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UNIVERSITY OF WISCONSIN WRESTLING MEDIA CONFERENCEMarch 17, 2014Barry DavisCOACH DAVIS: Last time here at Big Tens, it's almost like an NCAA atmosphere with the crowds, with the mats set up, et cetera. I don't think too much is going to change. Q. Barry, looking back at the Big Ten, was that‑‑ how would you describe it? Was it a success? Maybe not as much so as you would have liked from your team individually, or maybe it was. But a success overall for your program and the meet itself? COACH DAVIS: I think Darren Jones and his staff did a great job, first of all, setting it up. So it was a success from the point of view with other Big Ten schools got to see what we have here at the UW, with the fan support, the way we do things here, first class. A lot of those fans that weren't even here at the Kohl Center before, never been here before. Most of them said, hey, the best Big Ten Tournament I've ever been to. Tom Niko [phonetic], 23 in a row, by far the best. A lot of them said it's pretty much like an NCAA atmosphere with the crowd, with the format set up like that. As far as the athletes, it was a success. I think every guy wrestled above their seed. I think maybe except for Isaac Jordan taking third instead of first. He got beaten in overtime by the defending champion. I think guys stepped up really well. They reacted well at the same time, and they gained a lot of confidence, especially the young guys. You look at Ryan Taylor who beat [inaudible] before that pinned him, same with Ryan Lubeck. So I think with the atmosphere that they presented here at the UW, going to Oklahoma City, not much of a change, I don't think. Q. Barry, not a lot of us in this room have been to a National Wrestling Championship. You mentioned the atmosphere. Can you expand a little bit more about what the event is like. COACH DAVIS: Well, the NCAA, instead of having four mats across, you have eight mats across. So just four more mats. But as far as the crowd noise, the fan support we had here, it will be about the same. The only difference is you're looking at Big Tens compared to the NCAAs. People say, Yeah, it's just another tournament, but the key is, again, now you're going to a different level, different intensity. But the good thing is our guys have been in some tight matches all year long, going through the Big Ten season. Again, going to the Big Ten Tournament, I think we're battle tested that way. What we talk about mainly, though, is, Yeah, guys, it's the NCAA Tournament. We talk about it pretty much every week at practice, and those types of things there. So you've been here enough times, when you get there, you should be used to it. Even though we're taking three more guys there, most of those guys went to the NCAAs last year to watch our guys compete. So they've been in the atmosphere but not on the mats. But I think, like I said, Guys, what you've seen here, almost the exact same thing you're going to see in Oklahoma City, except four more mats. Q. What does Isaac Jordan need to do to come out on top this weekend? COACH DAVIS: Well, I think he had a chance at Big Tens. In that semifinal match, went overtime. He tried to go for the win, but [inaudible] he could have [inaudible] and tagged up and went double overtime. Again, I think it's position and patience. Just the other day, I brought him in, and we covered a few things on the Nebraska guy. He said, Hey, Coach, just so you know, I was up at 2:00 in the morning watching the guy from Kansas State that beat him earlier in the year, and I got some things figured out there. So I think, again, it's going to be your ties, your situations, and you've got to pick your spots. Don't get over anxious that way. What happens that a lot of guys do in high level competition‑‑ I call it pucker a little bit. They get nervous. They get antsy, and then they start pressing there. You've got to really control your emotions, control your mindset, and make sure the guy is wrestling your style and your pace. You start to move and get choppy, you're getting in trouble there. So relax, just wrestle, and go from there, guys. We do that, we'll be fine. He's the same way. What I think is a good mindset what he's at and what he needs to do to win. Q. As far as Tyler Graff, I would assume he gained some confidence from Big Tens. He's got a chance to do something that few wrestlers have done here, four‑time All‑American. He can do that, right? COACH DAVIS: Yeah, he can, he can. I think his goal's a little bit harder than that right now. He's against some really good guys, the one kid from Minnesota, Gulibon from Penn State, a couple of ranked guys. But he's right there with Ramos. Ramos went to the NCAA Finals last year. But, again, with Ty, he's been in tight situations this year too. He's learned from it. He's almost like Isaac. He's got to make sure he wrestles his style, his positions, more from the outside than he does on the inside. And control his emotions a little bit more, and he should be fine. Yeah, we have a chance to maybe have a couple of finalists. We'll find out. Again, the key is going to be get through Thursday, get through Friday, move forward from there. As long as we're not jumping ahead of ourselves, we as coaches, make sure we do our job. Hey, guys, here's what we have. Let's take care of this first and move forward. FastScripts Transcript by ASAP Sports |
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