Apologies if I am repeating anything written in the previous 10 pages....I did not take the time to read them all once this became a thread to bicker amongst each other. A program is built by attracting top level talent - - RECRUTING is #1...#2 is having a financially strong wrestling club to bring in top notch athletes with international aspirations to train with said underclassmen. You can rarely if ever sustain long term success without one another.
If we are totally honest with each other, our recruiting is and has been suspect...a lot of misses over the past several years which is translating into subpar NCAA performances. This does not inspire people to support at increased levels, and some cases withdrawing their support all together. A successful CWC depends on depth and diversity to the membership....is the CWC growing in numbers, or retracting? This may not be a fair barometer in regards to a coach's performance, but it is undeniably important to bringing in talented coaching, which helps recruiting.
I grow weary of people who settle for the status quo because they belong to the "who else are we going to get" crowd. We are ISU, and we should be able to land whomever we set out to acquire. I am in favor of a change. KJ and the TP's are very likeable....I do not begrudge KJ or T&T at all...I believe they have truly tried hard and have some successes to their credit however they have underperformed at many of the "on the mat" and recruiting metrics by which program successes are measured. To think otherwise is simply ignoring the facts. The weekend's performance was not good as a team. No other way to sugar coat that performance......(Kyven was the exception and wrestled like it was his "last chance").
For those that want names, all I ask is to aim high...I am a Mark Perry fan, wholeheartedly. That is a guy that can walk into flo nat's or Fargo and flat out recruit hands down...Met a few of his Ill recruits this weekend as well....he is the sole reason they are going to UofIl. Lots of other candidates as well mentioned above. ASU has hit a home run with Zeke - - so it can be done...Don't settle...lot's of potential home runs out there.
I know this probably in not on the high priority list for JP, but it should be. In every performance review I have ever given or received, their is a set of expectation/goals laid out. One has to ask the question..."Are our current results meeting these goals and objectives...." if the above posted objectives are truly the ones he was asked to meet, then he was close. We as fans have to decide if those goals and objectives are good enough for us as a consumer of a product.....all a fan can ultimately do is vote with their checkbook.
One thing is certain, if we continue to do the same things we will continue to get the same results and I believe the base that is the strength of the CWC will eventually erode. Sorry for the novel...but I love ISU wrestling and want nothing but the best.