A Texas -sized pickup game

A Texas sized pickup game

Recently Dan the Man made a business trip to Dallas to promote his company’s services. Of course, one can make the argument that he really came to Dallas to play in his old pickup game and that his sales calls were just a side effect of his true motive to get his hoop on. As a bonus, BC made the trip to Dallas from Austin to see his old pal Krow and also to show Sabin some of his deadly pickup craft. I was glad to have both of these fine fellows as part of one of the truly outstanding and mediocre pickup games in the country. The following summarizes each player’s performance in the recent pickup game as we inch closer to go time in Scottsdale.

1)     Dan was nothing short of terrific. Maybe it was the fact that he felt comfortable playing with his old friends in Plano or maybe it was the fact that the pickup game was specifically organized on his behalf. But whatever the case, Dan was deadly in the midrange, handled and passed with precision, defended with competence and enthusiasm, and displayed the kind of conditioning that is normally reserved for Scott Donley. He also led his team to 6 consecutive victories to open the session. If I were to extrapolate his pickup performance with a PCTI performance, it would project to something like 8.5ppg, 5.5rpg, 4.0apg, and 2.0spg with solid defense and leadership. He was the best player on his team which included a couple of flat-out ballplayers. Yet, I’m not alone in thinking that Dan has pulled this trick before where he dominates pickup games in which PCTI members participate, but then leaves something on the table in his PCTI performances. As for the author, I think this is the year that Dan converts “pickup Danny” into “PCTI Danny”. An all-tournament berth could be in his future if he can make the conversion.

2)     Like some of his recent PCTI performances, BC produced a bit of an uneven performance in the pickup session as he had moments where he tantalized with tremendous basketball ability and other moments where he looked uncomfortable. This is understandable as he travelled 4 hours for the pickup session and played the same day, but also that he was guarded by a 6’8” Kirilenkoesque defender for much of the session. That notwithstanding, he showed the ability to knock down the 3 ball and midrange jumper, increasing his legend as PCTI’s original stretch 4. He also displayed excellent conditioning as he played something like 9 or 10 pickup games in succession. My favorite moment though was BC leading his fellow Tennessee natives in a stretching session after the games had concluded. This must be why he is so flexible.

3)     As for me, I did not produce my best basketball until the session had nearly concluded. Since Dan and BC were in town, I really wanted to show well and was probably pressing the first few games. I was also playing with 4 other guys who were not versed in the time-tested fundamentals of basketball success like shooting, passing, dribbling, and defending. So that certainly did not help my cause on an individual level nor did it help our collective team cause. But about 7 games in, I finally did some things to help my squad be more competitive like shooting and creating with some efficiency. Although Dan and BC’s team owned the night, I felt like my conditioning was sufficient to be able to help my team for a full 7 game PCTI series.

True story: As with almost every pickup session, we were in need of hydration after the pickup session. I told the fellas I would grab us some Gatorades from the local convenience store. BC was extremely accommodating, saying “Any flavor will do.” That was something I appreciated since I like simplicity. However, Dan the Man made the awkward request “I’ll take a Coconut Water instead of a Gatorade”, seemingly oblivious to the fact that said beverage is a novelty item and not sold at most outlets. After channeling my inner Indiana Jones and searching for this extremely rare artifact for something like 6 or 7 minutes, I gave up and purchased him a Gatorade like that of me and BC. As I presented these two with their hydration, BC was pleased with the selection while DK seemed disappointed that I could not produce the desired outcome.

Moral of the Story: If you’re rollin’ with DK to hoop, bring some coconut water with you.