I love this site. But at times I don't have any energy left to talk politics. So I find it refreshing to see posts about books, music, or food. I can and do learn more on these posts then the ones more political in nature.
So here is a humble little post about sports. And what I hope you might find enjoyable this Saturday afternoon. A little story about myself and Pete Maravich, plus a few links that will blow your mind if you've never seen him in action.
When you talk about basketball the names, in this order, ought to be Wilt, Jordan, Pete. Or at least that is what I think.
I know I am a LSU "homer." I think I make that clear below:).
But each time when the Final Four (the best sporting event IMHO) comes around I ask people, "you know who Pete Maravich is?" Almost none knows anything about him. I'll sit them down and show them a few highlights and I have to pick their jaws up off the floor. I've actually been asked:
Is that real, did he really do that, how can that be?"
Yes, he did things 30+ years ago that nobody can even do today.
Go to YouTube and see for yourself (here and here are the best).
BTW: Go Lady Tigers! They're in the Final Four this weekend. This is their fourth Final Four in a row. They are pretty darn good!
I am about as hardcore LSU as you can get.
My dad got his PhD at LSU and taught there. I was born in Baton Rouge in the summer of 1969. When I was looking at grad schools my parents took me on a two week road trip. Kansas, Kansas State, North Carolina, NC State, Alabama, Georgia, Auburn, Duke, Tulane. There was really no conversation about the topic. LSU was the only choice.
The other schools were just on the route.
My mother loves to tell the story that each time I left the guidance councilors office my dad was waiting outside and said something like "Not as good as LSU was it? Not as good as LSU? You are still going to LSU ... right!" I could get elected president of the United States and my dad would be more proud that I followed in his footsteps and went to LSU for grad school.
Glad I listened to him, cause I am sure I would have got a great education at any of the before mentioned schools. But the education I got, coupled with the culture at LSU changed my life.
Next month is my local LSU Alumni Association Crawfish boil. My father is a humble man to say the least. I still don't know what he did for our government for 35+ years. But I do know he could walk into a room with the Sec of Defense and be cleared to hear anything he might want to talk about.
But this one time a year he gets to say he taught Pete Maravich and his major professor was T. Harry Williams. To us LSU people that is just a small step down from saying you are god! And I mean a very small step.
Maravich once told a reporter when he was 23:
I don't want to play 10 years [in the NBA] and then die of a heart attack when I'm 40." He played 10 years in the NBA (hurt for most of them). He died in 1988 (at the age of 40), a recovering alcoholic, of a heart attack during a church pick-up game. Maybe the most skilled basketball player of all time, he was a troubled man. But from what I have read, late in his life he found peace. A lot of peace.
Just a couple quotes about Pete:
Growing up I practiced at least 12 hours a day. You don't get here by just wishing, Pete on how he got to be so good.
He was unstoppable. It’s as if they had melted down all 12 Harlem Globetrotters and then filled up this skinny 6-6 white frame with everything they had. Ralph Wiley, ESPN
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.
He was the original. When you talk about Showtime, you talk about creativity, and bringing a whole different concept to the game of basketball. Pete was the original. He opened the minds of a lot of players as to how the game should be played. What he could do with the basketball at full speed was incredible. He was the best ball handler I ever saw. Ever. Pat Riley/Lakers Coach.
When he stepped on the court, it was like a warning sign: Watch out. I know how to play this game. Larry Bird.
Maravich scored more points in college than any other player in history. In only three years playing for his father Press Maravich 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, and assists. Keep in mind that was without a three pointer or it might have been 60+ a game. Ponder that for a few.
After a leg injury forced him to leave basketball in the fall of 1980, Maravich became a recluse for two years. Through it all, Maravich said he was searching for life. He tried the practices of yoga and Hinduism, and took an interest in the field of ufology. He also explored vegetarianism and macrobiotics. In 1982 he became a Christian and began traveling the country sharing his faith.
He was a startling player. One of a half dozen I’ve ever seen who I’d buy a ticket to see play. He was as dazzling a passer and as great a ball handler as I’ve ever seen. He was like a great singer with a style all his own, a pacing that was different, a flair for the unusual. Chick Hearn, Laker Announcer.
The man was a true virtuoso. There were no Pete Maraviches before he came along, and there never has been since. Bob Ryan, Boston Globe.
He was to basketball what the Sgt. Pepper album was to pop music: revolutionary and liberating. Bob McEwen, Rochester Times Union.