PCTI XIII All Tournament

 PCTI XII All Tournament Winners

Another PCTI in the books and I am in awe of how we continue to improve the experience. As we do every year, we vote on the All Tournament team but I want to give a few shout outs before we jump to the awards. 

First to Beas! What an incredible location! I enjoyed the experiences and time away from the court so much!! The resort was perfect and felt we got closer as a group than we have in any previous year. To host takes more than most know, especially when the refs get canceled in the days before everyone arrives. 

Second, to Virgil and Mike. We all felt like we were punched in the gut when Spotlight had to stay back and tend to his fam but Mike came in and played great! He also meshed well off the court and gave a boost to the weekend. And Virgil came in and played well and was an easy addition to the cool guys. Your first year is tough because you are learning who everyone is, how everyone plays, where you fit in, how things operate off the court, etc. I'm pumped to see what Virgil does in year 2! On to the awards...

Got votes but not enough

Ben (2 AT votes) - What a return for Ben after a 2 year hiatus. Offensively, he is a guy that can handle, score, and dish but defensively he is known as a liability. This year, not only did he play well offensively but I thought he did very well on D.

Beas (3 AT votes) - Beas was solid all weekend but exploded game 3 to help lead his team to the only win for the weekend with 25 points, 5 assists, and 4 boards.

Donley (2 DMVP, 1 AT votes) - Game 5 Donley! He did not miss in game 5 and helped secure the win for the Alphas. While defensive stats are harder to get, Donley was a menace on D. Surprised there wasn't more votes for him.

Virgil (1 DMVP, 4 AT votes) - And just like that we have a new talent making a case for AT. Watching the tapes, some of the plays he made jump out. 12 steals lead the tournament and 9.4 PPG was 4th. I wouldn't be surprised if he is in the MVP conversation in the next few years.

ALL TOURNAMENT

DK (8 AT votes) - After a few years of not being AT, Dan returns. His efficiency on offense and his defensive presence bring him back to all tournament status. I thought this year was hard to figure out the last 2 players for all tournament, but with the Alphas winning 4 games to 1 and DK shooting in the 60% range for both 2's and 3's, he deserves the nod.

AHOP (4 DMVP, 5 AT votes) - I did not think I deserved to be all tournament when I shot a mind numbing 20% from the line and one of the more embarrassing missed layups in a long history of them. After not getting any AT the first 11 PCTI's, this is my second consecutive. Already moved on to 14 in my mind.

Abe (3 MVP, 1 DMVP, 11 AT votes) - The last 3 guys were unanimous. Abe returns to the AT team after missing last year. Second on the Alphas in scoring, first in rebounds and assists. Had a SPERM of 102 and continues to chug along as one of the top players in PCTI. Can he return to being MVP as his last MVP was in PCTI X.

D-MVP

TP (7 DMVP, 8 AT votes) - Just a monster on both ends of the court! 16 stocks and guarding Kyle all weekend gives him the votes for best defensive player (wake me up when he's not). He also average 15 and 12 nbd. He also seems to get in better shape each year, so when does he get over the hump and win MVP?

Kyle (12 MVP, 3 AT votes) - 5 years: 4 MVPs, 1 All Tourney and a 4-1 record. He and TP have set a high bar to reach to get MVP and not sure he is slowing down. 15.8 ppg and 6.6 rpg is a career year for most and a down year for Kyle. Being a captain and calling everyone on his team an Alpha the night before the games is one for the ages. The Alpha of Alphas.

How We Built This - PCTI Edition

Last night during a discussion with the BORED I started thinking about how my relationship started with all the guys in PCTI, and after reminiscing on a couple, I started laughing over how much of a miracle it is that this exists given how things started between myself, and the majority of you.

Not all are negative, but most are.  Below are a few lines about how my relationship started with each of you, in chronological order.

• Cum: First Grade - Threatened to cut off my head with the switch blade he smuggled into school elementary school. Can't say things have improved since then, but he's somehow still around.
• Smo: Third Grade - Pegged me three times in a little league baseball game, had me bawling in tears and lead to a near brawl between Mr. Orr and Mr. Krow.
• Beast: Third Grade - New guy, on the play ground was selected first before me, in which a rivalry begun.  Got exposure early to the temperament, as he was picked and dubbed "Tall Boy" which made me snap back with a "My name isn't Tall Boy, it's Brent."  Once a brat, always a brat.
• Beas: Fifth Grade - Although three years younger, took a liking because he was on my brother's team and played the entire season with a broken arm.  And when I say broken, I mean right arm was in a sling.
• Abe: College - Positioned to me as a package deal with Hops, but ended up as a package deal with John O'Rourke, which meant in order to get Abe, I signed up for years of misery having to deal with Pitto Jr.
• Hops: College - Touted by Beast and Act as the second coming of me a hoops lover/top teammate who will take the burden off me on the organizing front.  As soon as I got excited, I was told he had a reputation for over organizing, and that the two of us could be highly volatile together.  
• Cockstrong: College - Having to utilize his nickname to protect his online presence, true to his name I was introduced to him by a female who drunkingly showed me his handprint from the night before.
• Ben: College - A morning hoops game was always challenging, and one morning we had nine show up.  I would call it fate that Ben just so happened to be the only human in the gym at T-Recs at 8:00 am, as he was on the adjacent court shooting free throws.  The rest is history.
• Sabin: Post College - The second day after moving to Dallas, a highschool teammate of mine invited me to an organized pickup game.  Having thought he coordinated with the organizer, I show up to the game and made 20... Low and behold my old teammate showed up unannounced as well, and Sabin was in a mood.  There's next to nothing that makes me more uncomfortable then showing up to an organized hoop game that does not welcome outsiders (no one is less welcoming then Sabin) and I sat there pondering leaving the gym as I watched Sabin in a cranky mood get the group going.  Thankfully I stayed, and even more thankfully I ended up on Sabin's team.  All it takes to get in his good graces is a good in rhythm chest pass, and the rest is history.
• Spotlight: Post College - Man this guy.  I moved to Boston and yet again, the dynamic duo of Act and Beast have me setup with a teammate of theirs.  Having reached out to Spotlight about six times inquiring about hoops with no response, three months into my stay I get a text saying "League starts tomorrow at 6:00pm, can you make it?"  No one can ever accuse Spot of not being spontaneous.
• TP: Post College - Not negative at all, at Smo's wedding we sit down and have a face to face interview.  Him and his wife pass with flying colors, and unfortunately is one of the few positive introductions.
• Juice: Post College - The way to Juice was one of the most excruciating situations I've ever been through, and it's been nothing but pain for me ever since.  I was on my last week in a job before making the jump to the PRODUCE BIDNESS, and this guy I was with forced me to go watch a Gonzaga soccer practice because of this "cool kid" on the team.  Not sure what I hate more, soccer or hanging out, but I got to do both.  Well the "cool kid" somehow won me over, and I gave him my contact info in case he ever wanted a job.  Well,  three months later he reaches out, and I somehow ended up responsible for bringing on young talent.  He gets hired, and somehow manages to do the world's easiest job so bad he gets fired.  The one contribution he had along the way was getting Juice hired, and he's done nothing but torture me ever since.
• Smooth: Post College - I had joined a gym and was on my first day... Didn't know anyone but was enthused over the idea of the group being good players who don't talk and just play.  Well, I made the mistake of guarding Smooth, and as he's slowly dribbling 40 feet from the half court basket, I don't even reach, but make it appear like I am... Little did I know the mistake I was making, as that woke up a mouth I've never seen before.  All I could think in my head is who is this doofus, and how I was going to punish him and make him regret running his mouth.  Five years later, here we are.
• Bottles: Post College - Met the same day as I did Smooth, just a slightly different approach.  Such a nice guy I didn't feel comfortable guarding him because I couldn't get motivated, then as I close out he darts by me and throws down a dunk.  He maintained the niceness that makes anyone hard to guard, but then slowly became the most difficult person I've ever had to guard.  
• Kyle: Post College - Had been campaigning to get this guy in PCTI for years before finally meeting him.  Was always appalled by how quiet he was and how he kept to himself, and was secretly offended that he never approached me to make a pitch on being a part of PCTI.  When approaching Ben about it initially, he said he was probably too good for it, so I villainized him in my head that Kyle was the one saying that.  
• Virgil: Post College - Moved to Frisco and got his contact info from Hops.  His first game he showed up was the worst session of my life (and there have been A LOT of band ones), and I'm not sure I even completed a pass.  Nothing he did wrong, but I'll forever associate my first experience with him with that performance...