Interesting fact about Pistol Pete

[Calsarmy]

Many of us older KY fans saw Pistol actually play against our Wildcats back in the 60's and were of course blown away. One fact I happen to run across that I thought was pretty interesting about Pistol and scoring.
When Dale Brown because coach at LSU he decided to go back and chart every shot Pistol made and from where during every game he played there.
Pistol averaged 44 points a game during his career with no 3 point line which of course has never been matched.
Brown said if there had been a 3 point line he would have averaged 13-3 pointers a game. Of course that would have had Pistol averaging 57 points a game.
One of if not the greatest college player I have ever seen and that goes back to the 50s to today.

 

[BankerCat12]

He doesn't post here but Josh Carrier likes this.

 

[GonzoCat90]

Fun fact about Pistol Pete is that his awful nonsense never won anything at any level of basketball.

 

[Lovebaskelball]

Interesting Fact: Pete made 67% of his 3 pointers for his career in the NBA.

 

[BlueWorldOrder74]

Interesting Fact: Pete was a career 67% 3 point shooter in the NBA.

Fact / best part of this thread is your avatar.

 

[sambowieshin]

Dude could flat out ball. Would not have those numbers against today's defenses, but would still play major D1 basketball.

 

[spotter34]

I love Pistol Pete but he wasn’t a great outside shooter. He attempted just under 40 FG’s a game each of his 3 years at LSU with his best FG% being 44.7%. He shot 77.5% from the free throw line, which is good but not great.

I’d imagine he’d attempted 13 three point FG’s a game but not make that many.

 

[spotter34]

Fact / best part of this thread is your avatar.

He played his last 3 years with the 3 point shot and in those three years he shot 10-15. Not a huge sample size. My son shot 13-19 from three in a Christmas high school tournament last year; just sayin.

 

[Lovebaskelball]

He played his last 3 years with the 3 point shot and in those three years he shot 10-15. Not a huge sample size. My son shot 13-19 from three in a Christmas high school tournament last year; just sayin.

You stole my "rest of the story".

Actually, it was Pete's last season when the 3 point shot started (79-80 season).

 

[SemperFiCat]

He played his last 3 years with the 3 point shot and in those three years he shot 10-15. Not a huge sample size. My son shot 13-19 from three in a Christmas high school tournament last year; just sayin.

Well, when you lose your legs and a knee, your shot suffers. Interesting stat though for sure.

 

[bthaunert]

Some things to note:

1. Pete benefited from the free throw rule back in the day. From 1957 - 1972, a player received 1 free throw for the first 6 team fouls of the half. One and one came into play on the 7th foul. Basically, any time he was fouled, he shot free throws.
2. Bill Walton is the one who told that story. He was probably high at the time.
3. In the 1 year the NBA had the 3 point rule and Pete was playing, he took a total of 15 3 pointers. Less than 3% of his shots were from 3 point range.

 

[Smashcat]

He shot 77.5% from the free throw line, which is good but not great.

Ditto

 

[davekersey]

I used to watch the Cincinnati Royals back in my day, with Oscar, Lucas, Twyman, etc. One game I caught was when the New Orleans team come to town, featuring Pete Maravich. He want for 47 that game, but Tiny Archibald nearly matched him with 44 of his own. A fun game to watch. Pete was more than a shooter, a complete player with fancy passes, unheard of ball handling, and creative ways to score.

 

[westerncat]

Pete did things with the ball that many today try to do. He was special.

 

[Ocornett]

Many of us older KY fans saw Pistol actually play against our Wildcats back in the 60's and were of course blown away. One fact I happen to run across that I thought was pretty interesting about Pistol and scoring.
When Dale Brown because coach at LSU he decided to go back and chart every shot Pistol made and from where during every game he played there.
Pistol averaged 44 points a game during his career with no 3 point line which of course has never been matched.
Brown said if there had been a 3 point line he would have averaged 13-3 pointers a game. Of course that would have had Pistol averaging 57 points a game.
One of if not the greatest college player I have ever seen and that goes back to the 50s to today.

I remember seeing him play. Awesome player.

 

[kybassfan]

Fun fact about Pistol Pete is that his awful nonsense never won anything at any level of basketball.

Pretty much proof that player assessment on team results leads to really bad conclusions.

 

[GonzoCat90]

Pretty much proof that player assessment on team results leads to really bad conclusions.

So does ignoring the obvious link between the two.

Because the alternative is that this one guy just so happened to be singularly gifted in a way no one else in history has been AND happened to be surrounded with teammates so awful for 15 years in various environments that even his one of a kind ability wasn't enough.

People don't want to hear it because he's a folk hero of the common man and a nostalgic era, but the odds say Maravich's numbers are what they are because of how he played and his team success is what it is because of how he played.

 

[wildcat_bigd]

Did Press recruit anyone else that could score?

 

[AnarchoNeoLuddite]

Only one team is going to win it all. so a lot of great players and teams never did win anything. And its entertainment id rather watch Pete as one the best entertainers to lay lose a game than watch some boring ass by the numbers team and or player win a game.

 

[UKMKG]

Fun fact about Pistol Pete is that his awful nonsense never won anything at any level of basketball.

Terrible take. He played for his dad at LSU and never played for a contender in the NBA. To try to degrade his greatness is laughable.

 

[kev69]

Another interesting fact about Pistol Pete is that he never actually owned a gun.

 

[JDHoss]

Did Press recruit anyone else that could score?

They had a couple of forwards named Al "Apple" Sanders and Danny Hester that were nice players.

 

[Bluegrass79]

Nobody could handle the ball and pass like pistol pete. He knew all the tricks. He was the original showtime player. I LOVE watching his youtube instruction videos. He is absolutely amazing in those videos at age 37 or so. Go watch them and tell me how good Pistol was with the ball. His I.Q. for basketball coaching...off the charts. He would've been a good one on the sideline.

 

[buckethead1978]

We are shitting on Pistol Pete now? Dude was ridiculous

 

[jarhead165]

Nobody could handle the ball and pass like pistol pete. He knew all the tricks. He was the original showtime player.

He could pass like Meadowlark Lemon but it wasn't rehearsed.

 

[TexKat]

iirc I read that Pistol was Magic Johnsons mentor in how he loved the razzle dazzle ball handling. I did have the pleasure to see him play once in Memorial Coliseum against our famed Big Dan. He was a show without a doubt but yet a one man show that lost. Still a good memory nonetheless.

 

[Sawnee Cat]

His passing and ball handling brought me out of my seat. Nobody did it any finer.

 

[CatColumbia]

One of the greatest players of all-time. The craziest thing is, scoring wasn’t even the best part of his game. Passing was.

When the pistol entered the NBA he said that he didn’t want to be one of those guys who plays 10 years and then dies when they are forty. Ironically, that’s exactly what happened.

 

[GonzoCat90]

Terrible take. He played for his dad at LSU and never played for a contender in the NBA. To try to degrade his greatness is laughable.

And never won a thing. Or even came close. Never contended.

Because it wasn't about winning. It was about being The Pistol. Which means that all the numbers need to be viewed through that lens.

If Jamal Murray played four years of college basketball for his dad and was given the green light to do anything he wanted at the expense of winning, how many points would he score?

 

[anon_q409idbs5m40a]

Pretty much proof that player assessment on team results leads to really bad conclusions.

Right, he didn't have much of a supporting cast but I think LSU did finish second or third in the conference one season while he was playing. Worst game I ever saw him have was in the NIT against Georgetown, I believe.

 

[anon_q409idbs5m40a]

And never won a thing. Or even came close. Never contended.

Because it wasn't about winning. It was about being The Pistol. Which means that all the numbers need to be viewed through that lens.

If Jamal Murray played four years of college basketball for his dad and was given the green light to do anything he wanted at the expense of winning, how many points would he score?

They did finish second in the SEC his senior season going 13-5. Not a bad record but never made the NCAA Tournament. Finished four games behind UK that season in the standings.

 

[anon_q409idbs5m40a]

We are shitting on Pistol Pete now? Dude was ridiculous

Yeah, there are those on the board that don't believe basketball was born until 2012.

 

[anon_q409idbs5m40a]

They had a couple of forwards named Al "Apple" Sanders and Danny Hester that were nice players.

Sanders wasn't bad and neither was Hester. They did finish second in the conference that season going 13-5.

 

[kybassfan]

So does ignoring the obvious link between the two.

Because the alternative is that this one guy just so happened to be singularly gifted in a way no one else in history has been AND happened to be surrounded with teammates so awful for 15 years in various environments that even his one of a kind ability wasn't enough.

People don't want to hear it because he's a folk hero of the common man and a nostalgic era, but the odds say Maravich's numbers are what they are because of how he played and his team success is what it is because of how he played.

What team? He never had one.

 

[uky8unc5]

I used to watch the Cincinnati Royals back in my day, with Oscar, Lucas, Twyman, etc. One game I caught was when the New Orleans team come to town, featuring Pete Maravich. He want for 47 that game, but Tiny Archibald nearly matched him with 44 of his own. A fun game to watch. Pete was more than a shooter, a complete player with fancy passes, unheard of ball handling, and creative ways to score.

Gee Dave, don't mess up this Hate Pete thread with real live testimony.

I saw Pete a few times too. And anyone who thinks he wasn't the Real Deal is embarrassing themself.

 

[GonzoCat90]

They did finish second in the SEC his senior season going 13-5. Not a bad record but never made the NCAA Tournament. Finished four games behind UK that season in the standings.

You don't think it's odd that it just so happens the guy who put up the craziest numbers ever is also the guy who won such a massive amount less than the other all time greats?

There's no way I'm the only one who sees what was going on.

 

[FiveStarCat]

I heard he once shot a man in Reno just to watch him die.

 

[kybassfan]

You don't think it's odd that it just so happens the guy who put up the craziest numbers ever is also the guy who won such a massive amount less than the other all time greats?

There's no way I'm the only one who sees what was going on.

In college his teammates were rather pathetic. I think you are the only one that doesn’t see that.

 

[Calsarmy]

Another fact: He was the only player to win the NCAA scoring title and the NBA scoring title.
Basketball was in fact played before 2012.........just sayin.......

 

[chevyman 50]

He was one of the BB greats and this was before the 3 pt shot..