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TOPIC: ZALESKY OUT
By PJR
Posted on 3/29/2006 - 4:19:31 PM
The Hawkeyes won't renew Jim Zalesky's contract.

Story at www.hawkcentral.com.

PJR   Reply

REPLIES
By gohawks!
Replied on 3/29/2006 - 4:45:47 PM
I think this is a great move for the Iowa wrestling program! I wish him nothing but the best in the future.


http://www.iowa.rivals.com/content.asp?CID=529077   Reply
By herky-all-over
Replied on 3/29/2006 - 5:06:11 PM
& who does Bolwsby hire???????????

Now,that his BBALL program is on solid ground & soooooo successfull!!!!!!!.   Reply
By hawrestling fan
Replied on 3/29/2006 - 5:32:27 PM
I hope this isn't a decision Iowa comes to regret. Zalesky is a great coach and I feel deserved to have another year to get the program back on top of the Big Ten.
Iowa wrestling fans are so spoiled that they will only support a team that is #1 in the nation year after year. Unless we can dominate everyone at every weight, we aren't going to come out and support the team. Injuries be damned, our back-ups should be able to dominate any other teams. Hell we are all defending national champs ourselves... right.
Well wise up, that just isn't going to happen anymore. Gable quit. That streak will never happen again. At least not at the same school.
What would happen if people held the football and basketball teams up to the same standards? Kirk never would have had a bowl team and the basketball ... oops I guess we did in basketball and look who we ended up with.
Lets hold Ballsby up to same standards. He should be the next person whose contract is not renewed.   Reply
By vcackerman
Replied on 3/29/2006 - 5:36:38 PM
You could see this coming a few weeks ago when Dan Gable threw Jim under the proverbial bus. Zalesky will land on his feet somewhere. I am very curious who will be the next coach - perhaps one of the Brands?   Reply
By ELMERSUNDAY
Replied on 3/29/2006 - 6:09:24 PM
I can't say that I am surprised by this either. There are only a handful of people out there who are qualified and have the "name power" to bring in top notch recruits. One of them is Tom Brands, but he is building a new program at Va. Tech and may feel slighted when he was rebuffed for the job a few years ago. The other obvious candidate would be Cael Sanderson who is just hanging around Ames waiting for Bobby Douglass to retire.
The only other Olympic champ I can think of who may be a candidate would be Kendall Cross, but since he is an Ok. State boy, he may not be a popular candidate with the alumni. Anyway, should be very interesting to see who they hire.   Reply
By LPiowa
Replied on 3/29/2006 - 6:36:55 PM
I'm not an expert on wrestling, just a fan....So, my opinion is probably of limited value. However,.....

1. I was at the Penn State meet. Attendance was 2,800. Team was flat. Iowa trailed something like 21-6 before winning the last two matches.

2. Purdue, Penn State, Illinois,....Iowa seemed flat....Gave up the lst take down far too many times....Wrestled at the edge of the mat too much....Gave up far too many points at the end of the periods/end of the match.

Hawrestling fan makes some good points. But it should not be a matter of one extreme or the other. There have been some recruiting choices that did not work out. Those are costly when you only have 9.9 scholarships for a 10-position team. You must be right a whole heck of a lot more than you are wrong in selecting athletes. Being a good judge of "horseflesh" includes being able to see into the inner athlete, his attitude, coachability, etc... With the development of other programs, the total domination will never be possible again.....agreed. But, there should be a spirit or an attitude about the team, ESPECIALLY when they come out on the home mat, that they are invincible. Iowa wrestling has always been noted as aggressive, in-your-face, attacking style. That attitude and style have been absent. Outstanding HS prospects do not remember the 1970s, 1980s, or 1990s. They remember only the teams and athletes they have seen in their teenage years. History is fleeting. It really does become a matter of "what have you done for me lately." Coach Zalesky gave no appearance of aggressiveness, was not visually fired-up, etc...during matches. All of these things combined to make me feel that Iowa needed to look at a change.

I do not have any suggestions for the next head coach, but I will bet that Bob Bowlsby has a short list of 5-6 names that he will be contacting quickly.   Reply
By hawrestling fan
Replied on 3/29/2006 - 7:17:34 PM
LPiowa makes some good points on the agressiveness ect. Seems that Perry, Tsirtsis and Luedke got the message. I remember when Zalesky recruited all those guys with Gable in the 90's, of course the Gable name isn't there anymore, it's at ISU going by the name of Sanderson,
I think the only way you replace Gable is with Gable and that isn't likely.

I watched Bowlsby on channel 9 news and he looked liked a deer caught in the headlights. He had no sound reason for his and Mims' decision, which makes me believe somebody else had a big hand in the decision.
While we look for someone "better" to return us to the glory land; remember what we let go.
9 years=
3 National championships and
2 runner-ups.
In my opinion those won't be easy shoes to fill either. Can we get John or Jay. They are the only ones with that kind of success.   Reply
By ELMERSUNDAY
Replied on 3/29/2006 - 7:54:46 PM
Well, Iowa State has just announced that Bobby Douglass is resigning and Cael Sanderson is the new head coach at ISU. I guess they figured Iowa would go right after Cael, so they better lock him up immediately. It seems as if the Iowa State AD is 2steps ahead of Bowlsby. Go figure!   Reply
By LPiowa
Replied on 3/29/2006 - 10:19:52 PM
Pollard made it clear last week that Sanderson would be ISU's next coach. I would guess that Bowlsby already knew that would happen.

Financially, Iowa could not continue to draw 2,800 for regular dual meets and 7,000 for Okie State. You can't pay the bills that way.

Iowa will get a good head coach.   Reply
By hawrestling fan
Replied on 3/30/2006 - 8:23:31 AM
LP good point,except we had a good coach. Iowa needs a GREAT coach. Hopefully there is one that can stand the pressure of coaching these guys.
My thoughts are also with the wrestlers. I hope they stay and give the new coach, whoever that is, a chance.   Reply
By LOKI
Replied on 3/30/2006 - 8:23:56 AM
Lots of good thoughts. I think everyone (including Zalesky) could see the handwriting on the wall, given the poor showing in duals and at the Big 10's this season. Still, as I said in a previous thread, Jimmy has done a lot for this program, and I'm glad people can recognize that. I see LP's point on Z.'s demeanor during matches more clearly now than I did when he first posted it. There was a sort of echo of Hayden's last season--a great coach who knew it was time to move on. I do feel bad for Z., partly because I'm old-fashioned enough to think HOW you win is also important, not just HOW MUCH you win. Z. had some integrity, and I haven't heard any of his former athletes be critical of him. As Perry said, the coaches can do the right things, but the athletes are the ones that have to produce. I hope Z. can find a job where he can use his talents, and I'll look back and remember the highlights of his tenure with appreciation for the challenge he took on. Let me give just one example--Ryan Fulsaas. Lots of people thought that was a wasted scholarship--he had no talent--should have been benched. W/O Zalesky, I doubt he would have made it to the NCAA finals. That sort of improvement is as much a part of building a program as getting blue-chip recruits like Mocco or Perry. I'm sure Brands and others could do the same--and maybe more often--but it shows that Z. did have some insights on talent. I wish him well--and hope the Hawks pick the right man to follow him.   Reply
By turtlehawk
Replied on 3/30/2006 - 8:41:50 AM
Let me get this straight: Bowlsby fires Zalesky and retains Alford. He is a very confused man, indeed.   Reply
By Illini Hawk
Replied on 3/30/2006 - 10:48:10 AM
Whoever they hire, I hope they pay the new coach more than the freaking women's volleyball coach. (Zalesky made less.) Wrestling at Iowa is too important.   Reply
By TOTO
Replied on 3/30/2006 - 2:22:59 PM
I couldn't agree more - check out the caption beside the photo on the front page of the Iowa City Press Citizen. Maybe it's a omen.
Best of luck to Z. He's done a great job.   Reply
By hometownhawk
Replied on 3/31/2006 - 5:36:50 AM
ISU did annouce a couple weeks ago that Sanderson would be their next coach. But I don't think they planned on it being next year. My guess is that since ISU made their annoucement, a hour after Iowa made theirs, it was a move to keep Iowa from Sanderson.

Sanderson is only 2/3 years removed from college. Only been on staff for ISU for 2 years. I don't see how he is ready to take over a big time program. I think ISU may live to regret their decision.   Reply

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