Biggest Winners and Losers of PCTI9

While it's fresh on my mind, I wanted to pop up a post....

Losers:

3: Shooting %'s: Whether it be the increased intensity on defense, pace of the game, or knowledge of each other's games, the shooting %'s will be back down to PCTI1 levels.

2: T/Re Pad: Although some huge plays from Juice down the stretch, a couple big 3's in key moments from Smooth, and a lot of noise from DTB's mouth, the Pad did not have their best showing.

1: Josh Pitto: The guy took a pounding in Project X interviews.

Winners:

5: Splitwise's PCTI Reputation: After a rough showing in PCTI8, Splitty's app has simplified the payment button, and now is a useful tool with a bright future in PCTI.

4: Rivalries: Somehow, the rivalries not only intensified, but new one's were added to the fold. Between Kyle accusing DTB of "using him," Smooth and Sticky's on and off court saga, and the Nerds vs. Cool Guys... PCTI rivalries are stronger than ever.

3: The Beast Monikor: Although Kyle did everything to showcase he's a beast, The Beast Carney's play on the court showed he was going to protect his nickname like his life depended on it.

2: Bearden/Father Ryan HS: The MVP and entire All-Tournament might be consumed by those two high schools.

1: PCTI: Somehow, it continues to get better... I've heard many say the best yet... Cincy and Arizona were the only two that could compete both on and off the court.  As the friendships continue to grow, and the newcomers continue to add such high value, the future is looking bright!

WE HERE

Some light pregame reading for you all. Got a solid 10 responses to my question. Nice work everyone.

TP:

100% the lake day

Editor's notes - No surprise there. This response came immediately after I posed the question. Not sure anyone is as excited for anything here as TP is for lake day.

DK:

Every year is something different... Whether it be the roster, the city, the games, etc... Tons of differences... However, the one consistent every year, and my favorite part by far is seeing the excitement from everyone everytime someone arrives.  I live for it.

100% agree with this sentiment. Always look forward to our 17 dudes rolling in and taking over local public establishments. 

Ahop:

I am most looking forward to Saturday right after I drain the game winning shot of game 7 and collapsing into your arms from exhaustion and joy! Seriously, I look forward most to spending quality time with everyone in PCTI. This is a brotherhood and whether it's a quick 5 minute convo with Deuce around the grill, a hour long chat with TP about poop and family, or hammered drunk convo with Joe, it is all special.

Smo:

The thing I am looking most forward to is the dinner and blowout that comes the night after all the games have been played.  Obv your boy isn't bringing much to the table on the court, but I really look forward to that night.  Everyone is so dead from all the basketball but manages to rally and brings so much energy that night, and I have no idea where it comes from.  There's always crazy stories the next day.  

Looking forward to seeing you lil bro

Saturday night gon' be LIT.

Sabes:

There could be nothing finer for me than to emerge from this particular PCTI as a winning captain at the conclusion of game 7. To give a warm embrace to my teammates, and to give a consoling handshake to our opponents is all I can ask for.

Two of my favorite quotes may say this better than I ever could:

1) Vince Lombardi - “I firmly believe that any man’s finest hour, the greatest fulfillment of all he holds dear, is that moment when he has worked his heart out in a good cause and lies exhausted on the field of battle - victorious.”

2) Conan the Barbarian, when asked what is best in life? “To crush your enemies - See them driven before you, and to hear the lamentation of their women.”

Act:

I'm most looking forward to hanging out in the middle of the day on that Friday. That's when everyone is comfortable again and it creates the best atmosphere for guys to feel and act like their best.

Spot:

I’m most excited for all the hugs and to get drunk and Deuce and to not be hurt and you Josh.

Juice:

Sorry for lagging it! This question was so hard, but good, because it’s hard to narrow it down:

Right side of my brain- the hoops. 

Left side of the brain for sure- “The arrival evening”. My favorite part is when guys start trickling in and catching up because it sets the tone for a great weekend. Walking up to cinnci house with a giant crane tractor in the front yard. We get to shop for necessities for the weekend (spotlight bought only candy in Cincinnati) and somehow we never buy enough beer or water. Deuce brings out the camera to work on it and I think that makes everyone excited cause it’s finally here. In San Diego driving in with Smo cruising in the van and calling out every ghetto thing he saw as we approached the Air BNB. Smooth going straight to bed and setting dan off on a tangent. Every year at “the arrival  evening” some small random details stick in my brain for whatever reason and I know that will continue to happen and that’s what I get most excited for. 

Bruiser

Duuuuuude. My bad on the EXTREMELY late response. I thought I had already sent an answer and just saw I haven't. 

The thing I always look forward to most is just seeing all the guys and hanging out. There's always such a comradery at PCTI and I love it. Everyone gets along for the most part and you usually end up hanging out more with someone else than you did the year before. I also love playing ball where everyone gives a shit and not one plays "me" ball for the most part. Can't wait to crack some brews with all the fellas again. Even you pumpkin. 

BC:

The one thing I'm most looking forward to is the quality of the hoops. 

This is far and away the lamest answer possible and I wish I had a way to dress it up. But truth is, every PCTI - even with the off-court stuff seeming to get better every year - it's always a huge boost to get in the games and remember what it's like to actually enjoy playing. Those of us who live where we don't have steady games with non-sucky players forget what it's like to share the court with high quality, conscientious players.

Trained Killers in 6. Suck it

Wednesday Plans courtesy of Brent Carney

Man oh man, it's here!

As promised in a previous post, ol Pun Daddy-Oh has got us covered for tomorrow night's plans.

If everyone arrives on time all parties should be on the ground by 5 pm. Once we're organized at the crib, here's what I'm thinking. My thought is that we keep it pretty close to our lodging on night one. There will be plenty of time to explore the city later in the week, if you so choose.

1. Surly - HEY DANNO IT'S A BREWERY! 10 minutes from the crib on our side of town.

This is MPLS's (MPLS is local slang for the city. I am here to educate you!) original brewery and enormous facility. It has a huge outdoor area that should be good for our group. Downstairs they have a restaurant and on the second floor they do pizza.

We'll see how the night goes but this might be our first and last stop.

https://surlybrewing.com/destination-brewery/

2. The Loring - 5 blocks from our place.

This is the backup plan if eating at Surly seems like not a good idea. Surly's food gets good reviews but if it's too crowded it might be hard to accommodate our group. If we start at Surly it won't be a big deal to relocate back to The Loring, since it's on the way back to our crib.

Menu http://www.loringbarrestaurant.com/wp-content/uploads/2018/06/loring-menu-1-18.pdf

Yelp https://www.yelp.com/biz/loring-bar-and-restaurant-minneapolis
* Yelp stars aren't great but they closed and re-opened recently. It comes recommended.

3. Kitty Cat Klub - one block from The Loring, 6 blocks from our place

For those of you/us brave enough to keep the night going before we've hit the floor, here's a spot. It looks really chill (I don't love that word but it's the most accurate adjective) and should match the Wednesday night vibe. Don't forget, we don't play until 12:30 on Thursday.

There's a few DJ's spinning Wednesday night but no cover charge.

https://www.kittycatklub.net/

Last order of business: Two days out and we're still searching for a solution to the scorekeeper/scoreboard operator. We've got a lot of calls out but everyone should be prepared that they'll have to take a shift or two at the scoreboard when they're out of the game. If you can think of any other solutions, let us know.

Packing Checklist

See below when packing.  Parentheses have either confirmed as bringing, or need to bring.

• Ball (Sabin and Juice).
• Noise Machine (Hops, Wilson, DTB).
• Air Matty (Orr).
• Sunscreen w/Zinc Oxide (Orr).
• First Aid Kit (Smooth).
• HDMI Chord (Deuce).
• Bob Cousy's (Beer Drinkers).
• Foam Roller (Sabin - Need more).
• Stem Machine (DTB).
• VooDoo Floss (TP).
• Pressure Point Stick (TP).
• Rolling Stick (TP).
• Freeze Sleeves (Juice and DTB).

Grocery Run (Target is half a mile away):

• Watermelon Water (plan on hooking everyone like I did coconut water years ago).
• Citrus.
• Perfect Bars.
• Laundry Detergent.
• Tequila.
• Wine.
• Vodka.

Packing - Jersey's

Knowing that this time next Saturday BC and I will be leading a crusade along Lake Minnetonka, it was easy to take tonight to do some administrative tasks... Like packing.

It's a good thing too, because I stumbled upon both Abe and Sticky's jersey's... Surprisingly, a thorough pack wasn't on Abe's mind after handing out the biggest beat down in history, nor was it Sticky's after his attempt to take down Andre The Giant's drinking record.  

In addition to that, TP didn't bring his jersey last year because he was under the impression we were getting new one's each year, and I'm not sure there's been a year (sans the first when it was brought for him) that Spotlight has remembered his.

Morale of this post... Bring your jersey... If you don't have one, PLEASE TELL ME... I have extra, but you will have to buy it for $68.  The alternative is to not buy it from me and just wear it this year (and I'll save for whichever future player we add), however you will have to buy a new personalized one next year.

Scoring Differential in Closeout Games

Quick post to call out the scoring differential in closeout games... Sans the Kitten Disgrace, the final game in the series typically is a tight one.

Looking forward to a good, hard fought series next week.

Details on Minnesota - Sponsored content by Splitwise "split expenses with friends!"

By this time next week, PCTI IX will be live from our nation's 32nd state, The Land of 10,000 Lakes, beautiful Minnesota.

[Eds note: I didn't realize that it was 10,000 lakes and not 1,000 lakes until I just googled it. That's a lot of lakes. Seems a bit excessive, honestly]

I figured now would be a good time to go over a few details about our upcoming trip that you may have not heard yet.

This is the first PCTI where we're playing at a host city that is site unseen. Granted, nobody lives in San Diego but Actor was able to organize from LA, which made it possible to scout out some things. Also, much overdue salute to Act for bringing last year together. As one of the guys who has helped put some things together this year, I'm reminded that it's not an easy job. Don't get me wrong, it's not that bad but it does take some planning.

So, what's the setup for this year? We're playing at a middle school in the suburbs of Minneapolis. As many of us have learned in the past, renting a basketball gym never seems to be as simple as you'd think. I blindly reached out to several AAU clubs in the area to explain our situation and inquire about gyms. One guy responded and he's proven to be (through email) a very helpful resource. His name is Willie Vang and although I've not met him in person - and might never - I may name my second child after him. But that's more because he has a cool name. Assuming everything next weekend comes together - and there's no reason besides general paranoia/nervousness to think that it won't - we all owe him dearly.

The one part of our usual PCTI setup that I've not been able to figure out is stat keeper/score keeper. Everyone I've talked to has told me there's no service available for stat keeping and one week out, I've yet to come up with a solution. I've talked with Willie about the idea of finding a few of his youth players to come do it for $15 a game but he's been non-committal. I'm hoping to get an answer from him on that by tomorrow. If it's a no from him I'm not above putting something on Facebook or Craigslist (CREEPY!) if need be. If any of you have friend/family connections in Minnesota and can reach out, please let me know. Obviously, the bare minimum is to have someone who can keep the clock and chart fouls. Next step up would be a second person willing to track basic stats. It would be a good job for a young kid, again if anyone has family or friends to tap in to. If worse comes to worse, we're going to have to tap in to the three man benches and have someone sitting out work the clock. Or, the first person that gets injured will have something to do!

We have high school referees booked and I have put Sabin in charge of giving them a good briefing about what we expect. I believe Sabin is also planning to give them a rule sheet. The hope is if we address some of the past issues (refs getting too comfortable as we all get comfortable) from the start we'll see an improvement.

The last detail on the on-court stuff is that we have to move back the first two games on Thursday. The new start time is 12:30, 1:30. There's summer school at Chippewa Middle before that. (Seriously, if your kid is going to summer school in middle school, that cannot be good, right?) Trust me, I know that there's few things more excruciating than waiting around for that first game but somehow 10 am got lost in translation when booking the gym. My tip: DO NOT take Dan up on his offer to go to breakfast at 6 am.

As for the off court stuff, here's what I can think of.

This is the first PCTI where we won't have anyone drive to the location, so we've had to rent a second van. Your boy The Beast has a MINIVAN in his name ready at the airport. Smo will continue to captain the 12 passenger.

Housing should be interesting. A group of us looked at several rental spots and settled on the one that we thought looked the most open/cool and had a good price. It gets great reviews and says it sleeps 16+ so we should be in good shape. With that said, I do expect it's going to be fairly tight for 17 dudes. There's nine beds and considering Smooth will have the big bed packed out with UofM co-eds, there's gonna have to be plenty of sharing everywhere else. Here's a link in case you want to review https://www.airbnb.com/rooms/8876337?bev_ref=&eal_exp=1533195228&eal_sig=ee55e1587e37f318b894b2e63d032e32bbc02541161adf946a5e6e55c05f91b7&eal_uid=0&euid=e2084bed-eaec-ce16-88e0-0919d364d873&photo=&s=&user_id=

The house itself is in "Dinktown" which is the community around the University of Minnesota. From all I've gathered, it's less than 10 minutes from downtown and should have some eating and drinking options nearby. To state the obvious, it's the middle of the summer, so it probably won't be as lively as usual...make of that what you will.

The only other unplanned variable right now is Wednesday night. By taking a quick look at the stick and tapping in to what I can remember from years past, I think everyone will be in town earlier this year than ever before. Due to that, your boy The Beast is gonna get to planning a dinner and drinks setup for Wednesday night. I haven't done it yet as I'm trying to give myself one PCTI-related task per day in order to have a reason to get out of bed each day (today's is this.) You can count on it being good and probably better than anything on Dan's current stick, sans Saturday on the lake which is gonna be lit.

Speaking of which, if you haven't already e-signed the waiver for the boat on Saturday, dig back through your email and get that done. Now's not the time to be prideful, if you deleted the email suck it up and ask Dan The Man to send it to you again.

Last couple things is to look ahead to next year, since it's the ANNIVERSARY EDITION of PCTI. Several of us are already working behind the scenes on a special project to roll out at PCTI 10. At some point, we'll need some help from each of you. We might ask a a favor or two while we're together this year. If we do, please help out and trust us. Also, if you have an idea for where we should go in 2019, be ready to pitch it this week. Personally, I think it's time we finally take Smo up on Chattanooga. Now that he's heading back to Tennessee I think it's destiny. But that's just me.

That's it for me. As always, pack your extra shoe laces and don't eat any cookies that Smo gives you.

Sincerely,

That dude they call The Beast