Best Freshmen of 2015-16

[AKHUNTER 282]

MSU....... yes going forward

[LongShot 13]

His best chance of beating him for the 4th time (in a row..this year) was definitely saturday night.

[rstrong 75]

And the answer is... Martin is clearly the best freshman of 2015-16.

 

Unless the NCAA Championships don't really resolve the question of "who is best". Which would be weird, because the NCAA Championships exist soley to find out "who is best", right?

 

The only freshman to win a championship is Martin. So unless we want to talk about who is best pound-for-pound (which I don't, not even a little bit)...

 

Martin is simply the best freshman this year.

[Fishhook 142]

Whogivesafuk.  Wrestling is for the mats, not the interwebs.   

[Alwayswrestling 178]

Nolf did not win his conference or NCAA's Martin won the one that counts.  Tell me whose season you would rather have of Nolf, Nickal or Martin.  Anyone not taking Martin is crazy! JMO

[cornercoach 447]

... for a true freshman to qualify for that tournament is big- to win a match or two even bigger- to AA is huge, and to win it is off the charts!!!

[Medicine_Man 875]

Nolf did not win his conference or NCAA's Martin won the one that counts.  Tell me whose season you would rather have of Nolf, Nickal or Martin.  Anyone not taking Martin is crazy! JMO

But who would you take for your team if you could choose one?

[MSU158 1,477]

Is the title best accomplishment or best freshman? Are we also doing the typical DI wrestling thing where only the last tournament in March matters? Please don't mistake my arguments for Nolf or Nickal(remember I am supposed to be the guy that always undersells PSU) as diminishing Martin's skills or accomplishments. I simply think the whole sample size puts Nolf clearly on top and Nickal a bit above Martin. Nolf pinned the defending undefeated champ and had him on the ropes in the 2 subsequent matches. He also pretty much decimated everyone else he faced. Nickal beat Martin 3 out of 4 times with 2 of those being pretty convincing.

 

Martin may very well continue improving to the point that he passes them both by, but winning that tournament in March isn't enough for me to ignore everything that happened leading up to it. He is the champ. No one can take that away, but I need to see more before I would put him ahead of either.

Edited March 26, 2016 by MSU158

[MSU158 1,477]

double post

Edited March 26, 2016 by MSU158

[eagle321 6]

The answer might be he learned from those previous matches. You are allowed to learn and improve

[LongShot 13]

But who would you take for your team if you could choose one?

Ding Ding.  That's the question.  Answer is simply not Martin.

[cm_111 77]

Martin still hasn't taken his redshirt and/or training year. He may just have a bigger upside. Hard to tell at this point but they both were certainly impressive at the tournament. 

[LkwdSteve 141]

Nickal had a redshirt year under his belt to improve. Martin didn't. But by year's end, in the finals of the NCAA championships, Myles Martin had improved enough to win the physical AND especially the mental battle over Bo Nickal.

 

I pick Martin for my team, until such time that Bo shows that he has added to his mental arsenal.

[Alwayswrestling 178]

I would take Nickal for my team as I like his style but who had the best season Martin hands down.

[NJWC 305]

The goal is to win the title.  Martin did, and he beat Nickal to do so.  How is this a debate?

[MSU158 1,477]

Upsets happen. Was Marianetti better than McIlravy? Donahoe was better than Hazewinkle? Perry was like 0-186 against Hendricks until he beat him in Hendricks' last match. So Perry was better? Was Jenkins truly better than Taylor? How about Owings? The wrestling community has often been criticized for it's stubborn short-sighted blindness. Winning the national championship is definitely the ultimate goal, but it isn't the only measuring stick to determine the better wrestler.

 

Martin could very well take it as a huge confidence boost and improve to the point that he passes everyone by. But watching each match against Nickal and then watching the finals, I saw little to put Martin above Nickal. Nickal pressed a bad position and gave up a 6 pt. move. A similar thing happened against Jacskon. Is Jackson not better because his win only happened in the regular season?

[NJWC 305]

Lol, "other than getting thrown on his back, he would have won.".

 

Had that taken place in the center of the mat, it may have been over right there.  

Who is more likely to improve over the next few months, the guy who redshirted and had a full unattached season last year, or the kid that was going to the prom this time last year that just won the NC?

[gimpeltf 1,359]

 or the kid that was going to the prom this time last year that just won the NC?

 

How many schools have proms mid-march?

[NJWC 305]

How many schools have proms mid-march?

How many people consider March 28th mid march?  Is this a special leap year with March having 56 days?

[gimpeltf 1,359]

How many people consider March 28th mid march?  Is this a special leap year with March having 56 days?

 

First I assumed you were talking about the weekend of NCAAs not today since the match happened then to make the kind of comparison you did but even so- how many have their proms late March? Just for grins I googled McDonogh prom and saw past dates in early June which corresponds with most proms I'm aware of. 

And I wasn't criticizing your overall point, just having fun.

[Creek chub 175]

Best true freshmen:

1) Myles Martin

2) David McFadden