2023 NCAA WRESTLING CHAMPIONSHIP

March 15, 2023

Mike Grey

John Smith

Brian Smith

BOK Center

Media Conference

THE MODERATOR: We're joined by Mike Grey, John Smith and Brian Smith.

Q. There's 25 former All-Americans seeded ninth or lower. In other words they're not projected to place this year. Talk about what's happening to the sport. But also when you talk about seedings, I know they're always controversial, but in the past they used to have more historical data. Should that be brought back into some seedings?

JOHN SMITH: I think, one, sixth-year guys have changed the outcome of this tournament for the next three or four more years. That's just a fact. I think everybody has them on their team. And when everybody has them on their team, well, I think there's, how many schools are participating this weekend? It's a good portion of the field. So that's one reason why it's as tough as it is, definitely.

Q. Do you like the seeding process?

JOHN SMITH: The seeding process, I think it's pretty good. I think it's hard. I think it's a challenge every year of getting things right. And I think for the most part they don't get it all right.

But I think there's a big effort to try to make it right. I don't think it's against anyone. I think it's just a real challenge with the number of matches, who didn't wrestle enough, who wrestled enough, those type of things that just kind of goes in a circle all the time.

BRIAN SMITH: John is right with the sixth-year, COVID obviously affected it because kids are staying longer. I think the other thing is the talent coming into college now is just continues to get better and better. And true freshmen, I know when we started coaching, you didn't really want to wrestle a true freshman.

Now they're ready to go. These kids have wrestled at world level. And they're just at a different place than -- I'm not trying to put down kids from the past, but I just think they're more prepared and that's probably due to RTCs and the clubs that are going on.

And with the seeding, I mean, I got on the seeding committee, what was it, about nine years ago when there was all the craziness. I said I want to figure this out and find out what's going on behind -- and it's a very fair system the way they do it. And the people that are in that room and the way it works. And we know ahead of time before a season that here's the criteria that you have to wrestle to.

And so I think back to when seeds just used to be the 12 you never knew and then you could get drawn in. I do think it's a better system, but of course everything can get a little bit better and better and that's part of it. You can tweak it now.

And the coaches have to do that. We have to say here's a different way we'd like to do it, and we'd like to tweak this.

MIKE GREY: Echoing Coach Smith and Coach Smith, the talent is unreal. Like the talent that we're seeing, especially with such an emphasis on the age-level World Championships, when I was coming through or even my brother, when he was coming through, there wasn't these age-group tournaments. Now there are.

So you have RTCs, but also some really, really great talent coming in early. But the seeding, I think that they both hit it on the head as well. It's never going to be perfect. But I'll tell you what, in my day, only having 12 seeds and then you could draw 13 right off the rip, that's real challenging.

I think the seeding all the way to 33, they're doing a good job. And there might be some folks that don't love it. But I think overall the coaches are somewhat pleased with what we've got going on right now.

Q. Could you just comment on Daton. He;s going to be going against Bravo-Young for the championship maybe if they both make it out there for the third time. What have you guys worked on in terms of maybe getting a different result this time?

JOHN SMITH: We've worked on several guys, not just one. I think it's a weight class that you've got to be honest at. I think it's not a weight class that you better be looking too far ahead. There's enough challenges at the weight class that you need to take it one match at a time.

And so he's worked on several of them and has a pretty good idea what he needs to do to try to be the best. And I think it's real important that he really embraces this event, and this being here at home, and embrace it and let it be an advantage to you, rather than a disadvantage.

I'm more concerned with that. And I think it's really important for him to kind of embrace everything and knowing that this is his hometown and this is where I'm going to wrestle my best at.

But any individual right now, I mean, we'll see. I mean we've worked on several guys and one of them is this guy's an athlete, pretty good. I don't think you overlook him. That's kind of where Daton's at right now.

Q. Brian, you won a Big 12 title here 10 days ago or whatever it was. That familiarity with the building, does that help at all? And what do you see from your team coming in?

BRIAN SMITH: I got to the hotel last night and I felt like, damn, I just woke up there yesterday. It was the same hotel. And knowing the walk, being familiar with the whole area just makes it really comfortable for athletes. I think we all feel that way coming from the Big 12.

We know the city. It's an awesome place to have the event. We know the hallways underneath, for our athletes it's so small, but those little things can make a difference, that they just feel comfortable, even though it's a tough anxiety-filled event that's a good thing. We're happy to be here in Tulsa. I know that.

Q. John, nobody has coached in this tournament longer than you. What keeps you going? And the fact that it is here in Oklahoma, does that motivate you more? I know you're getting ready to build a new facility on campus, that type of thing. What keeps you going?

JOHN SMITH: I just enjoy the sport, and I enjoy coaching. I think your experiences are what motivate you, whether they're good or bad. For me, been two of probably the most challenging years I've had in the last couple of years.

You'd rather have those early in your career than towards the end of your career. But it's the way it fell. And things we had to pick up and keep moving.

I don't think you have a plan to coach this long. I think it just happens. I've enjoyed Oklahoma State. Oklahoma State's been good to me. Been good to my family. And I think for a lot of reasons you stay with it.

But that's definitely one is that you have support from your institution, your athletic department, your athletic director. And it makes a big difference in how long you want to coach.

Q. Regarding the "not looking past your first match, one match at a time," how do you do that practically with your team to where it's your highest ranked guy or lowest ranked guys, how do you get them to not look two or three matches ahead, to focus on what's right in front of him?

MIKE GREY: I think it's the entire season I think it's instilled from a young age and as you lead into college from the first competition of the year. Just say, hey, we're focusing on the task at hand. You can't control what's in the future. Only thing you can control is who is in front of you and a nameless singlet, doesn't matter.

Just wrestle who is in front of you, try to be the best version of yourself and do that every match because we know this tournament you can't predict. There's upsets all the time. So if you're getting ready for somebody you're not even sure they're going to be there. Just focus on the first opponent you have and go from there.

Q. John, after your session here, Chris Pendleton and Pat Popolizio will be sitting here answering questions due in large part to the success they're having. You coached both those athletes and now they're having success, as well as many other coaches. Is it a point of pride for you to see the number of athletes you coached go on and have success in coaching at the Division I ranks?

JOHN SMITH: Yeah, it's fun to watch. You don't like to see them place ahead of you at the national tournament, I'll tell you that.

And where they're doing it, some areas where we've been concerned with in the past. And now we see an institution, an athletic department behind them. Those are good things to see, that's what you are proud of. You turn the attitude in a different direction and people want to see you win. They want to see that you're good.

And for several of them, I think they've done that. They've done a good job of going in and taking control and bringing people together to support the program.

Q. What does it say about you that you have this extensive of a coaching tree in the Division I ranks?

JOHN SMITH: I encourage our guys to get out there. I encourage them to get into high school and college. I'm promoting it. It's a good life. I think they've seen that it's a good life.

It's even good raising a family. Your family growing up and being around a college institution is not a disadvantage. It's an advantage. It gives them a lot of things that they get to see and have high expectations of what life's about. And so I think that probably answers your question.

Q. John and Brian, obviously combined 19 participants for both of you guys. Could you just both of you speak on the growing parity in a conference like the Big 12 and taking into consideration with stuff like conference realignment and all the logistics in the sport now?

BRIAN SMITH: Well, when I first started at Missouri, I was in the Big 12. Then I had it taken away because we moved to the SEC. But I know every year I would talk with this guy (pointing to John Smith) and he's like I'm really trying to make this happen. We've got to make the Big 12 one of the better conferences in America.

And so I owe a debt of gratitude to him for making it happen. He's probably not too happy with me the last two years, but it's a good thing when there's that type -- when I look at North Dakota and South Dakota and Northern Iowa, and Iowa State -- all the teams are rising. Everybody's on an upward movement in our conference.

And just what's happening, it's making it exciting. I know we've got more qualifiers out this year than last year.

But the growth in the Big 12 is exciting. And I really look forward to the next couple of years to see what happens. And is there going to be a network? Are we going to have duels on TV as a network? Things like that that are a possibility now, that it's exciting times for the Big 12, and I'm very grateful to be in it.

JOHN SMITH: We are, too. It should have never happened, 2011 -- I think it was '11, right?

BRIAN SMITH: Or '12.

JOHN SMITH: Should have never happened. Missouri should have stayed in the conference. But there's a couple of institutions that didn't want to be in any part of it. Those institutions, both of them, didn't have a wrestling program. That's kind of what's sad about it.

But anyway we found ourselves back and it's a good thing. I think, as Brian said, our conference is growing strong. We had 78 qualifiers here. That's quite a few. I think our first year, when you guys were out, I want to say 44. And here we are at 78.

And it just tells you that what we've done and what the Big 12 has done -- it's not what I've done; it's what the Big 12 has done -- it's been presidents that have made good decisions and voted in favor of this. And it's been Commissioner Bowlsby, who jumped behind it and carried the ball for us and helped us move it forward.

A lot of people are responsible. And I'll just say that it's challenging. But the conference meet was as good a meet as I've ever been in. I'm talking about going back several, several years.

This is what we hoped, and here we are with 78 qualifiers and quite a few of them ranked pretty high.