PMT DB
PMT DB
Mark Titus Joins Barstool, College Basketball Preview, and Lamar Jackson Fan Fiction
Big Cat and PFT Commenter are running a lean studio with Jake and Billy down in the DMV, which naturally leads to some of the most unhinged speculation of the off-season. With franchise tag season officially open, PFT has been cooking up some erotic fan fiction regarding Lamar Jackson and the Washington Commanders.
PFT is convinced there is a conspiracy brewing in DC involving Eric Bieniemy and a massive middle finger from Dan Snyder to the rest of the league. He posits that Bieniemy didn't leave Patrick Mahomes just to coach Sam Howell, but because he was promised a certain former MVP would be under center.
PFT CommenterEric Bieniemy only joined the Commanders because he was promised they are getting Lamar Jackson
There might be a little deal behind the scenes with Ron Rivera telling Bieniemy 'Lamar gets franchise tag... if it's not exclusive, oh, we're gonna get Lamar now.' Why would he go to Washington, DC... to go to a starting quarterback, Sam Howell, who started precisely one game?
To make matters more chaotic, PFT suggests that Dan Snyder’s final act as owner will be a suicide vest move designed to ruin the market for every other billionaire in the NFL. By giving Lamar a fully guaranteed bag, Snyder gets to play the hero to the fans while sticking it to the owners who have been trying to oust him for years.
PFT CommenterDan Snyder will sign Lamar Jackson to a fully guaranteed contract just to spite the other NFL owners
Dan Snyder, out of spite just to fuck over the next owner would love nothing more than to give those two first round picks away and on top of that, throwing a shitload of guaranteed money in a contract extension for Lamar Jackson... it would be a fuck you to those [other owners] that don't want these guaranteed contracts.
Big Cat, while supportive of the chaos, is more concerned with Lamar's lack of representation. It’s one thing to want the Deshaun Watson deal, it’s another to try to navigate those waters without a professional in your corner.
Big CatLamar Jackson is losing out on major opportunities by not having an agent
It is crazy Lamar Jackson doesn't have an agent. I know like you can, I'm all for player empowerment, but I feel like he is probably losing out on opportunities without an agent. And what team wa—he has no idea what team wants 'em.
The Titus Era Begins
The biggest news of the day is the official arrival of Mark Titus to Barstool Sports. After years of flirting and big steak dinners, the king of college basketball media is officially a colleague and moving to Chicago. Mark Titus sat down to break down the current landscape of a college basketball season where it feels like nobody is actually good.
While the guys are already planning to make Mark Titus teach PFT how to get a "wet" jump shot in the new Chicago office, the conversation turned to the actual contenders. Mark Titus has a specific taxonomy for tournament teams, distinguishing between those that are just annoying to play and those that could actually wreck your bracket.
Mark TitusA 'tough out' in the tournament is a team that plays slow defense, while a 'dangerous' team is underperforming talent
St Mary's to me is the perfect tough out. ...I think a dangerous team is the team that has all the talent in the world but hasn't quite put it fully like an Illinois comes to mind as a dangerous team. ...You don't know what to expect.
One team that doesn't fit the traditional mold is Purdue. Despite having a 7'4" monster in Zach Edey, Mark Titus is skeptical that the Boilermakers have the actual DNA of a champion, citing their reliance on freshman guards and a coach who has yet to break through to the Saturday of the final weekend.
Mark TitusPurdue checks 'zero boxes' of a traditional national champion
Purdue checks zero of them. I would say there are zero boxes that Purdue checks... you actually can win with two freshman guards and a coach that's never been to a Final Four, even though he's been coaching for 30 years and a big dude that's 7'4".
Contenders and Long Shots
As we approach March, the usual suspects like Houston are looming large. Mark Titus sees the Cougars as the heir apparent to the "highly efficient but questionable schedule" throne previously occupied by Mark Few’s squads.
Mark TitusHouston is 'the new Gonzaga' of college basketball
Houston as a program is sort of like the new Gonzaga where they have gotten over the hump... the way you look at a Houston team at this point in the season is the way you would look at a Gonzaga team where you're like, yes, they're beating the shit out of everyone... but I don't know about the schedule.
Big Cat is looking further down the board for some value, specifically eyeing John Calipari and Kentucky. Despite a rocky season that had fans calling for Cal’s head, the talent in that backcourt makes them a terrifying draw for a high seed in the first weekend.
Big CatKentucky is a dangerous long shot that could get hot in the tournament
I actually like Kentucky as like a long shot... something about Cal's guys. He's gone through it. He's legitimately on the hot seat... they have couple crazy guards that are like, we'll just be reckless. And I like, whenever I'm thinking of a long shot, I'm like, give me a couple guards that will just throw their body at the basket.
Before letting Mark Titus go to start his own new show on YouTube, they touched on the legacy of the three-point shot and how it has warped the game. Mark Titus even went as far as to suggest that the greatest shooter to ever live might just be a beneficiary of the era.
Mark TitusSteph Curry would be a Hall of Famer but not 'GOAT-level' without the three-point line
If his deep shots counted [as] two... I think he would be like a Hall of Famer, but not like an all-time goat level type writer. ...He's a gimmick.
Hot Seat/Cool Throne
Hot Seat/Cool Throne took a dark turn as the guys addressed the ongoing situation at Alabama. The response from Nate Oats regarding Brandon Miller’s involvement in a fatal shooting left Big Cat and Hank stunned. Big Cat pointed out the hypocrisy of college coaches who claim to be micromanagers until something goes wrong.
Big CatCollege coaches Micromanage every detail but suddenly 'don't know' when a crime occurs
Whenever there's a bad situation, [college coaches] are so quickly to pretend like they are ignorant to what their players are doing. ...To get to the level of being a division one big conference college coach in football or basketball, you have to be a psycho micromanager. Like down to every detail. And then a murder happens. You're like, 'well, I don't fucking know.'
Hank was equally baffled by the "wrong place, wrong time" defense used by the Alabama head coach, especially given the details of the text messages involved.
HankNate Oats' response to the Brandon Miller situation was 'wild' and inappropriate
Nate Oats his response to that said, 'we knew about that. Can't control everything everybody does outside of practice. Nobody knew that was going to happen. College kids are out. Brandon hasn't been in any type of trouble... Wrong spot at the wrong time.' ...It wasn't a coincidence.
On a lighter note, Max has officially locked in his future for the tournament. With Villanova being a disaster, Max is hitching his wagon to Mick Cronin and the Bruins.
MaxUCLA will win the 2023 NCAA Tournament
So I'm going with the UCLA Bruins. Mostly because Tiger Campbell and Jaime Jaquez are still on the teams. There's two guys that I know... And Mick Cronin, friend of the show.
If the Bruins don't pull it off, at least Max can go back to complaining about the 2006 NBA Dunk Contest being rigged.
Go subscribe to the Mark Titus Show on YouTube so the guys don't have to keep explaining what a Quad 1 win is.
