Good points, but I can only remember 1 four timer from AC, Justin Ware.
Whatever happened to him?
Perhaps this thread should have been titled, "Kansas wrestlers can produce nationally, but not academically." What gut forgot to point out was that Bunch and Roberson were (I'm purely guessing here) great students and were not questionable as far as academics.
That would be a much more appropriate thread. It is my contention that we can compete athletically on the national level. We have difficulty in producing book smart kids. I'm not saying our kids are dumb in the least. They have to make do with what is offered at school. This much is true.
In the JuCo ranks, our kids attend because one of the three things are in question: 1) academic aptitude, 2) an injury that they have yet to prove they can overcome (ACL, etc) and 3) seriousness of the athlete's dedication.
I'm not saying that JuCo athletes don't fully get after it on the mat and in class, but there may be a shadow of doubt that is either proven or nullified after JuCo. Garden City had a JuCo wrestling program full of questionable cases. Many were there to get their grades up so they can get passed the ACT requirement. They were very successful because OU, OSU, etc., pushed them in that direction.
Granted, this is not to say that my analysis is every case. But to create a post that demonstrates we are not good on our feet in relation to other states is dishonest. I tend to believe there is a conglomeration of questions in regards to our athletes from DI programs.
Those that can beat all the doubts and are recruited by DI schools have the ball in their court and then Nigel's and my assertations come to play.
Granted, with the "hot commodity" athletes, there are ways around those questions. But Kansas doesn't have a "hot commodity" around and they are few and far between.
My point is that in athleticism, we're doing pretty darn good. In the classroom, we're average as a state. We have exceptional students, but we need more in the wrestling ranks to push Kansas to it's rightful place in DI recruitment.
I find it troublesome that an athlete will spend countless hours on the mat to perfect his skill, but won't spend an hour or two at night to make himself more marketable in college recruitment. This is not just a wrestling phenomena, but other sports as well.
