’t been real competitive with OU so we are just going to not play them in Norman any more.”

I realize it’s a little different because football plays once per year, but I think it’s still a valid comparison.

Running away from competition is cheap and something that will kill the sport.

Sooners wrestling...

 

[Tommy Gunnz]

ou’re right, I don’t follow wrestling like I used to. But others that do have said he was just an “ok” hire.

anyone who told you at the time he was an "ok hire" has no idea, it was a home run hire just like Dresser at Iowa State but both programs will take a little time to get back to where they were due to the dumpster fires they took over

 

[chieforange]

that's an easy way to keep a L off of your record

 

[FHOSU]

anyone who told you at the time he was an "ok hire" has no idea, it was a home run hire just like Dresser at Iowa State but both programs will take a little time to get back to where they were due to the dumpster fires they took over

He may turn out great, but I would hardly call the hiring of a guy with no head coaching experience that no one else deemed worthy of hiring as a head coach during his decade as an assistant coach a "home run" hire.

 

[Tommy Gunnz]

He may turn out great, but I would hardly call the hiring of a guy with no head coaching experience that no one else deemed worthy of hiring as a head coach during his decade as an assistant coach a "home run" hire.

lol or maybe he was waiting for the right job to come along before he left OSU. He was widely considered one of, if not the top assistant coach in wrestling. You really think he couldn't have gotten ANY coaching job during that time? Do you think Zach Esposito couldn't get a coaching job somewhere right now? I bet he could but he is choosing to stay with us maybe hoping to take over after John leaves?

 

[RxCowboy]

This was the most pansy move I've ever seen in college sports. Fricking Fresno State, in their first year of putting a team on the mat again, wasn't too afraid to wrestle us. If uO fans had any stones at all, if they were at all capable of shame, there would be a hue and cry over this.

And @Tommy Gunnz their coach sucks, this move proves it, your hard-on for him not-withstanding.

 

[FHOSU]

lol or maybe he was waiting for the right job to come along before he left OSU. He was widely considered one of, if not the top assistant coach in wrestling. You really think he couldn't have gotten ANY coaching job during that time? Do you think Zach Esposito couldn't get a coaching job somewhere right now? I bet he could but he is choosing to stay with us maybe hoping to take over after John leaves?

If the "right job" was a program that hasn't won a conference championship in 15 years and hasn't won a NCAA title in 50 years and hasn't competed for a national title in many years and will always play second fiddle to an in-state rival, I don't view the guy to be on the level you seem to think he is on. And that's fine. Hope the guy does well, it would help OSU wrestling, but with a guy that pulls a bitch move in running from competition with his in-state rival, decreasing local wrestling interest and decreasing interest/ticket sales for his own program, I find it unlikely. John wouldn't do that. Cael wouldn't do that. Hell, Jack Spates and Mark Cody didn't do that.

 

[orangerulez]

If the "right job" was a program that hasn't won a conference championship in 15 years and hasn't won a NCAA title in 50 years and hasn't competed for a national title in many years and will always play second fiddle to an in-state rival, I don't view the guy to be on the level you seem to think he is on. And that's fine. Hope the guy does well, it would help OSU wrestling, but with a guy that pulls a bitch move in running from competition with his in-state rival, decreasing local wrestling interest and decreasing interest/ticket sales for his own program, I find it unlikely. John wouldn't do that. Cael wouldn't do that. Hell, Jack Spates and Mark Cody didn't do that.

It’s only been 44 years and not 50

 

[CTeamPoke]

The ignorance in this thread is outstanding. @RxCowboy I expect more from you. Fresno State HAD to wrestle us in Stillwater because they are in the Big 12, and conference scheduling necessitated it. If they were in the Pac-12 they wouldn't have come to Stillwater... and, frankly, it would do us well to go out there to wrestle more often than them coming to Stillwater.

Rosselli is a very good coach. One of the best heavyweight coaches... ever. On top of Nick Heflin, who is on the staff at OU, he has been instrumental in the development of Kyle Snyder, who is one of the best American wrestlers ever. Oklahoma, with the right high school development, is a sleeping giant... and OU made a big investment in Rosselli and in Guerrero. Did anybody actually think that Penn State was a step up from Iowa State for Cael? Absolutely not. Penn State was just willing to spend the money, and look at what it's gotten them.

This is an interesting move to not host us for non-conference duals... but at the end of the day Rosselli is more interested in having his guys compete against competition that they are on the same level as. He's right... we are putting 8 or more All-Americans on the mat every time we go out there, and OU isn't at that level, and wrestling against us isn't going to make that any easier moving forward.

 

[RxCowboy]

@CTeamPoke We wrestled Fresno State in Fresno. I watched it on Flowrestling. So, before calling others "ignorant" you might want to have your facts straight yourself.

 

[CTeamPoke]

@CTeamPoke We wrestled Fresno State in Fresno. I watched it on Flowrestling. So, before calling others "ignorant" you might want to have your facts straight yourself.

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Regardless, they had to wrestle us because they're in the Big 12 and that was a conference dual. OU didn't duck us... they just decided to not host us as an out-of-conference matchup.