I borrowed this format from A-Hop and traded emails back and forth with the MVP and winning captain. Yes, there's not any suspense about who the captains are, but there is some preliminary talk about their thoughts heading in to the draft.
Now, lets figure out where we're heading for next year!
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From: The Beast
Good morning, boys.
I'mg going to take a page out of Hops's book and post this email correspondence to the blog. I'm looking forward to your input.
First off, congratulations on the individual accolades. Well deserved for both. I struggled on which of you to choose as MVP but eventually gave it to Sabin. I won't lie, part of that was voting with my heart. But I also think you rightfully deserved the award. Timing can't be ignored - and you made some big time plays in important moments.
But that's not why I'm emailing. I want to start to look ahead to next year. That begins with figuring out the intentions of you two as it relates to the captaincy.
What are you guys planning to do? Obviously, this year is intriguing because you two share as tight a link as any two guys in this thing. Not to mention the bond (though it has grown and evolved) is so much about basketball and you two having similar philosophies and passion for PCTI. I think you guys are the two that care the most. It's funny, some people would say that to you and it would be a great compliment, others say that to you in this group and it might be a backhanded compliment...oh well.
Anyway, I'll open it up to you two. Both sold on keeping the captaincy, considering giving it to someone else, etc?
BEAST
From: Sabin
A couple of thoughts...
I voted for Dan for MVP. He checked every single box you can check in basketball. He scored, rebounded, created, and defended the other team's best player. He also played with great energy, effort, and leadership. I think all of us recognize that it is just easy to play basketball with guys like that who make their team better.
But I also won't be disingenuous. I was very happy and excited to be voted MVP. It is a great honor to be recognized by peers who are basketball junkies and who care as much about PCTI as I do. I honestly thought that the MVP ship had sailed from my PCTI career given my age and lack of recovery ability. But to have given my team timely shooting and scoring on day 2 and to be honored for it....well, that's just pretty damn cool. So thanks to everybody that voted for me.
Initially, I thought I might defer my captaincy to a player who hasn't had the chance to be captain yet. However, after some time to review, I'll be keeping my captaincy and look forward to competing against Dan's team. Since he has the choice of what order to pick, I'll be fine with taking whatever is left to me. My preference is to have the 2-3 turn on the snake, but I'll roll with whatever. As much as I love playing with Dan, I'm also wanting the legitimize the C on my chest and captain a winning squad in PCTI. I'm anticipating comparably matched teams and a very competitive 9. Should be fun.
Sabin
From: DTB
Appreciate the kind words Beast Man... Let me address one thing, as it relates to whether or not caring is "cool" or not. To me, there is nothing LESS cool than acting like you don't care about things you really care about.. When was the last time anyone said "It's so cool how little he cares!" It's insulting to the people that do care, and typically leads to poor(er) performances. One quote that's always resonated with me: "When I stand before God at the end of my life, I would hope that I would not have a single bit of talent left and could say, I used everything you gave me." I don't have much talent, but whatever.
I can't put into words how emotional I got when I saw Sabin receive the MVP. For a guy who's basketball career has been built on consistency, his PCTI career has been a roller coaster, and I'm glad he got what he deserved... I'll tell you this much, he can make as much of an argument as he wants about his lack of an "all around performance" but his ability to strategically leak without taking himself out of the play defensively is almost as unique as Act's one man press.
Anyway, enough of the fake motivational and emotional crap... As I've said many times in the past, I will never give up captainship and the opportunity to be able to pick the guys I want to go to battle with. As much as I love playing with Sabin, the opportunity to oppose him will lead to a really interesting draft, one that could see guys you wouldn't expect rise, and vice versa.
From: The Beast
Initially when I started thinking about you two pitted against each other (about .5 seconds after the end of game four) I thought you would find a way to arrange things that you two would have the best chance to play together again. I give you both a lot of credit for really not giving that a single thought and instead seeing this as a great chance to really compete. Salute.
Now, Dan, since it's your call: any interest in tipping your hand about what order you'll take in the draft. Also, how does knowing that Sabin is opposite you change the way you will hope to build your team.
My guess is this year the draft will look different than it has in all other years. I think this PCTI taught us that the way each guy is evaluated has to rapidly evolve. When, you take a step back, that should be obvious. Take me, for instance. When PCTI one was played I think I had just recently turned 26, now I'm 33, a father, my work schedule is completely different, a ton has changed. Getting by on your reputation from early PCTIs (which was built in some respects on you as a player in college or earlier) is foolish. And with all the factors of time, conditioning, commitment, etc., weighing more heavily than before, I think a good captain has to really consider how they weigh each guy's ceiling versus their floor. I think off years and physical issues, while always a little fluky, have to be counted on more so now than in the past and it's fair to consider who is able to make it through the weekend without totally eating a shit sandwich, you know? Bottom line is, at some point in PCTI you're going to play the worst basketball you'll play all year. So if you're surprised that you're not the same guy that you were in your pickup game, or that you were in PCTIs of years past...more so now than ever before, that's on you.
Anyway, not sure how I started down that avenue. This is supposed to be about you guys. Thoughts?
From: DTB
We have extended an invite to a player that quite a few of us have played with, a high school teammate of Wilson and TP's who (if he accepts) will greatly impact the draft. He's a 6'7" stud with four years of college hoops experience (where people actually learn how to score in the post) who I believe can give Abe a run for his money as the top overall player, and greatly balances out the sizing to where neither team will be able to build the big heavy lineup that had so much success this past year. If he accepts, I'll probably go for picks 2 and 3, but otherwise, I'll probably take 1.
I think every year you're going to see significant swings in each players draft stock based on life factors and who the captains are... We have gotten to a point in PCTI (fortunately) where it's very rare that people don't show up game ready recognizing they will have to live with their performance for a year before they can make up for it (and forever with the historical stats), but there will be factors as it relates to life that will lead to certain players not being as prepared as they would like... Let's look at a few case studies...
First off, give it up for Donley, he's one guy that has had all the things happen (moves, babies, etc) but always shows up in great shape. Bruise's reviews were mixed but this past year he came in in shape, and the numbers show how just a little training for him can affect his on-court performance.
Another quick look is a guy like Spot... He's probably the only guy in PCTI history who's stock steadily climbed every year since his rookie year at PCTI3, but with the injury and the commute, it's got to be factored in. Juice... He's a guy I play with all year long who's style is better suited for me than the classically trained Sabin, but Sabin has an obsession with effort and conditioning, and who gives more of both than him? He also has to be the guy with the most room to grow.
With Sabin and I, as much as we share similar philosophies, we have had varied levels of success with certain players, most notably Ben... For whatever reason, the two of them have not had success playing together, which could lead to a bit of a slide... However, Wilson is someone I've had a lot of success and fun running with (for anyone that forgot my first 15 passes in PCTI1 went to Ben). That said, one thing I've learned about Sabin over the years is the guys that he "values" and claims are "his guys" somehow rarely end up on his team.... So I really have no idea what I'm up against.
From: Sabin
At the end of the day, we all have preferences about who we play with and what style we want to play. And those preferences don't make anybody right or wrong, just different. I tend to overweight shooting and size, but I also admit that I can show a certain disposition and affection towards guys that I like and that I want to play with. I'm going to try and be objective as possible with my draft, but there's always some subjectivity that gets thrown into the mix.
Donley and Ben are really good examples of this. Donley might be de-valued by Dan, but I have actually always been a big fan of this guy. Same way with Ben. I think everybody recognizes that Ben can really tilt the balance of power for a team, and Dan has seen it work in his favor. At the same time, the combination of Ben and me yielded exactly zero PCTI victories for 4 consecutive years, so that could play a part in draft position.
I think the top of our draft board looks comparable to similar, but there's some divergence as we get into the middle rounds.
From: DTB
It's not so much a devaluation of Donley talents as much as it is a long history with the Stickman. There are many guys in PCTI who always end up split up, with those two being a prime example. Same goes for Joe and Beas. You never see them on the same squads... When one goes, the other comes off the board the next pick.
From: Beast
Sabin, how do you plan to compensate for the disadvantage of not knowing anything about this supposed new addition? It's one thing if his purported value was in the middle or later rounds, but Danny said he thinks he could challenge Abe for PCTI supremacy. I think I've actually played with him once, too. He's got good size and a really well rounded game. But, PCTI is unlike any pickup game you'll ever play in, so who's to say how it will translate, even for a guy who appears to have a fairly polished and natural game. Many of us old timers can remember when Chase "Beer Man" Hardin was hyped as a possible challenger to the top overall player mantle as well.
From Sabin
Good point. I was faced with a similar decision heading into PCTI VII in Cincinnati, not knowing anything about TP. Clearly, some guys know much more about him than I do. When it comes to things like that, I typically make decisions based on things that I know rather than guessing about things that I don't. So if it comes down to him or guys like BC and TP, the choice is easy for me...go with what I know.
If he turns out to be some Godzilla that kills us, I'll live with my decision about my guys. That being said, I really hope he doesn't kill us. Turns out that PCTI is not always about having the best player. Conditioning and chemistry count for quite a bit in this tournament.
I think I've played with Abe and Hops exactly one time each, but would like to have both. Key gambits will be where Spot, Hops, and Bow get drafted.
ReplyDeleteI want to play with the guys that give a crap.
ReplyDelete