Q&A with PCTI's Most Versatile Participant

First, this has been a terrific segment in the history of the PCTI blog. In many ways, this series of interviews has helped us to get to know our teammates better and also allowed participants an opportunity to express themselves uninterrupted.

Second, BC rarely gets an adequate amount of praise for his contributions on the court. And yet, he is routinely among the most valuable and sought-after players in PCTI. I've often wondered about this and he has the opportunity to address it in question 3 below.

Third, although known for his wit, BC is also one of the most thoughtful and introspective players in PCTI. You'll see below that he cares deeply for PCTI's future but also enjoys the competition and discussion of said competition. This is an underrated part of BC's overall personality and character.

Without further delay, I present one of my favorite PCTI participants, BC:

1) Give us an update on family, career, hobbies, and what's going on in your life. Also give us an update on your personal PCTI preparations.

Man, it's been an unusual year. At the last PCTI, I was preparing for a major transition: moving to Kentucky without definite plans of what is next. My wife Angie got a nice opportunity in TV here (the rare TV job where it actually made sense to move down in market size) and so far things are working out really well for her, not to mention it's nice being back closer to both our families. It took me considerably longer to figure out what I wanted to do, with many fits and starts over the past half of a year. I even spent three months around Christmas sorting mail overnight at UPS. Not that I was considering that as a career, I just needed to make some money and do something. I have continued to work in local TV since I got back, but only part time. I have turned down a few full time opportunities in local TV because I think as long as we're in Lexington, it doesn't make a lot of sense for me. In the past few months I've transitioned in to marketing and by the time PCTI rolls around, I will have started my own marketing company (with one employee: me). The easiest way to explain what I'm trying to do is that I want to take all the bullshit skills I use in PCTI in the blog or on the videos and find companies to pay me to do the same thing for them...we'll see how it goes.

As for PCTI training, I'm playing basketball two to three times a week. Availability to find the time to play is easily the biggest benefit to having a lot less work than what I'm used to. The game isn't great as far as pace goes (it's decent in terms of competitiveness) but at least I have the ball in my hands often. I'm also making an effort to lift more than I have in several years.

2) You have various nicknames that have been bestowed upon you in PCTI and in general life, including BC, Bambi, Big Pun, BBC, The Brat, etc....what is your favorite and why?

I like them all because I think they're all hilarious. Danny has set the tone with making BC basically my name and I'm cool with that. I think I prefer Big Pun or Big Brent Carney because they're both so stupid. Bambi is money because you can't watch the PCTI tapes and not see it.

3) You have had some detractors over the PCTI years who have criticized your game for whatever reason. Yet, you are consistently drafted in the first round every year by various captains who all respect your game a great deal. How do you square the criticism with the fact that most captains won't let you fall out of the first round?

I certainly wouldn't hold it against anyone, because I'm not too sure what to think of my standing in PCTI either. I keep expecting a free fall one of these years, but I guess I've done just enough to avoid it. I bet if you asked people to rank the top five best scorers in PCTI, I'd be lucky to make a handful of the lists and yet I think I'm right there with the top scorers in this thing after Abe, of course. In general my stats just don't match with the sort of player I appear to be or maybe to put it better, I'm way down the list of players that the opposing team would fear. One thing that will always hurt me is that my game looks awkward, soft and just flatly not that great on tape. But I've found a way to put up some decent numbers across the board in six years. My guess is that each captain wrestles with the juxtaposition that 80 percent of the players look like better players than me but I've outperformed 80 percent of people, at least to this point.

4) Who is your favorite teammate in PCTI and why? Who is your least favorite teammate and why?

Favorite is tough. I really enjoy playing with everyone and seriously delight in that aspect of PCTI every year. I play a lot of basketball through the course of a year and basically none of it is with guys I like playing with and most of it is with guys who have no idea what they're doing, so the bar is set low for me to appreciate a PCTI teammate. I think I get particular satisfaction out of reuniting with my former high school teammates, Actor and Spotlight (and once upon a time, Mike Hite). It's funny how the little things we learned and the hours we spent practicing together still carries over all these years later. That's especially true for Act since I got four years with him.

Least favorite is Abe. And I say that out of respect. We're almost never on the same team since I'm typically a part of the 2-3 snake picks and he's picked first. I struggle guarding him and when he's on defense and assigned to me he doesn't pay any attention to me until a shot goes up, which gets in my head. He just gives me jumpers and the vast majority of the time it works. Granted, when it doesn't I have got it going and that's led to a few of my scoring outbursts through the years. But when that happens he just comes down and scores, thereby playing me to a draw. Also, his elbow cost me a game in Denver and came right after I scored a few buckets in a row. However, the trip to urgent care did give me a front row seat to watch a 40-something female physician openly, unapologetically, and totally realistically hit on Beas for the better part of an hour while I took my eight stitches.

5) Who is your favorite off-court PCTI buddy and why? Who is your least favorite off-court buddy and why?

The most important thing for me in a PCTI off court buddy is the ability to talk about the games from that day, even if we've already said all there is to say. In the moment, I can't get enough analysis. I think you, Danny, Ben and Donley are all good for that. In a more social aspect, I really enjoy Spot and Beas but I hate the idea of the QuadPod, so that's tough to square with. Smo and I both drink about the exact same (which is not much) before we get loose, so I'll miss him this year, too.

6) You've been MVP, captain, DPOY, all-tournament, double-double machine, and ascended to the Chairmanship of the BOD. Is there anything missing from your resume that would complete it?

I actually have not been MVP and I'd really like to break through and get it. For me it is about getting locked in from the beginning and finding that fine line between playing within myself and playing with sustained aggressiveness. If I do that and knock down some shots, I'll get it one of these days. What bothers me most is that I'm only a .500 level player. I need to get more wins. The way I see it, I've personally played four consecutive below average PCTIs and that kind of eats at me. I've found a way to mask it at times but I need to get back on track and provide my captains a better ROI.

7) What would you like to say to those members of PCTI who have been less-than-supportive of the BOD's efforts and ideas for the betterment of PCTI?

I've actually been meaning to put out a post on this but haven't got around to it, so this seems like the right place. I want to officially relinquish my role as interim commissioner, effective immediately upon arrival in Cincinnati. I've done what I needed to do and Dan the Ratings Man has proven that he in fact did not lose his fastball, he was just going through a valley. I'll continue to stay on in an advisory role but by the time we turn the page to PCTI 8, everything will once more go across Dan's desk. And if you got a problem with that, I got a BIG problem with you.

8) PCTI goes through normal doldrums during the course of the year and that is to be expected in any organization. But it also seems like PCTI suffered through a 3 year negative trend of reduced participation by email, blog, video chat, and other media. Thoughts on why this occurred and how to reverse the malaise in the future?

You know, I didn't think this until the lead in to this year, but I think the biggest thing that hurt PCTI these past few years was the lack of competitiveness on the court. Even though every weekend has been a great time, I think the better the basketball is, the more likely it is to go from a fun vacation, to a year round experience. I'm really enthusiastic about this year because I think the ball will be better and I really think that's going to give us a better weekend than any of us realize. Also, I'm really looking forward to having everyone under the same roof.

9) As PCTI's resident Ron Burgundy, how much pressure do you feel to get everyone involved with the camera and do you prepare questions/thoughts beforehand? Who is the best PCTI interviewee? Who would you like to see interview you?

I don't even remember how doing that came to be in the first place. Personally, the only reason I do it is because I know it's really a good thing for the finished product of the videos. If it were me, I'd much rather be warming up for the games. Plus, at PCTI I'm on vacation from doing on camera interviews and wouldn't mind if it stayed that way. The nice part is, everyone does a really good job with their part. Somehow it always winds up being a good blend of people answering the questions seriously and providing some insight with guys being goofy and ridiculous. The post game stuff is great because it's proof that people really do care, both when they win and lose. I'd be totally cool with Actor taking the (roman) reigns from me to try to breathe a little new life in to it. If he can sing on Instagram on a daily basis, he could handle this.

Honestly, one person I loved to interview (with the exception of last year, when he was just so defeated) was McKinney. He always gave thoughtful answers that weren't too long or too short. As someone who interviews people for a living, you get to appreciate that, even in a totally irreverent setting. As for who interviews me, I think you're doing a standup job at present.

10) What can we expect from you both on and off the court this season? Any particular goals for either? Any last words or
parting shots?

The first thing to look for is me being there for 100 percent of the activities for the first time since PCTI II. I have my lack of steady employment and being an hour away to thank for that. One of the reasons to get out of TV for me was that it was always such a pain in the ass schedule-wise.

On the court, I really want to play well. I spend way too much time in my head and this year I hope to relax a little more, focus on making winning plays and quit thinking (and bitching/bratting) as much as I have in the past. Sometimes I think all this talk about everything that I lead in our 361 day off season further clouds an already fragile mental toughness.

For my game, it's as simple as making a few more shots. If I can score six points a game by way of non-twos, either knocking down a three or getting to the line, I can jump from a 10-11 point a game guy to a 16-17 point game a guy. It worked for me in PCTI I and II (granted, a long time ago) and I got to get back to it. Off the court, I'm gonna take my usual approach of teaching anyone who wants a lesson how to drink. Shoutout to Rhinegeist Truth beer. Also, my parents are Ohio natives and Cincinnati Chili has been the culinary staple in my family since time eternal. I look forward to gauging Bruiser's appreciation or lack of for it.

As for how the teams shape up, I think most everyone has hit the nail on the head in their analysis. The other team has us beat in terms of scoring punch, which over the past few years has been the only predictor you've really needed. But as a few guys have pointed out, that maybe (hopefully) will be less an issue with deeper benches this year. The past few years when you fell behind to the team that could figure out how to score quickest, it just took too much mental and physical energy to crawl out of the hole. The other cool part about this year is that we have four X factors. Two guys who are returning after time away and two rookies. How that works out should go a long way towards determining who has the edge. Kind of like PCTI I when I had no idea what to expect, my first hope is that we have a deeply competitive series. After that, I hope and expect my squad to take it in six or seven.

Sabin