Former wrestler-turned-MMA artist Ben Askren recently opened up about the humiliating defeat suffered by the Iowa Hawkeyes in the Cy-Hawk tournament. The Iowa State Cyclones stunned the Hawkeyes by a score of 20-14. Askren criticized the lack of offensive wrestling within the Iowa wrestlers, as well as the transfer strategy adopted by the Iowa Hawkeyes administration. The former Olympian also suggested how he could teach them the proper techniques if needed.
Ben Askren Offers To Provide Coaching to Iowa Hawkeyes After Humiliating Defeat
Askren posted consecutive tweets about the lack of spirit within the Iowa Hawkeyes team as the sixth-ranked Iowa State Cyclones upstaged them. The former Olympian also reminded them of the legacy of former Olympic champion Dan Gable, who coincidentally represented the Iowa State Cyclones.
Askren wrote in his first of the two posts on X,
“After its first defeat to Iowa State in 20 years I am offering my coaching services to help resurrect a once proud tradition of Iowa Wrestling. They need to bring back the uber aggressive style that Dan Gable created and everyone wanted to emulate. Recently the program has had a lack of development of athletes, a lack of offense, an inability to build an RTC and a reliance on spending $$$ of transfers to bolster their line up.”
Askren represented the Missouri Tigers during his early years as a collegiate wrestler. Apart from securing two consecutive silver medals in 2004 and 2005, the former Olympian won the NCAA title in the 174 lbs. category in 2006 and 2007. He also represented the USA at the 2008 Beijing Olympics in the men’s freestyle category [74 kg.], though he couldn’t proceed beyond the quarterfinals.
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Askren went on to criticize the way the Iowa Hawkeyes spent money on transfers without focusing on the quality of wrestlers being recruited. He quoted the example of Michael Caliendo, who had recently joined the Iowa Hawkeyes, and how the team needed more wrestlers like him.
Askren wrote down in his other X post, “If you are gonna pay big $$$ for transfers you gotta get ones who want to come and wrestle hard(like Caliendo) not just transfers who want to come collect a paycheck.”
Askren had been previously afflicted with severe pneumonia this year. The former Olympic wrestler was put on a ventilator before he received a double lung transplant, following which he recovered from the critical illness.
