Talking to Smith at 3 and Cox at 330. Will have a full story on the proceedings later this week, but will post some highlights here in progress
Smith said he told Cox's mom when he was in high school that he could make the Olympic team from Mizzou.
"Do you believe he can win the Olympics? Of course I do"
Smith said Cox has been on a mission for the last year. Said the biggest change is how he's cut weight in the last year versus what he was doing before.
On the impact for Mizzou: "We haven't had the best year overall..."
"If he's the spokesman for the University of Missouri athletics...he's a pretty good one."
Said Cox is more worried about Mizzou than Team USA even now. Smith said he had to force Cox to take some time off.
"When he wins the gold, USA wrestling is going to love him."
Said he told the USA coaches he felt like he was handing his son over.
Smith will be in Rio. "I won't be coaching him, but I'll be right there coaching him." Said most coaching doesn't take place matside.
Smith said he woke his son up at 5 am to watch Cox's medal ceremony and the national anthem in Mongolia.
Smith said he talked to Cox after his semifinal match that qualified him for the Olympics. Said Cox was complaining about the referees.
Cox will compete in NYC on May 19th against the Iranian team. Will also compete in the World Cup in LA prior to Rio as well as the German Grand Prix.
Smith told Cox at NCAAs "When you're doing it right, you're untouchable...His ceiling, I don't know where it stops"
Smith said the World Cup will be a good primer for the Olympics with some of the top-ranked wrestlers in the world. "It's good because he's gonna know where he's at before he hits Rio."
On the approach: "You don't want to change too much...he's been pretty successful the way he does it."
"It's gonna be a fun ride. This is just the start of his Olympic career. I think he has a bright future, not just this year but in the future."
Never knew that US Wrestling recruited J'Den Cox to live and train at the Olympic training center out of high school.
Assistant coach Joe Johnston who was with Cox in Mongolia is talking now.
Telling story of sleeping in Beijing airport on layover on the way over. Said the bags were stolen in the airport, but fortunately Cox's essentials were in another bag.
"J'Den was really excited and a little bit nervous...but I don't think he was worried."
"As the tournament went on, I think he got more and more confident."
"There's nothing really like getting to see your home country's flag go up and that anthem..."
J'Den Cox speaking now: "It's good to be home, I can tell you that much."
Cox wrote down his goals when he was five and one of them was to make the Olympics. The other two were to go undefeated and to win a state title.
"I'm upset that my gear was stolen. That wasn't cool. But whoever has it I hope is enjoying it. Don't expect me to sign it though."
Cox said he didn't celebrate a lot on the mat because he had never been out of the country and didn't know how that would be received in Mongolia. So he was low key until he was off the mat.
"It's nothing that I had experienced before. They don't play the anthem when you win a national title or a state title."
Cox said he feels bad training for the Olympics while his Mizzou teammates are lifting and training. "It doesn't feel right."
"Without Mizzou and those guys in the room I don't know where I'd be or what I'd be able to do."
"The team is what makes the individual."
On setting the Olympics as a goal: "Well, there's nothing else to go to."
Cox said he was really excited and on board with moving out to the Olympic training center as a sophomore or junior in high school. Said he made a pros and cons chart and imagined doing both. "Mizzou just felt right. I just knew I was supposed to be here. It panned out for me."
Asked about being a spokesman, something positive for Mizzou after a bad year, Cox said he doesn't really think about that. Said he just does what he does, can't change the past. "That's not saying I don't care about the situations...That's just me being an individual and me being a person."
"Whether what happened on campus was right or not, I'm not the one to ask and I'm not the one to answer."
Cox reminiscing about reading Junie B. Jones in the Mizzou wrestling offices when he was four.
"I'm a person that doesn't believe in disappointment...the only time you ever fall short of anything is when you stop trying to gain and move forward."
"I told everybody it would be an honor to represent my country and it is. I don't take that as just representing them on the mat. I represent them when I walk down the street. I represent America now when I go to class. I represent them in every part of my life."
Cox said his girlfriend and his sister greeted him when he landed at KCI.
Cox's medal from Mongolia is sitting on the dashboard of his car. "I don't put too much on materialistic things...I don't want people to remember that I won a gold medal in Mongolia. I want them to remember me, not the medal."
Cox on his Olympic goal: “To win. I don’t know how to do things halfway."
That's about 57 minutes worth of tape to transcribe. By far the best interview of any Mizzou athlete I've ever been around.
Smith said he told Cox's mom when he was in high school that he could make the Olympic team from Mizzou.
"Do you believe he can win the Olympics? Of course I do"
Smith said Cox has been on a mission for the last year. Said the biggest change is how he's cut weight in the last year versus what he was doing before.
On the impact for Mizzou: "We haven't had the best year overall..."
"If he's the spokesman for the University of Missouri athletics...he's a pretty good one."
Said Cox is more worried about Mizzou than Team USA even now. Smith said he had to force Cox to take some time off.
"When he wins the gold, USA wrestling is going to love him."
Said he told the USA coaches he felt like he was handing his son over.
Smith will be in Rio. "I won't be coaching him, but I'll be right there coaching him." Said most coaching doesn't take place matside.
Smith said he woke his son up at 5 am to watch Cox's medal ceremony and the national anthem in Mongolia.
Smith said he talked to Cox after his semifinal match that qualified him for the Olympics. Said Cox was complaining about the referees.
Cox will compete in NYC on May 19th against the Iranian team. Will also compete in the World Cup in LA prior to Rio as well as the German Grand Prix.
Smith told Cox at NCAAs "When you're doing it right, you're untouchable...His ceiling, I don't know where it stops"
Smith said the World Cup will be a good primer for the Olympics with some of the top-ranked wrestlers in the world. "It's good because he's gonna know where he's at before he hits Rio."
On the approach: "You don't want to change too much...he's been pretty successful the way he does it."
"It's gonna be a fun ride. This is just the start of his Olympic career. I think he has a bright future, not just this year but in the future."
Never knew that US Wrestling recruited J'Den Cox to live and train at the Olympic training center out of high school.
Assistant coach Joe Johnston who was with Cox in Mongolia is talking now.
Telling story of sleeping in Beijing airport on layover on the way over. Said the bags were stolen in the airport, but fortunately Cox's essentials were in another bag.
"J'Den was really excited and a little bit nervous...but I don't think he was worried."
"As the tournament went on, I think he got more and more confident."
"There's nothing really like getting to see your home country's flag go up and that anthem..."
J'Den Cox speaking now: "It's good to be home, I can tell you that much."
Cox wrote down his goals when he was five and one of them was to make the Olympics. The other two were to go undefeated and to win a state title.
"I'm upset that my gear was stolen. That wasn't cool. But whoever has it I hope is enjoying it. Don't expect me to sign it though."
Cox said he didn't celebrate a lot on the mat because he had never been out of the country and didn't know how that would be received in Mongolia. So he was low key until he was off the mat.
"It's nothing that I had experienced before. They don't play the anthem when you win a national title or a state title."
Cox said he feels bad training for the Olympics while his Mizzou teammates are lifting and training. "It doesn't feel right."
"Without Mizzou and those guys in the room I don't know where I'd be or what I'd be able to do."
"The team is what makes the individual."
On setting the Olympics as a goal: "Well, there's nothing else to go to."
Cox said he was really excited and on board with moving out to the Olympic training center as a sophomore or junior in high school. Said he made a pros and cons chart and imagined doing both. "Mizzou just felt right. I just knew I was supposed to be here. It panned out for me."
Asked about being a spokesman, something positive for Mizzou after a bad year, Cox said he doesn't really think about that. Said he just does what he does, can't change the past. "That's not saying I don't care about the situations...That's just me being an individual and me being a person."
"Whether what happened on campus was right or not, I'm not the one to ask and I'm not the one to answer."
Cox reminiscing about reading Junie B. Jones in the Mizzou wrestling offices when he was four.
"I'm a person that doesn't believe in disappointment...the only time you ever fall short of anything is when you stop trying to gain and move forward."
"I told everybody it would be an honor to represent my country and it is. I don't take that as just representing them on the mat. I represent them when I walk down the street. I represent America now when I go to class. I represent them in every part of my life."
Cox said his girlfriend and his sister greeted him when he landed at KCI.
Cox's medal from Mongolia is sitting on the dashboard of his car. "I don't put too much on materialistic things...I don't want people to remember that I won a gold medal in Mongolia. I want them to remember me, not the medal."
Cox on his Olympic goal: “To win. I don’t know how to do things halfway."
That's about 57 minutes worth of tape to transcribe. By far the best interview of any Mizzou athlete I've ever been around.
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