Pete Maravich

Peter Press "Pete" Maravich (June 22, 1947 – January 5, 1988) was a basketball player known for his incredible shooting abilities, creative passing, and dazzling ballhandling. Also known as "Pistol Pete" (a nickname later given to tennis player Pete Sampras) he starred in college and for three NBA teams. Maravich is still the all-time leading NCAA scorer, averaging a staggering 44.2 points per game, without the benefit of a 3-point line.

Early life

Born in the Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania suburb of Aliquippa, and of Serbian descent, Pete amazed his family and friends with his basketball abilities from an early age. His father Press Maravich, a former professional player turned coach, showed Pete the fundamentals starting when Pete was 7. Pete would obsessively spend hours practicing ball control tricks, passes, head fakes and long range shots.

His obsession went deeper than simply practicing basketball at all times--he even went as far as to dribble a basketball when he went to the movie theater. He would sit on the aisle, dribbling the ball with one hand, and then switch seats, dribbling with the other hand.

Basketball career

High school

The practice paid off when he joined the high school varsity basketball team as an 8th grader. He attended two high schools as a teen: D. W. Daniel High School in Central, South Carolina and Needham B. Broughton in Raleigh, North Carolina. He attended a preparatory year at Edward Military Institute in Salemburg, North Carolina. During his years at those schools, he wowed college scouts with his ability to shoot, dribble, pass and score points. It is said that Pete wanted to attend West Virginia University, but his father told him that if he didn't sign with LSU he could never come back in his home.^{[citation needed]} And so, in 1966, Pete decided to attend Louisiana State University, and play for his father, who was the school's new head basketball coach. This is where Pistol Pete, along with his trademark floppy gray socks, became legendary.

College

When he took the court for his first freshman game at LSU, a large crowd turned out to see what all the fuss was about.

In those days, freshman players didn't play with the varsity squad. So, after Maravich put up 50 points, 11 assists, and 11 rebounds on Southeastern Louisiana College, the crowd got up and went home, ignoring the varsity game. And so it would go the rest of the season, as LSU's freshman squad lost only one game, while the varsity team won only three.

Noted for his mop of brown hair and floppy gray socks, Maravich scored more points in college than any other player in history. In only three years playing for his father Press at LSU, Maravich scored 3,667 points — 1,138 points in 1968, 1,148 points in 1969 and 1,381 points in 1970 while averaging 43.8, 44.2 and 44.5 points per game. In the process, "Pistol Pete" set 11 NCAA and 34 Southeastern Conference records, as well as every LSU record in points scored, scoring average, field goals attempted and made, and free throws attempted and made. In his collegiate career, the 6-5 (1.96 m) guard averaged an incredible 44.2 ppg in 83 contests and led the NCAA in scoring three times. He also set an NCAA record by scoring more than 50 points 28 times. He was named a three-time All-American and still holds many of these records, more than 35 years later. Notably, his 3,667 points don't factor in the 741 he scored his freshman year, or the fact that they played without a three-point line in Maravich's era.

Maravich was a three time first team All-American and was named The Sporting News' player of the year in 1970, and received the Naismith Award as well. He scored a personal record of 69 points versus Alabama during a game that year, and garnered numerous other awards and college records.

Maravich shined on the court and LSU slowly turned around a lackluster program. The year before he arrived, the varsity posted a 3-20 record. In Pete's senior season, LSU was 20-8 and had participated in postseason play.

NBA

After graduating LSU in 1970, Maravich was the third selection in the first round of the National Basketball Association's (NBA) player draft and made league history when he signed a $1.9 million contract — one of the highest salaries at the time — with the Atlanta Hawks. He wasted little time becoming a prime time player by averaging 23.2 points per game his rookie season. After spending four seasons in Atlanta, Maravich was traded to the New Orleans Jazz where he peaked as an NBA showman and superstar. He made the All-NBA First Team in 1976 and '77 and the All-NBA Second Team in 1973 and '78. He led the NBA in scoring in 1977 with a personal high 31.1 points per game. Maravich finished his career with the Utah Jazz and the Boston Celtics in 1980, where he played for one season alongside Larry Bird before retiring.

In ten NBA seasons, Maravich, a five-time NBA All-Star, scored 15,948 points in 658 games for a 24.2 ppg average (15th All Time). He led the league in scoring with 31.1 points per game in 1977. His NBA single game high, a 68-point explosion, came against the New York Knicks on February 25, 1977. He shares the record for most free throws made in a quarter with 14.

Later life

After a leg injury forced him to leave basketball in the fall of 1980, Maravich became a recluse. Through it all, Maravich said he was searching "for life." He tried yoga and Hinduism, something he called UF-ology, vegetarianism, living on only fruits, and finally, macrobiotics. Eventually, he embraced Christianity.

On January 5, 1988, while playing a pickup basketball game at the Church of the Nazarene in Pasadena, California with a group that included Focus on the Family head James Dobson (Maravich was scheduled to appear on Dobson's radio show later that day), he collapsed and died of a heart attack at the age of only 40. An autopsy revealed that his death was due to a previously undiagnosed congenital heart defect; he had been born with only one coronary artery instead of the normal two (he had no left coronary artery, a very rare condition)(Ref.). "He'll be remembered always", former LSU head basketball coach Dale Brown said on hearing the news of Maravich's death. "When we see some tousled-haired kid with drooping socks standing on some semi-darkened court or in a yard after everyone else has gone home, he will be shooting a basketball, and we will remember Pete." Years before his death he told a reporter "I don't want to be 40 and die from a heart attack!"

Legacy

Maravich was inducted into the Basketball Hall of Fame in May 1987. He was, and still is, the youngest player to be inducted.

Pete Maravich released the Pistol Pete's Homework Basketball video series in 1987. The series contains four different videos—one each on passing, ball-handling, shooting, and dribbling. The videos are meant for people of all ages who want to learn the great skills and drills that made him one of the greatest basketball players of all-time.

In December 1987, just days before his death, Maravich was honored at the O'Reilly All-College Basketball Classic in Oklahoma City, Oklahoma.

After Maravich's death, Louisiana Governor Buddy Roemer signed a proclamation officially naming the LSU home court the Pete Maravich Assembly Center.

In 1991, a biographical film dramatizing his 8th grade season entitled, Pistol Pete: The Birth of a Legend, was released.

In 1996, he was named one of the 50 greatest NBA players in history by a panel made up of NBA historians, former players, and coaches. He was the only deceased player on the list. His two sons, Jaeson and Joshua, accepted the honor in his place.

In 2005, ESPNU named Maravich the greatest college basketball player of all-time.

Awards and records

Collegiate

The Sporting News College Player of the Year (1970)
Naismith Award Winner (1970)
The Sporting News All-America First Team (1968, 1969, 1970)
Three-time AP and UPI First-Team All-America (1968, 1969, 1970)
Holds NCAA career record for most points (3,667, 44.2 ppg, three-year career) in 83 games
Holds NCAA career record for highest points per game average (44.2 ppg)
Holds NCAA record for most field goals made (1,387) and attempted (3,166)
Holds NCAA record for most free throws made (893) and attempted (1,152)
Holds NCAA record for most games scoring at least 50 points (28)
Holds NCAA single-season record for most points (1,381) and highest per game average (44.5 ppg) in 1970
Holds NCAA single-season record for most field goals made (522) and attempted (1,168) in 1970
Holds NCAA single-season record for most games scoring at least 50 points (10) in 1970
Holds NCAA single-game record for most free throws made (30 of 31) against Oregon State on Dec. 22, 1969
Led the NCAA Division I in scoring with 43.8 ppg (1968); 44.2 (1969) and 44.5 ppg (1970)
Averaged 43.6 ppg on the LSU freshman team (1967)
Scored a career-high 69 points vs. Alabama (Feb. 7, 1970); 66 vs. Tulane (Feb. 10, 1969); 64 vs. Kentucky (Feb. 21, 1970); 61 vs. Vanderbilt (Dec. 11, 1969);
Holds LSU records for most field goals in a game (26) against Vanderbilt on Jan. 29, 1969 and attempted (57) against Vanderbilt
All-Southeastern Conference (1968, 1969, 1970)
In 1988, Louisiana Governor Buddy Roemer signed legislation changing the official name of LSU's home court to the Maravich Assembly Center
#23 Jersey retired by LSU
In 1970, Maravich led LSU to a 20-8 record and a third place finish in the NIT
Team Year G Points PPG

  LSU 1966-67     17    741     43.6
  LSU 1967-68     26   1138     43.8
  LSU 1968-69     26   1148     44.2
  LSU 1969-70     31   1381     44.5
      
  Tot 1966-70     83   3667     44.2

Professional

NBA All-Rookie Team
All-NBA First Team (1976, 1977)
All-NBA Second Team (1973, 1978)
Five-time NBA All-Star (1973, 1974, 1977. 1978, 1979)
Scored 15,948 points (24.2 ppg) in 658 games
Top 15 scoring average NBA History (24.2)
Led the NBA in scoring (31.1 ppg) in 1977, his career best
Scored a career-high 68 points against the New York Knicks on Feb. 25, 1977
Shares NBA single-game record for most free throws made in one quarter (14) on Nov. 28, 1973 against Buffalo
Shares NBA single-game record for most free throws attempted in one quarter (16) on Jan. 2, 1973 against Chicago
#7 Jersey retired by the Utah Jazz (1985)
#7 Jersey retired by the Superdome (1988)
NBA 50th Anniversary All-Time Team (1996)
#7 Jersey retired by the New Orleans Hornets (2003)

External links

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