Wonder if any of our guys ever watched Pete on video?
I would think they at least know of his name and legacy.
I had a subscription to "Sports Illustrated" during his years and I know he was on the cover more than once. I still have all those magazines stored away somewhere.
Career highlights and awards
5× NBA All-Star (1973–1974, 1977–1979)
2× All-NBA First Team (1976–1977)
2× All-NBA Second Team (1973, 1978)
NBA All-Rookie First Team (1971)
Naismith College Player of the Year (1970)
Helms Foundation Player of the Year (1970)
UPI Player of the Year (1970)
Sporting News Player of the Year (1970)
2× USBWA Player of the Year (1969–1970)
AP College Player of the Year (1970)
3× SEC Player of the Year (1968–1970)
3× Consensus NCAA All-American First Team (1968–1970)
NBA's 50th Anniversary All-Time Team
#7 Retired by the New Orleans Hornets and the Utah Jazz
On January 5, 1988, Pete Maravich collapsed and died at age 40 of heart failure[19] while playing in a pickup basketball game in the gym at a church in Pasadena, California, with a group that included James Dobson of Focus on the Family fame. Maravich had flown out from his home in Louisiana to tape a segment for Dobson's radio show that aired later that day. Dobson has said that Maravich's last words, less than a minute before he died, were "I feel great." An autopsy revealed the cause of death to be a rare congenital defect; he had been born with a missing left coronary artery, a vessel which supplies blood to the muscle fibers of the heart. His right coronary artery was grossly enlarged and had been compensating for the defect.[20]
Maravich is buried at Resthaven Gardens of Memory and Mausoleum in Baton Rouge, Louisiana.
Not named Earvin Johnson maybe. His dad was the coach at LSU back then and gave him free reign to shoot whenever and from wherever without much regard for the success of the team which was mediocre at best. A typical LSU / Kentucky game back then Pete would score 50 and Kentucky would win by 40. He is simply the most flashy bball player ever that never won a thing.
Remember seeing him play horse back when NBA games of the week had a series of those games at halftime (I think they did a one on one series as well). Anyway, he smoked Abdul-Jabbar and finished by spinning the ball on his finger, walking away from the basket, and punched the ball blind and over his shoulder into the basket. Great athlete. Tremendous showman. Not a team player. Give me Magic or Big O. But never dull.
__________________
I am the guy who in April of 2005 said on the GC boards that Walsh and Roberson leaving was a good thing for our team and that we would win it all in 2007.....I was called an idiot then too!
I think the Wikipedia article said an LSU coach went back and plotted all Pete's shots and determined he would have hit something like 13 3s a game.
The POY thread had me looking up stuff about him. The YouTube on his top 10 is incredible. Just watched it this evening at a friend's house. One of the guys saw Pete's passes without looking and decided his vision must have been 360 degrees.
__________________
"A witty saying proves nothing." -- Voltaire
I pretty much did something from this video everyday from the age 11 through 17.....get you some nice handles
__________________
I am the guy who in April of 2005 said on the GC boards that Walsh and Roberson leaving was a good thing for our team and that we would win it all in 2007.....I was called an idiot then too!
Too bad he quit the year Boston ended up winning their first championship with Bird. I would like to have seen him get a ring.
Great player IMO - one of the greatest. Unfortunately for him, championships are won by teams.
I remember seeing him on tv a couple of times when he was in college and the adults who were watching called him "a gun" in disdain. I didn't really know any better (or worse?) at the time. But now, I think it was probably more that all the shooting he did in college was the best thing for the team he was on, which I don't think was otherwise talented enough to compete with teams like Kentucky.
It may be that Maravich didn't have the type of game that could have meshed with a great NBA team, but I'm not convinced he was ever in the situation where that was proven. I know I'd like to think he could have positively used those incredible skills on a championship contender if he'd had the chance.
I think the Wikipedia article said an LSU coach went back and plotted all Pete's shots and determined he would have hit something like 13 3s a game.
The POY thread had me looking up stuff about him. The YouTube on his top 10 is incredible. Just watched it this evening at a friend's house. One of the guys saw Pete's passes without looking and decided his vision must have been 360 degrees.
Dale Brown did that.
Why are people condemning him for being a showman or being too selfish? His game was perfect for the NBA. People kiss Magic Johnson's arse for his showy assists, why not Pistol Pete? He was maybe the most uniquely talented basketball player in the history of the game.
There is Pistol and then there is everybody else. I saw him play all three times in Gainesville and was transfixed every second of each of those games.
Saw him play Florida in Florida Gym in about '69 or '70. He scored fifty something points though Florida beat LSU and UF didn't win many back then. Think that 55 or 53 points is still the record scored by any player at Florida Gym and vs UF.
Regarding him being a good guy or not..... We only know based on what we've heard or read.....Right? But based on a documentary I saw a few years ago..... he was an awful student an an alcoholic possibly even in high school. He grew up in Raleigh, NC and wanted to go to NC state but couldn't get in. That was nearly impossible, back then. His coach, Daddy did some deal to coach LSU by bringing Pete along. Didn't go to class much at LSU and was an alcoholic there by most accounts.
As a young kid, I saw him play in the Superdome with the New Orleans Jazz. I remember New Orleans losing but having a blastwatching him play. For me, it was like watching Archie Manning on a basketball court.
Saw him play Florida in Florida Gym in about '69 or '70. He scored fifty something points though Florida beat LSU and UF didn't win many back then. Think that 55 or 53 points is still the record scored by any player at Florida Gym and vs UF.
Regarding him being a good guy or not..... We only know based on what we've heard or read.....Right? But based on a documentary I saw a few years ago..... he was an awful student an an alcoholic possibly even in high school. He grew up in Raleigh, NC and wanted to go to NC state but couldn't get in. That was nearly impossible, back then. His coach, Daddy did some deal to coach LSU by bringing Pete along. Didn't go to class much at LSU and was an alcoholic there by most accounts.
I think most of us are referring to the stark contrast between the guy he used to be and the guy he became later in life. As odd as it is, sometimes the guy who turned things around gets more adulation than the guy who always had it right (to whatever degree that is possible of course). That being said, I haven't seen anyone question the kind of person he became later in his life after his conversion to Christianity.
EvenPar - You are exactly right -- there was Pete and then everyone else. A good friend of mine in college who played and attempted to guard Pete (Gary Mc) said that he was like trying to guard 3 players at once. While I am old, I do not have old man disease as I coached AAU basketball from 1999 to 2009 and I can tell you I saw every great college and later NBA player during that time and NO ONE was in Pete's league.
He was playing basketball in a gym in a California church when his heart gave out. He died in the arms of James Dobson and his last words were "I feel great." He was born with a heart defect.
"Pistol Pete" Maravich - a legend
Linear Mode
