Ranking the Captains of PCTI's History

A ranking of PCTI's Captains

I had a chance to listen to Abe’s recent podcast and I was struck by his “laissez faire” captaincy. In other words, he has been completely hands off this offseason with his team. No motivational emails, no updates to his roster, no communication with respect to offseason workouts, and limited blog posts. His proponents suggest that this is a strategic tactic aimed at reducing the amount of pressure his team feels to perform well. And of course, his critics argue that this level of aloofness will be detrimental to his team’s performance. After all, critics propound, not knowing who your teammates are simply cannot be a winning strategy in PCTI III.

On the flip side of this coin is Sabin, who has been noticeably more involved and heavy-handed in his approach. His methods include monthly email updates with respect to conditioning, strategy, and personnel decisions. He has also formulated a strategic vision with his lieutenant DK regarding how LFTW wants to play. Critics of this approach might argue that the Wolfpack might reject such exhortations, but insiders understand that the Wolves are a group of hardened, nasty hoops junkie-veterans who receive this pressure and become better from it. Naturally, this gave rise to the thought that there have been 6 different captains in PCTI, all with varying styles and approaches. The following is a list of the best-performing captains in PCTI’s history, along with thoughts from the author:

6) Abe. The phrase “reluctant captain” seems to apply here. Because he is PCTI’s most physically gifted player, he will always have a shot at the captaincy. But embracing the role has been another story altogether. He prefers to “lurk in the shadows”, or as I like to call it, leading from behind. And let’s not forget that Abe called DK a few minutes before the PCTI III draft and asked him how many players there were and who was participating. He has also stated on occasion that “he doesn’t care who is on his team”, indicating a palpable disdain for having to concede shots to lesser players. Some argue that his star’s brightness is diminished by the nuisance of “teammates”, whose constellation cluster is dull by comparison. Will this one-man gang be able to mold his team into a cohesive unit in III? PCTI participants are suggesting that the odds are long indeed.

5) Eskildsen. PCTI’s resident “high-IQ” basketball player had a mixed performance in PCTI II. His virtuoso performance in PCTI I (10 PPG, 11 RPG, 3 APG, led his team in productivity) earned him the MVP and PCTI II Captaincy. Yet, his PCTI II draft can only be described as “confusing at best, self-serving at worst” as he used the top pick on Chase Hardin, whom he had never seen play before. He followed that up by drafting 3 of the shortest PCTI players, allowing the other team to gain a strategic size advantage. Add in to the recipe that he made some odd substitution choices at critical moments of winnable games, and it becomes clear that perhaps the stage was a bit too bright for this “cerebral” player. Yet, after getting knocked out of Game 2 with a vicious Josh Stephen shoulder, he showed tremendous heart and passion coming back in Game 3 and finishing with a good showing for the remainder of the tournament. His return helped the team to rally from a 3-1 deficit and ultimately to force a deciding Game 7. Unfortunately, his team came up just short in the end.

4) DK. The Godfather was PCTI I’s inaugural captain along with Hops. He constructed a roster from the draft that in theory should have had a reasonable chance to win the tournament. But since nobody had any expectation of the physical toll that PCTI takes, it was difficult for DK to get his players completely prepared for the mental and spiritual grind that is PCTI. Add in the fact that he did not get the performances he was expecting from Sabin and Pitto, and it led to a 4-2 defeat at the hands of a depleted Inglorious Ballers roster. DK critiqued himself after his captaincy performance with this gem: “I was worried about everybody having a good time and making sure all of the preparations were made for travel and Saturday night’s dinner. That was the most important thing to me.” With his time and efforts being pulled in a hundred different directions, he did not muster the requisite “badassedness” to tell Sabin and Pitto to play better. Instead of lighting a fuse into us, he tried to make us feel better by pointing out his own dismal FG%. We needed a kick in the ass, but DK gave us a pat on the butt.

3) Sabin. Perhaps a premature ranking since his team has not played yet, but since I feel confident of victory, I will leave myself here for the time being. Perhaps the only captain that made no mistakes in the draft, this player’s draft is a template for team play and for the whole being greater than the sum of its parts. With an emphasis on physical conditioning, many of the Wolfpack have committed themselves to showing up at III in terrific physical condition in anticipation of owning Breaking Bad. And with a belief that his team is simply the superior group, Sabin has allowed his team to gain confidence at the expense of Breaking Bad. Yet, his team intimated at a mutiny earlier in the year that has since been quelled. It is yet to be determined if Sabin is holding the reins too tightly. I suppose we will see in 30 days. When LFTW brings home the hardware, it is anticipated that his current #3 ranking will be immediately pushed to #1.

2) BC. Awkward lefty earned the PCTI II Captaincy on the heels of a PCTI I performance that included 15PPG, 10RPG, 3APG, 5 blocks, 4 steals, and a DPOY trophy. He also led his team in productivity by a wide margin. I only mention that because I know how important it is to him. His PCTI II draft included snapping up most of the size in the player pool, and also picking a few salty guards. His biggest challenge was figuring out a way to cohesively gel the excess of talent that his team possessed. He figured it out just in time as his team held off a hard-charging Eskildsen group and survived 4-3. Yet, many of his teammates came away from the tournament not having enjoyed playing together even in victory. Apparently, minutes were mismanaged and a few players got frustrated at not having the chance to contribute more. And with 41% of the available shots and 58% of the available FTs being consumed by just 2 players, it seems that his team was at the point of fracture. Also allowed a player to prematurely leave the tournament early in what quickly became a free-for-all. As manager of his team, it seems that perhaps he forgot to manage expectations in terms of minutes, production, attendance, and roles and responsibilities. Critics have argued that it was an uneven performance that was made to look better by virtue of the result, and that he could’ve easily switched rankings with Eskildsen had the outcome been different.

1) Hops. Leader. Warrior. Athlete. Guy who Struggles with Layups. All of these describe Sir Anthony Hopkins. Led his inaugural group of players to a 4-2 victory over DK’s Team 2, and consequently gave his team the 3rd best moniker (Inglorious Ballers) in PCTI history behind LFTW and Breaking Bad. Earned his PCTI Captaincy the old-fashioned way…he convinced Danny to let him do it. His draft was flawless even if he drafted JT number 1. He was still able to secure a wealth of talent including Abe, Hite, Esk, and Bruise. Coaxed Wes Strings into a great performance. Cunningly scooped up Dorry to fill in for an injured Esk. And even though this diluted their talent pool, Hops still guided his team safely home. Ironically, his best captain performance did not come until a year later at PCTI II when he shepherded Esk’s team when we were leaderless. Analysts are predicting that Hops will never be captain again because of his limited MVP chances, but this guy simply has the “it” quality that leaders possess and will be a positive influence for whatever team he plays for. That being said, Sabin will most likely own this spot in 30 days or so…

Sabin