PCTI8 Pre-Season Awards

All: Thank you for the efforts in getting your pre-season awards in... We will review following for accuracy.  Reactions in the comments section.

Below total recap by player....

Selections made by player...

Strength/Weakness Myths By Player

Every year we make a big deal out of certain aspects of each player, but if you take a step back you will realize a lot of them are not true... Allow me to give my opinion on each player and what the biggest myth about their perceived strengths/weaknesses are...  This post was not edited and is up for debate.

Big Brent:

• Strength: Length--Although never given credit for rim protection or shot blocking, Pun is known for his wingspan, which is equivalent to a 5'10" man.
• Weakness: Right Hand/Teammate--Pun is one of the few players in PCTI that can use both hands effectively in game situations.  Additionally, it's worth noting that the Pun Daddy is never talked about as a top PCTI teammate (one of the most overused terms to describe PCTI players), despite the fact that he plays ball to the wall every second of every game, sets screens, distributes the ball, plays tough D, is relentless on the boards, and is always in help D... But I guess his rep as a Brat outweighs everything else he does.  

Ben Wilson:

• Strength: 3PT Shooting--32% for his career, but as with anyone that shoots from a step behind the line, everyone thinks he's better than he is.
• Weakness: Headcase--Although he definitely is, he offsets it with his uncanny ability to hit big shots in key situations.

Sabin:

• Strength: Defense--Although a quality defender with great awareness, he's been riding his reputation from PCTI2 as a superior defender... God I hope that Sabin comes back.
• Weakness: Winning Qualities--Sabin is the consummate teammate in every possible way and has been one of the most effective players in PCTI's history.

Hops: 

• Strength: There are no misconceptions about Hops strengths, he is exactly who is billed to be.
• Weakness: Rebounding--Although not a perceived weakness, Hops does not get applauded for his work on the glass.  The 4.62 career RPG won't necessarily blow you away, but if you watch the rebounds he gets you will realize the level of difficulty, timing and instincts each requires.

Smo:

• Strength: Rebounding--All big guys get a rep as a rebounder, but this just ain't Smo's top priority when he's taking care of business on the court.
• Weakness: Love for the Game--It's no secret Smo hates the game, and all of his actions back that up... Except the way he plays on the court.  He's always in great position, communicating, setting screens, setting up teammates, etc.  He brings it everytime he steps on the court, which is almost never.

Actor:

• Strength: Defense--His one man press is that of legend and has helped him lead PCTI in career steals, but his tendency to zone out and play freelance D can confuse teammates and lead to breakdowns.
• Weakness: Selfish--Because Act has the tendency to launch deep 3's or try to get himself going, he is an overall selfless teammate that is constantly trying to set his teammates up and do what it takes to help the team win.

Abe:

• Strength: Effort--Look, the guy plays hard and you can't debate his rep as the top player in PCTI, but this is one of PCTI's biggest myths... However, he frequently coasts on D, can stand around in the corner on O while he catches his breath, and refuses to use a screen.  
• Weakness: Passing--Abe is one of the best passers in PCTI.. He is 2nd in career assists despite handling the ball a very small amount.

Spotlight:

• Strength: Rebounding--I give up... Much better last year, but career average of 2.7 rpg no longer constitutes as a strength... That said, he's not afraid to mix it up and always gets a body on someone.
• Weakness: One Dimensional Offense--Spot is known as just a catch and shoot guy offensively, but he's much more... He's one of the best attackers in PCTI, a guy that efficiently gets in the lane and can hit you with a quick pull up, kick out, or drop in pass to set things up for his teammates.  

Michael Business:

• Strength: 3pt. Shooting--Although very capable, Beas's yearly outbursts occasionally mask his 28.8% shooting from the field.
• Weakness: Beas is known as one of the most complete players and is pretty much off limits for any sort of negativity, so there are absolutely no misconceptions about his game.

Don:

• Strength: Rebounding--It's easy to get caught up in watching Donley's fit, athletic frame fly all over the court causing chaos and assume he's a great rebounder.  5.19 rebounds/game is nothing to look the other way at, but it's not quite a strength at this point.
• Weakness: Offense--Not quite as much a weakness as it is just something he doesn't get enough credit for, but Donley has the best arsenal of low posts moves in PCTI.  He can spin either way, has a nice up and under, quick right hook, fadeaway, and quick spin that is not utilized nearly enough.

Rainbow: 

• Strength: Defense--As with all high effort, rangy steals getters, Rainbow has garnered a rep for D.  Although solid on the defensive end, his steal first mentality can leave him susceptible to losing his man, which can lead to occasional breakdowns.
• Weakness: Scoring--As with Donley, this isn't as much a known weakness as it just not a known strength... Yet.  Rain is a deadly shooter with deep range that does not require a lot of shots to fill up the stat sheet.  

Stickman:

• Strength: Rebounding--If it's just straight up and down, the Stick is getting every rebound... But with outbursts of 17, 12, 11, and 13 rebounds in a game, the 6.26 career shows the potential for more is definitely there.
• Weakness: Conditioning--This is overblown.  First off, Stick is like every other physical big man, he gets tired quicker than guards.  That's normal for anyone that has to run from one end of the court to another and constantly throws his body around.  If you notice, he's notorious for taking himself out too quickly, only to find him requesting to come back in a minute later with his infamous "Anyone Need One" call.

Dan:

• Strengths: Shooting--Although not considered a strength, many have said I'm an underrated shooter.  Despite shooting 50% from 3 last year, it only got my shooting up to 35% from the field and 33% from 3. I'm a horrible shooter.
• Weakness: Brattiness--Off the court, it's very clear I'm borderline unbearable for the rest of the group, but for the most part I keep my cool on the court.

TP:

• Strengths: Strength--There's no question he looks the part and probably is a complete beast, but he's more of a finesse player on the court, and his work on the glass is more instinct and position based than it is trying to throw people around like his frame would suggest.
• Weakness: Scoring--Wilson went on record stating he wasn't going to set the world on fire offensively (and he didn't) however you can see that he has incredibly savvy offensive instincts and puts himself in position to score frequently.  I could see him being 9-11 a game moving forward, which would put him in PCTI's upper echelon both scoring and rebounding.

This pic makes me happy.

PCTI8 Draft Special

Introducing Andy "Smooth" Cibotti

As mentioned subtly in my most previous post, PCTI will be adding a new member going into 8.  We have discussed in the past the need to continue bolstering our roster with "can't miss" prospects in an effort to set us up for success in the future (and prep for the upcoming boot going into Smo Orr), and with the draft set for 18 days from today, now is the perfect time to introduce and put the Spotlight (now a Proper noun) on the man they call "Smooth."

First, let's address the elephant in the room... Does he have a silver tongue?  Absolutely.  But the nickname does not come from that and is simply a coincidence.  

Background:

• High School: Bishop Moore High School.
• Hometown: Orlando, FL.
• College: Central Florida.
• Current City: Dallas, TX.
• Occupation: Catheter Sales.
• NBA Team: Orlando Magic.

Player Profile:

• Height: 5'6".
• Weight: 165.
• Age: 27.
• Position: 1 or 2.
• Hand: Right.
• Player Comparison: Isiah Thomas.
• Go-To Moves: Cross-Over 3, Momentum Shifting Reverse Layup.
• Strengths: Pure shooter with deep range... Tight handle with good vision and passing skills. Shares the ball.  Ultra confident.  Unafraid to mix it up in the paint.  Good finisher.  Loves the game.  Played against top competition in high school.  Boxes out and strong, squatty frame enables him to compete on the glass.  Works hard defensively.  Always has his feet set and can get his shot off quickly.  Uses his body well around the basket.
• Weaknesses: Confidence can be a blessing and a curse.  Lack of self doubt can be troubling if he goes cold.  Susceptible to go into takeover mode and alienate teammates if anyone targets him with trash talk.  Although a ball sharer, will occasionally pound the ball. Can be targeted in the post.  Will not blow you away with lateral quickness or speed.
• Off Court: Go with the flow guy who's even keel personality will offset his roommate and close friend Rainbow's unstable, fly off the handle approach nicely.  Drink off choice is Vodka Water, or anything that goes down Smoothly.  Ladies man.  Similar to his predecessors, his PCTI fandom and love for the game earned him an invite to 8.  Abides by the term "Ball is Life."  
• Overall: Smooth's value coming into his first PCTI will be unique.  As with most rookie's, you have to wonder if he will be prepared for the pace of game and transition period getting to know his teammates and the players on the opposing team.  Has watched a lot of PCTI film which should help, but nothing outweighs experience.  Expect him to be picked in the final 3-4 range, but his ability to shoot 50% from 3, and potential to go for 15 in a game puts him as a high risk, high reward value pick in the later rounds.

Please join me in welcoming Smooth to the PCTI family.  

PCTI8 News and Notes 2017

Happy New Year!!! As we all know, the turn of the new year most importantly kicks off PCTI prep for the upcoming season... Didn't want to waste any time in addressing some rumors, putting out some reminders, and getting the conversations started.

Call Outs:

• Draft Date: Monday, January 23rd @ 7:30 pm CST.  
• A calendar invite has been sent, plan on being on Gmail at that time.
• Captains: Ben (picking 1) and Dan (picking 2/3).
• Snake style the entire draft.
• PCTI 8 Weekend: July 5-9 in San Diego, CA.
• Roster: 16 players, 8 per team.
• Join me in not welcoming back Smo Orr.
• Adding one from Dallas, profile to follow. 
• Game-Play: 
• Series will remain best of 7.
• Games will go to two 25 minute halves to accommodate the increase in roster slots.

Rumors, Whispers, Storylines:

• Will Wilson and Stephens joining forces lead to a repeat of Portland?  
• What does the Guard Big Board look like with Spot and Hops coming off great performances, Beas proving he is PCTI's ultimate gamer, Rainbow's potential in year 2, Act off his worst performance, and Sabin off another loss?
• How will PCTI react to an outsider and sharpshooter with the nickname "Smooth" being added without warning?
• Will Bruise build off his performance and finally make this the year he plays in the offseason?

Looking forward to the buzz getting going... Let's build on the insane amount of momentum generated from Cincy.

Best Games of S7VEN

I have been itching to get the blog fired back up and finally took the time to make a post. I decided I wanted to go back and look at the stats from last year and determined who had the best game for each of the six games. I think at some point I will go back and see if I can pick the all time best performances from the history. 

Here is a breakdown of each of the games best player and runner up of PCTI7.

Game 1:

Dann

Coming out of the gate hot, this new look Daniel gave the Snipers fits. Going 7-10 from three, led his team with 23 points. He also added 4 boards, 3 of which were offensive, 3 assists, and 3 steals. One of the best games in PCTI history, but as all know this is a team sport and the Brats really let him down and lost a close game by 4. I played horribly so I’ll take the L.

Runner up, Abe

A great game by multiple people on the Snipers. Sabin had 14; JT had 12 points, 7 boards, and 5 assists; but Abe scoring 15 points, 11 boards, while also adding a block and 2 steals helped lead his team to victory.

Game 2:

Dan

DK came out firing again! 18 points with 5 assists, going 4 for 6 from 3 helped his team tie up the series. Everyone was wondering after day 1 if this shooting performance would continue all weekend or if this was some weird anomaly. All of this happened while he also had to chase Abe around on D. This was one of the best back-to-back games anyone has played in PCTI history!

Runner up, Ben

A great game by Ben was completely overshadowed by Fruit Man’s fast start. 15 points, 5 assists, and 4 rebounds is a great game, but add in 0 TO’s for Ben and there was no way his team was losing. Brats run away with this one.

Game 3:

Abe

Maybe it was that Dani finally got tire, but Abe had a monster game 3. Any time someone puts up a double double in PCTI it is a great game. 17 points on 12 shots, 3 assists (even though he had 4 TOs), added a steal, but he ripped down 13 boards. 3 rebounds were o-boards. Abe secured his team would not be down going into Saturday with this great performance.

Runner up, Spot

Spot had a good shooting performance in game 3 with 3-5 from 3 and getting 13 points. He also had 4 rebounds and 2 assists. A good team performance defensively as Donley, JT, and Sabin all had 3 steals. Snipers take the lead back.

Game 4:

Ben

Benji runs away with this one scoring 26 of his team’s 58 points. He also helped TP dominate the glass by adding 7 rebounds. This was also the highest SPERM count of the weekend with 45. Also, had a steal and a couple of assists and helped tie up the tournament heading into Saturday.

Runner up, Abe

After losing Wes in Game 3, the Snipers decided they needed to come out and have a balanced attack. JT and Bruise took 7 shots each, Abe, Spot, and Sabin took 8 each, and Donley took 9 shots. Unfortunately, they all were off that game, except Abe. You can look at the box score and tell people were wearing down. Abe ended up with 12 points and 8 rebounds. 8 of his team’s 24 *eye emoji*. Add in 4 assists (5 TO’s whoops) and this could have been a lot uglier without this performance.

Game 5:

TP

I was so pumped after this performance! 13 points, 15 rebounds, 5 of which were offensive, on day 3 is just an incredible performance! He goes 6 for 9 from the field, has 2 assists to 1 TO, goes ahead and throws in 2 blocks and 1 steal for the game. I remember immediately thinking that he was the reason we won and probably saved the tournament for us.

Runner up, Spot

A lot of solid performances this game as Donley had 12 and 7, Bruise 10 and 6, Abe had 9 and 9, BC had 15 points, and Rainbow had 3 points but 5 rebs, 2 assists, and 4 steals. Spotlight had what I considered the 2^nd best game by scoring 14 points (4 of 8 from three) and 8 assists. That is a lot of points contributing on. Of course, most people will remember this as the game Snipers thought they should have won as they feel the refs missed a walk by Osama Bin Wilson and a loose ball foul with 2 seconds to go. Donley did such a good job acting on that foul, JT$ings flew in and had him featured in a video!

Game 6:

Beas

Another classic game as the Brats clinched the PCTI Championship with a 1 point victory. I have watched the ending millions of three times and still have no idea how Ben made that pass and am very impressed with the shot BC across his body floating the wrong way. Instant classic. I crown Beas the best performer of this game because not only did he have good numbers, but he was the energy our team needed. He struggled from the field, but ended up with 11 points, 5 rebounds, 4 of which were offensive, and six assists. Just an overall solid performance by overall solid guy and one of my best friends.

Runner up, JT$

Another hard choice as many people had solid games. I had 13 and 4, BC had 13 and 5, Abe had 10 and 8, Bruise had 10 and 6, and Sabin led all scorers with 14. $ingz struggled most the weekend, but he showed up for game 6. He scored 11 points, snagged 4 boards, and threw in 5 assists with a block.

I hope this fires back up the blog as we all start slowing down for the holidays. I’m excited to go back and watch the games over the break and hopefully will get to hoop with some of you. 

Hay Dann

Hey everybody, long time no see.  I know we're right in the middle of the calm before next PCTI's storm, but I thought I'd hop on the blog just to see what was poppin'.  After taking the world by storm and deciding (really this time) to give it one more go round as a captain, it's been eerily quiet.  I know it probably wasn't the most exciting development, and that perhaps a more interesting route would have been handing over the Roman Reigns to someone else...but the minute you all voted my archenemy as MVP, you dug your own graves.  I blame you all for my decision, yet I relish the opportunity to shut up the loudest mouth in this thing since Pitto's blowhole got canned.

I was hoping to talk to you guys next on a different medium...Brent and I have been trying for weeks to get Dan to hop on a pod with us to get the juices flowing back in PCTI.  The boy has simply been a ghost and could never find the time in his busy schedule to do it, so here we are.

While rumors continue to swirl about dates, rosters, and things of that nature boy, Dann and I's next order of business is to determine our draft positions.  Seeing as that the format seems to change every year and I have no idea how many people are going to be playing in PCTI8, it's hard to say how the actual top-to-bottom draft order will look.  I suppose I'll sit down with the Bored and hopefully, finally, get some clarification on this.  I've fought through it my last three drafts, and will again...but nailing down the process will help future captains, and everyone knows I'm all about helping my brethren.

Based off what I think the draft format is, it looks like this year I will take the first pick.  After deferring last year because I wanted to try and be nice and ease Sabes back in PCTI after a few years away, I feel no such sympathy towards Dann.  I know Dann thinks he has some team management skills after watching his boy Hinkie do his thing (lol), but he won't be able to trust the process while dealing with the urgency that comes with winning a PCTI series.  I will find pleasure in once again dictating a draft and watching it unfold exactly how I want it to...only making it sweeter is that Dann will be on the other end of it this time.

So there you have it.  Predictable, yes...but nonetheless, NEWS.  Just remember:  As you slide down the bannister of success, watch out for protruding splinters.

HAGS,
BenWilson