Wednesday, November 3, 2021

PCTI OFFSZN HAPPENINGS

 Here is the link if you missed Part I – recapping XI

PART II – LOOKING TO THE OFFSEASON

This offseason has more hype and momentum than most PCTI’s with some questions that will hopefully keep us going until next year. Usually there are a couple things that trickle in that may give a quick shot of life into PCTI but quickly fades away. This year I am hoping that we can keep the chatter up throughout most of the offseason. To help this I wanted to dive into the things that will be happening the offseason!

  • Videos (Oct 21, 2021) – Deuce was on it this year! Usually it is a pretty quick turnaround but this year seemed to be quicker than years past so thanks to Deuce for that! Now the question is how do we help this connect us this offseason? Maybe @foodtraveltoilets has a twitch we could tune in to and watch collectively (not sure if that is how twitch works)? Maybe like a book club and we assign a game to watch certain week or days and can create some chatter in the chat. Either way I always enjoy watching the vids randomly throughout the year. 
  • Stats (Oct 22, 2021) – Sabin joined Deuce and gave us stats at warp speed! Sabin has sent me an advance copy and let me tell you something, we are all great defenders because shooting percentages continue to be sub 40% (Kyle doesn’t count). I will let Sabin send out the final copy when it is ready BUT I have started updating and all time spreadsheet that I hope everyone will enjoy. TBD on the release date of all time stats. 
  • All Tourney Awards (Nov 17, 2021) – Usually we do this pretty quickly after the stats and videos come out. I’m going to give it a few weeks and let everyone soak in the vids and stats before I compile the votes. We are going to stick with the same as last year with MVP, DPOY, and 3 AT. More on awards later in the post… 
  • Rosters (TBD) – With Ben bowing out this year (thanks for the whole 10 days heads up!), he cracked the door for CUM to rejoin PCTI and he kicked the door in! Assuming BTW wants to come back, now we are in a weird spot that we aren’t going to kick someone out but have an odd number of people (thank god Smooth only turned his ankle and didn’t actually break it because we know how DK handles people with broken legs). So unless someone retires, we have 2 suggestions: one suggestion that I personally do not like is to have one team with 9 and the other with 8 but if someone gets hurt, one player goes to that team. Another was to add another person and get to 18. This makes the most sense to keep the balance correct but also because 7 games is tough and this could help prevent some injuries. The downside is playing time for some might be limited. Also, we already struggle to find enough sleeping spots for everyone and will make it that much more difficult. 
  • Adding another player (TBD 2022) – IF we decide to move to 18 players, adding another player always energized the offseason chatter. Also, who is a good fit for this? The additions in the past have been great so far that I don’t doubt the next one would be awesome! 
  • Draft (LIVE?!? – Feb 19, 2022) – Drafts have come in various forms over the years. I think we have had one via email, the blog, google hangouts, podcast/calls, and also LIVE IN PERSON! This has only happened twice before: Palo Alto, CA on October 27, 2012 and Franklin, TN on October 27, 2018. The first came on Stanford’s campus (clips 1 & clips 2) and the second one at the Beasley Campus. Both were a blast and included some good hoops in the morning. This year it seems that we are going to be trying to get some 3 on 3 runs going and I think I may announce awards that weekend (TBD). Either way a live draft always seems to end in a drunken mess. I cannot wait! 
  • Location and Dates for XII (TBD) – Before COVID, we were locked in for Seattle. With uncertainty still hanging over us as we tried to plan how to get back, Dan said just get to Dallas and he would hook it up. Of course Dan did absolutely nothing while Sabin and Juice did all of the planning. At least he delivered on his promise of SatNite meet up with a cool group of gals! Anyways, I thought that Seattle was locked in to be the host of the 12th running of PCTI but in a shocking twist, Donley will be moving away from Seattle. He says this will not affect his planning and I tend to agree and think Seattle would be great but it seems like this is not set in stone. Will we have an official pitch of another site?
I’m pumped for all of these things to take place but one thing I am always pumped for is the random hangouts from people within PCTI throughout the year. Whether it’s lifelong friends getting together or friendships created in PCTI, there are always trips, hangs, and nights out random places throughout the year. Hope to see you all at some point this off season. PCTI seems to be in a great spot and this offseason will continue to shape the future of PCTI!!