A LOT of good insight here.
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1. This is among the burning questions in PCTI: where are you at health wise? Actually, for those who don't know, why don't you also lay out the story of when, where and how you got hurt.
I'm borderline ready to play again right now. Im hitting those final stages of recovery. It's to the point now where I really feel like I can play, but from shear time standards and uncertainty it makes me nervous to just jump back in. (@ PCTI I will be just under 11 months out of surgery). I will be easing into running games early to mid May. By June leading up to PCTI my plan is to be playing 2 days a week full speed. Luckily I have access to regular games in Knoxville, and also have a pretty decent set up at my house so I will be able to get the most possible time between the lines. I got hurt playing pick up basketball in Chatt almost exactly a year ago. I waited to have surgery till August due to getting married and having a lot going on last summer, so it put a hold on the surgery for a while. The injury was a non contact play gone bad. I was coming down the lane and went to jump stop for a pull up 4 footer and my knee just completely gave out. I knew instantly it was not good, and sure enough, it wasn't (full ACL tear paired with a Lateral and Medial Meniscus tear). I was extremely angry about it because I had done squats earlier that day, and knew that wasn't and shouldn't play that night. I had a buddy call and was slightly persistent that I man up and come play, he also knew that I was a sucker for pick up bball and wouldn't say no and here we are 1 full year later.
2. We definitely worked hard this year to stabilize the depth of the PCTI roster and the benches should help the quality of play. With that in mind, do you plan to either limit how much you play with the knee early to see how it holds up or do you expect to have to manage your minutes a little come day three since three days of hoops - even for the able-bodied - is a grind?
Its really hard to tell, and until I start playing again I wont be able to accurately guess how I will handle the games. My therapy/training sessions are long and strenuous, so I really feel like I am doing the right things to turn some heads as far as my preparedness for basketball this early off a tough injury.
3. I saw the picture of you throwing down a two hand dunk and I think Dan used it in his trailer video he recently published. Some folks may not know that picture was taken recently. Should we expect a dunk? An in-game dunk would be a PCTI first.
Ben and I had breakfast about a week ago when he was in town for the day. I'm still trying to decide if he really wanted to hang out, or was just looking for a status report on his draft pick. Anyways, I told him I was feeling better and better, so later that day when I was shooting around I snapped that of myself and sent it to him for a little proof. As far as putting one in during a game, who knows. I'm definitely not scared to go to the rim aggressively, I guess the only question will be if my wind hold up enough to muster up the energy for that type of maneuver.
4. What have you heard about the game flow of PCTI? I ask because sometimes it's difficult for a non-guard (I like this term over big men...because really that's all a big man is in PCTI...a non-guard) to figure out where to pitch in and how to get in the flow of the game.
Seems to be a guard heavy game. I also hear about games getting tough later in the series with which my concern would be when people get tired they tend to shoot quickly and poorly. I'm not necessarily a back to the basket player, but if needed I can be. Playing with a fair amount of different skill sets of players, I've learned to be a chameleon in basketball. It will not take me long at all to grasp our team's motives and execution level and find where I will be best suited.
5. How do you assess your team?
I feel like this is an extension of my last answer.
I've played a lot of basketball with Ben. I know his offensive mind set, I know he can use his big body when he needs to (BTW has anyone talked about how he's probably lost 25 lbs since last year???). I know Danny is an aggressive type hustle player, I'm also assuming he's a very vocal player. Beyond that I don't know the first thing about anyone else's game. So it will really be up to me to make quick assessments as to who fills what roll on the court with out changing my favorable pace/style of play.
6. What is your reaction to all the criticism Ben has received for picking you over Spotlight? It's pretty clear Ben thought this was a no-brainer.
Having not played with Spotlight its tough for me to say I deserved the pick, but its done and now its more about me living up to the hype. Ben for sure had a slight advantage because he has played with me so much, not that that justified the selection, just a simple truth. All in all I like the buzz, I like the pressure, and I guess we will see what happens from here.
7. Do you know enough about the other team to have a feel for what they're about? If so, what are your thoughts?
I've played with Josh a few times over the years and I know his skill level. Other than him I am rolling in blind, but I have a feeling that our team is coming in as the villains.
8. Those who know you have obviously tried to give us a scouting report and you jokingly did the same thing. But in terms of #realtalk how do you see yourself helping your squad?
Ben pretty closely laid out my game. I'm an outside - in player and can be a streaky scorer at times. I know my style of defense isn't as appealing to the eye as some others, but I feel like I get a little under appreciated on that end of the floor. I definitely try to take advantage of my long stride and length as much as possible often trying to bait people into playing to my strengths with out them knowing. My biggest thing is that I absolutely hate losing. I'm not a player that gets frustrated and make a bunch of dumb plays necessarily, but when games are close I am going to do everything I can to make sure we have a chance to win. I guess the stat sheet will show all at the end of this, but I think my advantages I'm bringing to the table will be a positive addition to what Mr. Wilson has put together.
9. One thing we haven't touched on is night life. Give us a peak behind the curtain as to what we can expect in that regard.
Sadly, this is probably my strongest category. I'm down for whatever and whenever. Not sure what the mentality normally is here, but you won't hear me complaining about bar, restaurant or event choice. I can have fun at the corner pub drinking Bud heavies shooting pool, or getting the glow sticks out and hitting the rave. I enjoy it all as long as the people I'm with are able to enjoy themselves. Biggest fault on this is I'm usually one of the last to bed. I have a hard time giving up on a night of fun.
10. I guess I should have started with this, but instead I'll close with it. Give us all the non-basketball info so we can all skip the small talk once we get to the Ambrose Asylum. Job, city, marital status, anything else I missed, etc.
I work in logistics as a freight broker and living in Knoxville. My wife's name is KJ and we have been married for a little less than a year (Smo was a no show at the wedding Ben was in attendance). I just moved here, but this was moving back home for me as I was born and raised in Knoxville. I previously lived in Chattanooga for three years. This is where I met Smo and we became friends over a short time as co workers. I liked it in Chattanooga and didn't want to leave, but my wife had been commuting to Knoxville daily so not much of a fight was put up when she decided it was time for a change. Mostly I like all the normal stuff we all tend to like, Sports, booze, music, food etc.. Like I said before I'm usually up for anything almost to a fault.
I'm borderline ready to play again right now. Im hitting those final stages of recovery. It's to the point now where I really feel like I can play, but from shear time standards and uncertainty it makes me nervous to just jump back in. (@ PCTI I will be just under 11 months out of surgery). I will be easing into running games early to mid May. By June leading up to PCTI my plan is to be playing 2 days a week full speed. Luckily I have access to regular games in Knoxville, and also have a pretty decent set up at my house so I will be able to get the most possible time between the lines. I got hurt playing pick up basketball in Chatt almost exactly a year ago. I waited to have surgery till August due to getting married and having a lot going on last summer, so it put a hold on the surgery for a while. The injury was a non contact play gone bad. I was coming down the lane and went to jump stop for a pull up 4 footer and my knee just completely gave out. I knew instantly it was not good, and sure enough, it wasn't (full ACL tear paired with a Lateral and Medial Meniscus tear). I was extremely angry about it because I had done squats earlier that day, and knew that wasn't and shouldn't play that night. I had a buddy call and was slightly persistent that I man up and come play, he also knew that I was a sucker for pick up bball and wouldn't say no and here we are 1 full year later.
2. We definitely worked hard this year to stabilize the depth of the PCTI roster and the benches should help the quality of play. With that in mind, do you plan to either limit how much you play with the knee early to see how it holds up or do you expect to have to manage your minutes a little come day three since three days of hoops - even for the able-bodied - is a grind?
Its really hard to tell, and until I start playing again I wont be able to accurately guess how I will handle the games. My therapy/training sessions are long and strenuous, so I really feel like I am doing the right things to turn some heads as far as my preparedness for basketball this early off a tough injury.
3. I saw the picture of you throwing down a two hand dunk and I think Dan used it in his trailer video he recently published. Some folks may not know that picture was taken recently. Should we expect a dunk? An in-game dunk would be a PCTI first.
Ben and I had breakfast about a week ago when he was in town for the day. I'm still trying to decide if he really wanted to hang out, or was just looking for a status report on his draft pick. Anyways, I told him I was feeling better and better, so later that day when I was shooting around I snapped that of myself and sent it to him for a little proof. As far as putting one in during a game, who knows. I'm definitely not scared to go to the rim aggressively, I guess the only question will be if my wind hold up enough to muster up the energy for that type of maneuver.
4. What have you heard about the game flow of PCTI? I ask because sometimes it's difficult for a non-guard (I like this term over big men...because really that's all a big man is in PCTI...a non-guard) to figure out where to pitch in and how to get in the flow of the game.
Seems to be a guard heavy game. I also hear about games getting tough later in the series with which my concern would be when people get tired they tend to shoot quickly and poorly. I'm not necessarily a back to the basket player, but if needed I can be. Playing with a fair amount of different skill sets of players, I've learned to be a chameleon in basketball. It will not take me long at all to grasp our team's motives and execution level and find where I will be best suited.
5. How do you assess your team?
I feel like this is an extension of my last answer.
I've played a lot of basketball with Ben. I know his offensive mind set, I know he can use his big body when he needs to (BTW has anyone talked about how he's probably lost 25 lbs since last year???). I know Danny is an aggressive type hustle player, I'm also assuming he's a very vocal player. Beyond that I don't know the first thing about anyone else's game. So it will really be up to me to make quick assessments as to who fills what roll on the court with out changing my favorable pace/style of play.
6. What is your reaction to all the criticism Ben has received for picking you over Spotlight? It's pretty clear Ben thought this was a no-brainer.
Having not played with Spotlight its tough for me to say I deserved the pick, but its done and now its more about me living up to the hype. Ben for sure had a slight advantage because he has played with me so much, not that that justified the selection, just a simple truth. All in all I like the buzz, I like the pressure, and I guess we will see what happens from here.
7. Do you know enough about the other team to have a feel for what they're about? If so, what are your thoughts?
I've played with Josh a few times over the years and I know his skill level. Other than him I am rolling in blind, but I have a feeling that our team is coming in as the villains.
8. Those who know you have obviously tried to give us a scouting report and you jokingly did the same thing. But in terms of #realtalk how do you see yourself helping your squad?
Ben pretty closely laid out my game. I'm an outside - in player and can be a streaky scorer at times. I know my style of defense isn't as appealing to the eye as some others, but I feel like I get a little under appreciated on that end of the floor. I definitely try to take advantage of my long stride and length as much as possible often trying to bait people into playing to my strengths with out them knowing. My biggest thing is that I absolutely hate losing. I'm not a player that gets frustrated and make a bunch of dumb plays necessarily, but when games are close I am going to do everything I can to make sure we have a chance to win. I guess the stat sheet will show all at the end of this, but I think my advantages I'm bringing to the table will be a positive addition to what Mr. Wilson has put together.
9. One thing we haven't touched on is night life. Give us a peak behind the curtain as to what we can expect in that regard.
Sadly, this is probably my strongest category. I'm down for whatever and whenever. Not sure what the mentality normally is here, but you won't hear me complaining about bar, restaurant or event choice. I can have fun at the corner pub drinking Bud heavies shooting pool, or getting the glow sticks out and hitting the rave. I enjoy it all as long as the people I'm with are able to enjoy themselves. Biggest fault on this is I'm usually one of the last to bed. I have a hard time giving up on a night of fun.
10. I guess I should have started with this, but instead I'll close with it. Give us all the non-basketball info so we can all skip the small talk once we get to the Ambrose Asylum. Job, city, marital status, anything else I missed, etc.
I work in logistics as a freight broker and living in Knoxville. My wife's name is KJ and we have been married for a little less than a year (Smo was a no show at the wedding Ben was in attendance). I just moved here, but this was moving back home for me as I was born and raised in Knoxville. I previously lived in Chattanooga for three years. This is where I met Smo and we became friends over a short time as co workers. I liked it in Chattanooga and didn't want to leave, but my wife had been commuting to Knoxville daily so not much of a fight was put up when she decided it was time for a change. Mostly I like all the normal stuff we all tend to like, Sports, booze, music, food etc.. Like I said before I'm usually up for anything almost to a fault.
BULLETIN BOARD MATERIAL.
ReplyDeleteGood to see we have #9 in common and that he can fill McKinney's void with how much he hates losing.
ReplyDeleteNobody could ever fill McKinney's void.
DeleteI agree that the Brats are villains. Nevertheless, welcome to PCTI, glad to have you.
ReplyDelete