T.J. Duncan - S.I.'s "Faces in the Crowd"

[2blLeg]

As expected, another classy post.

 

No Kidding! That was just pitiful. Attack a kid for where his parents decided to send him to school. That is one sour person there!

[takedown3]

So, when TJ wrestles at MD, he really won't be a MD wrestler but a GA wrestler? And if a Bradley wrestler actually once lived in Red Bank, he'll always be a Red Bank wrestler? And if a Maryville wrestler lived nearer Alcoa but wrestled for Maryville, he would alwasy be an Alcoa wrestler? I had no idea that a state or location owns the athlete. Maybe we ought to require wrestlers to list their address on their singlet as well as their school in case they get lost and need to be returned.

 

Where ever TJ gets his mail, congratulations on 5 state championships.

[TNKO2]

In Division 1, Jeremy Miller couldnt even leave the state for weeks and come back and wrestle for Greenback because of D1 rules and this kid can live out of state for the whole 5 years and wrestle for TN.

 

Does that really seem ok people????

 

Not sour guys, just telling it like it is. TN has some backwards ways in their sports rules.

[papbear3]

In Division 1, Jeremy Miller couldnt even leave the state for weeks and come back and wrestle for Greenback because of D1 rules and this kid can live out of state for the whole 5 years and wrestle for TN.

 

Does that really seem ok people???

 

Not sour guys, just telling it like it is. TN has some backwards ways in their sports rules.

Not a D2 rule, it is a boarding school rule. Doesn't apply to everyone, just boarding school. Does not change the fact that TJ is a great wrestler and a 5 time Tennessee state champion.

Edited March 7, 2011 by papbear3

[TNKO2]

Not a D2 rule, it is a boarding school rule. Doesn't apply to everyone, just boarding school. Does not change the fact that TJ is a great wrestler and a 5 time Tennessee state champion.

He is a great wrestler and Im sure a good kid. He has a bright future ahead of him. Of course I wish him the best!

[2blLeg]

In Division 1, Jeremy Miller couldnt even leave the state for weeks and come back and wrestle for Greenback because of D1 rules and this kid can live out of state for the whole 5 years and wrestle for TN.

 

Does that really seem ok people????

 

Not sour guys, just telling it like it is. TN has some backwards ways in their sports rules.

 

So wait, now we need to add a rule to tell the "boarding" schools that they can no longer accept kids from out of state? Yeah, let's do that. Next we they will have to be born in TN to be considered a true TN champion? Then maybe we start checking blood lines, and if your great grandparents didn't live in TN, you shouldn't be able to wrestle in TN.

[LynxWrestler]

First, there is not way he is NOT a 5 time TN state champion. He lived in TN while competing in TN and won the individual TN state championships 5 times. That argument is stupid since there are people who I wrestled with who are not from TN originally, and I went to a public school.

 

As far as DI v DII championships, I looked at the DI champions every year that Duncan won. My motivation was to see whether he would be a 5 time champ at DI, or if he could beat the DI champ each year. Granted this is an imperfect science and based purely on opinion so everyone has a right to disagree. But in two of Duncan's championships, namely the first two he would have wrestled one David Mang and one Demetrius Johnson, who were both DI Outstanding Wrestler that year if my memory is correct (I know Mang is and I'm 90% sure that Johnson was). The others I think Duncan would have or could have won.

 

Remember that these arguments have no real winner and is just my opinion. I expect many of you to disagree, however he has done alot for his family and school. I wish him, and all other TN wrestlers competing in NCAA or NAIA wrestling, luck in the NCAA's.

[Raider76]

Yeah, kid comes across state lines only because he can be recruited by a private school so not only can he wrestle out of his district but out of his own state as well.

 

TN sure has some crazy rule differences for D1 and D2.

 

And I know for sure had he wrestled D1 he would have been far from state champ 5 years in a row. Maybe 2.

 

He is a great wrestler but some of these 5 and 6 timers might need an * by they're accomplishments because there just arent too many true state champions anymore. I mean come on, theres only like 16 schools in the division.... put that in Sports Illustrated.

It would be hard to say he wouldnt have won it 5 times in D-1. Look at his record each year he competed against the best public and Private schools in TN Ga and each year some tourneys in northern areas. He has very few losses to any TN kids and several victories against the D-1 Tn champs at his weight. Rossville Ga is maybe 3 miles from MCCallie.. Congrats to T J and good luck at MD.

[wingman10]

Congrats to the young man. It is a honor to be in S>I> Go Terps!

[TNKO2]

It would be hard to say he wouldnt have won it 5 times in D-1. Look at his record each year he competed against the best public and Private schools in TN Ga and each year some tourneys in northern areas. He has very few losses to any TN kids and several victories against the D-1 Tn champs at his weight. Rossville Ga is maybe 3 miles from MCCallie.. Congrats to T J and good luck at MD.

D Johnson his 8TH grade year? TJ wins??? come on,

D Mang his 9TH grade year??? TJ wins??? really.

 

great wrestler, not saying hes not.

 

But if SI readers knew he was a "5X State Champion of 16 schools" in the whole state of TN, they would scratch their heads...

[ghouse]

D Johnson his 8TH grade year? TJ wins??? come on,

D Mang his 9TH grade year??? TJ wins??? really.

 

great wrestler, not saying hes not.

 

But if SI readers knew he was a "5X State Champion of 16 schools" in the whole state of TN, they would scratch their heads...

 

I have stayed quiet on this one a while but I finally have to post something. This is not meant to disparage any wrestlers because I am quite the fan of the 3 I am about to discuss. Let me put some facts behind at least one of the matches that keeps getting discussed... TJ Duncan vs Demetrius Johnson. I consider Demterius' father a friend and coached against Demetrius for years along with having him on a Best of the Best Memphis team, etc. a time or two. I am a big fan of his and still actively sheer him on today. However, this match is likely much closer than many people think given one of the few common opponents I am aware of. Ryan McKenzie (SBA) wrestled both Demetrius and TJ Duncan that year and I witnessed both matches as I was one of Ryan's coaches at the time.

 

Demetrius defeated McKenzie 13-4 (9 point difference) that year during a dual meet while TJ defeated McKenzie 11-5 (6 point difference) in the state finals. That is not a major difference in score when comparing the same common opponent, honestly they are roughly equivalent. Having seen both matches I can tell you that they were fairly close in the quality of wins. I watched Demetrius defeat McKenzie several times during their careers and they definitely knew each other well and Demetrius always dominated the matches. That said Duncan was fairly dominant in their match as well.

 

Main point being that the only evidence shows that there isn't that big of a gap between the two wrestlers. That being said, it would have been tough for an 8th grade TJ Duncan to defeat a senior Demetrius Johnson but the evidence shows that it wouldn't have been the blowout many people here predict. And that is given the fact that I believe Demetrius Johnson is one of the best light-weight wrestlers our state has ever produced.

 

Of course, in my opinion most people should let it go as history is history and should likely be left there. What TJ Duncan did was make history and we should all be proud to have witnessed it. There have been some great four-time champions who have gone on to do great things in the world of wrestling (Jordan Leen and Phillip Simpson for example) and none were able to do what TJ Duncan accomplished (and Leen had the same opportunity, I can't remember if Simpson did). Nobody can really pretend to know what would have happened had there been one state tournament as we can't predict it... don't belittle one wrestler's accomplishments because of a decision made by supposedly much wiser adults.

[mjgIII]

D Johnson his 8TH grade year? TJ wins??? come on,

D Mang his 9TH grade year??? TJ wins??? really.

 

great wrestler, not saying hes not.

 

But if SI readers knew he was a "5X State Champion of 16 schools" in the whole state of TN, they would scratch their heads...

shheeesh, why don't you just tell SI then tnko2 and stop being such a tool dogging TJ and his accomplishments. I'm sure they would value your opinion as much as I do. Maybe inform the DI guys that won state that, well, if DII had been there, they wouldn't be state champs. I guess it's TJs fault that the rules prevented him from wrestling in a combined state. Jeez.