Rumors have been flying this year that Iowa heavyweight Steve Mocco, a 2003 NCAA champion, may sit out next year on an Olympic redshirt season. He may want to take one year to concentrate on international wrestling.    Some have even said that he told reporters at halftime of an Iowa basketball game that he has already made the decision to take the Olympic redshirt year. While that is not true, it is fact that he is considering the option.    While his thoughts are to be applauded, now is not the time for Mocco to be thinking about the international level. He has teammates to think about. He has a scholarship that he was awarded from the Univ. of Iowa in order to help the program reach the pinnacle of NCAA success again.    Instead, he would abandoned his program for a dream that may be too distant at this time in his life.    There are many reasons that an Olympic redshirt year would not be fitting for Mocco next year, but none stand as tall as Kerry McCoy, who placed fifth at the 2000 Olympic Games and fourth at the 2001 World Championships.    McCoy is a beast of a man. He dwarfs Mocco, something that is not easily done.    McCoy refined his style in 2000 and 2001 to set him apart from Stephen Neal, the 1999 World Champion.    Mocco would need to do a lot more than refine the way he wrestles, he would basically need to start from scratch.    The brute has very little offense on his feet. A foot sweep will not work on the international level and his leg attacks in folkstyle are minimal at best.    While a heavyweight can get away with taking very few shots during the course of an international match, he cannot get away with a bad par terre offense and defense. This is not to say that Mocco is bad in these positions, but when is the last time he has had to lock up a leg lace or a gut wrench?    Even in high school, he was so powerful and dominant that he never had to work from par terre. We are talking about years of training and work that need to go into this type of development, and Mocco has practically none in the past two years.    An Olympic dream for Mocco should wait until 2008. He would be done with his college career in 2005, which would give him over three years to train solely for his Olympic goals. The weight class would also most likely be cleared out from the veterans that currently control it, and he would be the obvious frontrunner for an Olympic spot.    Consider the others at this weight class: Tolly Thompson, Brian Keck and Angelo Borzio. By the time 2008 rolls around, John Lockhart and Kevin Hoy may be Mocco's stiffest competition. He has dominated both of them at the collegiate level and there is no reason to believe that he wouldn't be able to do the same in freestyle as well.    I'll admit it. I have been very critical of Mocco throughout his career so far. Simply put, he is the best heavyweight at the college level right now. But that is where he belongs.    Mocco has a good chance to place in the top three at the U.S. World Team Trials this year in Indianapolis, Ind., which would put him on the U.S. National Team. His first test will come at the U.S. National Championships in Las Vegas, Nev. Depending on how he fares at those events, Mocco will then decide whether or not he will take an Olympic redshirt year.    And while becoming a member of the U.S. National Team will get him a new USA Wrestling warm-up jacket, something he is desperately in need of if you saw him scampering around at the NCAA Tournament, but how does that help his college teammates, who he has made a commitment to?