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HokieLifer2

Joined: 11/08/2004 Posts: 3113
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Here are the facts of the VT Iowa saga as I remember


Maroon Avenger can fill in the inside baseball stuff. But here's what I remember:

2004- Brands leaves Iowa as lead assistant to serve as HC at VT, he hires Wes Hand, Doug Schwab and Lee Fullhart as assistants.

2004-2005 season- Not a bad year 16-4. Faust and Tyde Prater wins ACC tourney. Prater, Borja, Staylor, Faust and Hoffman qualify for NCAA tourney.

Amazing recruiting class: Metcalf, Slaton, Leclere, Borschel, Leet, Bonilla Bowman. Apparently (this is heresay), Jim Weaver promised them releases if Brands were to leave (according to these wrestlers and their parents).

2005-2006 Season- Everyone shirts (including Borja). Went 1-16 for the season. The conference tourney was a weird ACC/Southern Conference combined tourney which Staylor, Hoffman, and Faust. Those 3 qualified for the NCAA and Hoffman (8th) and Faust (5th) AA-ed.

Now the fun begins: Zalesky is sacked at Iowa and Brands accepts the job. Hand, still a VT coach, calls a team meeting and asked that the wrestlers join him at Iowa, Metcalf, Slaton, Borschel, Leclere and Leet agree. Several others, including Bonilla-Bowman, and Borja agreed to transfer to Iowa. Hand (from his VT office) also contacted other VT recruits: Billy Murphy, Matt Epperly, Decker, Cody Gardner to get them to transfer to Iowa.

Hand, then is named assistant at Iowa. AD Jim Weaver is incensed that the entire up and coming program is gutted and that a VT employed coach was recruiting for Iowa from his VT office. Weaver threatened to pull the plug on the wrestling program.

Kevin Dresser, then coach of CHS, called Weaver in hopes of saving the program. Schwab is approached about serving as HC, after lengthy deliberation, declines and accepts a role as strength and conditioning coordinator for Iowa.

Dresser is hired as head coach of VT Wrestling. Weaver decides to withhold all releases of redshirting freshman and any wrestler wanting to go to Iowa, the five (Metcalf, Slaton, Borschel, Leclere and Leet) decided to transfer and forgo a year, Borja and Bonilla-Bowman decided to return. Recruit Billy Murphy goes to Iowa, Epperly, Decker and Jim Powers decided to stay at VT. Gardner, still a CHS junior, reaffirms his commitment to VT.

2006-2007 Season- VT goes 6-12 in his first year, only beating Duke in ACC duals. Bonilla-Bowman and Decker both surprise in the ACC tourney and qualify for NCAAs. Borja fails to qualify. Starters Moran, Ratley, Bonilla-Bowman, and Powers all either transferred or quit. Decker wrestles one more season and then transfers. Gardner doesn’t finish his first year at VT.

[Post edited by HokieLifer2 at 02/22/2017 3:25PM]

Posted: 02/22/2017 at 3:21PM


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Current Thread:
 
  Here are the facts of the VT Iowa saga as I remember -- HokieLifer2 02/22/2017 3:21PM
  You have the time line exactly correct. -- Maroon Avenger 02/23/2017 01:25AM
  After reading all this -- WE3VT 02/22/2017 10:14PM
  Dan Gable -- HokieJack 02/22/2017 6:15PM
  Add to that Gable offers to be Brands assistant -- MartyE 02/23/2017 12:58AM
  Why Billy Murphy ended up at Iowa with brands -- HokieLifer2 02/22/2017 5:23PM
  Wasn't there something about Brands coming to VT in the first place? -- Guy LeDouche 02/22/2017 5:16PM
  So when i write for TSL i try my best to stick to facts -- Jerseyhokie29 02/22/2017 5:38PM
  I got the impression that Schwab seriously entertained the VT job... -- HokieLifer2 02/22/2017 5:48PM
  That is my understanding too -- Jerseyhokie29 02/22/2017 5:51PM
  Brands was a rising star there and was frustrated at playing second fiddle. -- HokieLifer2 02/22/2017 5:26PM
  Didn't Weaver ask the transfers to wrestle for VT for one year.. -- MontyPythokie 02/22/2017 4:01PM
  Yes. Implied that. but yes. ** -- HokieLifer2 02/22/2017 4:03PM
  Sounds about right. Although the worst part is that Brands was clearly -- IV_Hokie12 02/22/2017 3:45PM
  The facts point that way..... -- HokieLifer2 02/22/2017 3:50PM
  Don't forget -- Hokie Flyer 02/22/2017 4:29PM
  I didn't forget....was just posting a timeline -- HokieLifer2 02/22/2017 4:46PM

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