After being blown away by Steph Curry for the past 2 seasons, something in the back of my head kept saying "Pistol Pete, Pistol Pete...'There was something in magical moves of Curry that my brain kept associating with Maravich, even though I hadn't seen footage of him in decades. So I went to RU-vid, honestly thinking that I would see a pale (pun intended) imitation of what Steph Curry does. BOY WAS I WRONG. It was a great joy to experience that Maravich magic again. (Also great soundtrack selections). He always looked like a gym rat or a summer hoops league player (in the words of Spinal Tap) turned up to eleven. The kind of guy you'd think would be easy to guard, until he suddenly wasn't in front of you anymore. Thanks for the video, it had me grinning.
***** OH! the new thing is that Curry could be the greatest shooter of all time. NOPE. Maravich had Curry's #'s without the 3 point line. ! lol......so they need to stop focusing on Curry and get people to remembering the WHITE guy that made all the current players GREAT. PISTOL PETE!!!
Mick A yo that's so messed up! But its funny how I had to find all of this out in the past 2 years. no mention of him at least? I mean Lebron, Kobe, MJ 99.99% of the NBA today uses his moves, but no mention? smh?
Pete invented ALL those ball handling and passing moves by hours and hours of practice., he NEVER copied ANYBODY. He did things that even NBA guys TODAY cannot do. He did not copy ANYBODY, just HOURS of Practice by himself!!!! Grew up in North Carolina. His dad was an assistant at Wake Forrest and Duke before becoming head coach at North Carolina State. Pete used to easily beat ACC college players as a Jr High and HS player.in North Carolina. He Wanted to go to North Carolina or West Virginia, but went to LSU as a "package deal" when they offered his dad Press the head coaching job. He does stuff in this video that is STILL NOT being done today, because they players ARE STILL NOT his level. How would you like to be Shack, at LSU and NOT be close to being the best player ever to play there???? Pete Maravich. Also to average 45 points a game WITHOUT a 3 point shot????? If he played today, HE would be the Biggest thing in the NBA!!!!!!!!!!!
Pistol didn't "grow up" in North Carolina. Press was head coach at Clemson from 56 to 62 and Pistol went to Daniel High School in Central, SC from 61 to 63. Then they moved to Raleigh and he finished high school at Broughton High. Press never coached at Duke or Wake Forest. He went straight from Clemson to NC State where he was an assistant for a couple of years before becoming head coach.
He lived with the ball at a young age and took it everywhere with him. I don't think anyone has that dedication today. You saw a little bit of him in Jason Williams, but Jason still wasn't on Pete's level with the ball. I think it's funny people are looking at Lamelo Ball as if he's doing shit nobody has ever done in the NBA.
creator of crossover? his moves are dazzlibg...his shooting stands is perfect..Every move of pistol shows our modern day fundametals this guy is amazing...too advance in his era
@@ebogar42 He was definitely ahead of the game and by the time it caught up a little his body started to give out. What a pioneer, one that truly will never be understood.
Pistol Pete is the man, shooting, passing, ballhandling, creativity and ridiculous moves and buckets, at his finest. The skill is just top notch, good as it gets. Great mix
Confident to the max, with the skills to back it up, like a QB in football, always in control and knowing where all players are at all times, a magician, high scoring phenom, best "no looker" of all time, fearless, had the best ball handling skills and knew it.
He did things we don't see NOW. HE AVERAGED 45 IN COLLEGE WITH: NO 3 point line NO shot clock That's absolutely ridiculous. He was a legend before his time
I believe that people are under estimating the number of points Pete would have scored with a three point line. He would have stepped back more often in my opinion. According to Dale Brown he would have scored 57-58 points a game but Pete would have used the three point line to his advantage.
Pete Maravich, steph curry, Kyrie Irving and Jason Williams are my 4 favorite players. I believe people get to caught up in the competitive aspect of sports, and forget that entertainment and creativity is what is most important. For instance, jojo white and kc jones had marvelous careers, yet generations later we still remember and praise Pete, akin to Demi-God, because of his creativity. What makes Jordan so great besides his winning is that he was his creativity in the air. .....
Think about this, Pistol Pete Maravich is STILL the NCAA all time leading scorer and he played in an era when there was no 3 point line and Freshmen were forced to sit out a year! He averaged over 44pts a game... He was a bad ass pro too until injuries took their toll. He's one of the greatest ever.
Doolin Danger He was. The knee injury killed the last 2 1/2 yrs of his career. Never made a complete recovery. Pete and just a bit later, Bernard King. King was somewhat more successful in his comeback, but had to alter his style. Pistol and Bernard certainly would've benefitted from todays' medical advances.
Its kind of weird how a white guy is the one who really brought flair to the game of basketball. Nobody was doing this kind of shit til Pete came along. Dude literally invented the crossover and much more. I mean he was doing shit in the 70's that are impressive to todays standards. yeah Ill be called racist for this comment but its not intended that way. Just referring to the irony of how alot of older dudes now days say how black dudes try showing off too much yet a white guy pretty much invented it and he was from the old school. lol
And still is today. One of the all-time headliners who never won anything or came anywhere close. There is a time and place for the flashiness but to have it be such a focus as the Pistol did was excessive.
***** That's true, but you also have to understand people's limits. For someone who is not very tall or athletic, they won't get anywhere playing a conventional basketball game. Being creative or flashy is sometimes their best bet. Maybe he could have toned it down a bit, but idk
James Brown Maravich, a SG/PG, was over 6'5'' without shoes (enough to be at least listed at 6'6'', nowadays), you can say that that's still tall for his skill-set/position. Looking at players with a similar skill-set, guys like Steve Nash, Chris Paul, Kobe Bryant, Stephen Curry or John Stockton, for example... Not a single one there is taller than Pete; Kobe was measured at 6-4.75 w/o shoes, by the way, even though he was unquestionably a considerably better athlete, in his prime, than Maravich. Plus, Pete was also a nice overall athlete. Pistol just was, without a doubt, overly-flashy in numerous ways with his play (plus, he didn't quite understand what it really needed to be "done" in order to win). And he was that way because he already had reached a great skill-level at a young age, then got to a level few have ever even reach, you can say he mastered his craft since early on, and the game got too "boring" for him, so he became extremely creative and too flashy for his own good; also helped that he was viewed as a star since he was a kid, and then his father coached him in college, letting him do basically whatever Pete wanted to. To sum it up: yes, Maravich could've been a better overall player, could've won more and had a bigger impact if he toned down his flashiness, if he could've found the right balance between "conventional basketball" and "flashy basketball", and even more...
David Merrell I agree with some of your points, yes, but Bob Cousy (who was white), for example, was already bringing lots of flair with a flashy/creative style, as early as in the 1950's. Players like Cooz, Oscar Robertson, Archie Clark, Earl Monroe, Bob Davies, and some others, were already doing some of that stuff before Pete entered the league, already doing moves like the crossover dribble (under back then's "rules", which were much stricter), and so on. But yes, Pistol brought lots of new "things" and major flair to the game, he was doing moves on the regular that are now considered signature moves for players that came after him, and even moves that have never been duplicated since.
I remember Julius Irving in an interview a few years ago on a documentary said he was a “preview of 90s basketball in the 70s”. If that’s the case then Pete is a preview of 21st century basketball in the 70s.
Everything about him makes him perfect for the modern day NBA. The shot, the handles, the size at the guard position. Really was an under appreciated player in the wrong era.
@@JackoVX true. Guys like Pete, Kareem, Baylor, Barry, David Thompson, Bird, to name a few, had full college careers. This severely cut their pro totals down, unlike Kobe, Garnett, LeBron & a few others. Jordan too had a 3 yr college career. Just something to keep in mind about the different situations.
Whether it's Wilt Chamberlain (5:06) or Kareem Abdul Jabbar (5:11) manning the center spot for the Lakers, Pete Maravich would just shoot layups over them.
He is. Just not with the best guards in recent times. Same goes for other past greats. Like many say "Bird or Lebron"? Well, Elgin Baylor is right there in my mind and many others as well.
Auerbach once said that if Maravich had been drafted by the Celtics instead of the Hawks he would have been the greatest basketball player of all time. I think he would have if any player could be better than Wilt or Kareem.
People can call him a magician, more prestidigitation(slight of hand) than making things disappear. But one thing is sure, Pistol Pete Maravich was much more than a showman. He was a team player. I saw more assists than own baskets made.
Marc Freedman He was, for most part, as much as he could have been. Really had to score at New Orleans, being an expansion team. Only star he played with in his prime was Lou Hudson in Atlanta, for four yrs. Many don't recall that, though and unfairly, at least to a degree, judge him wrongly
Man could he run fast (particularly accelerate) and man could he carve out turns around anyone. He even got the GOAT, Wilt, jumping at air on one play.
Pete "The Pistol" Maravich was a great talent in the 70s, he was the Jason William before Jason William ever exist. I love playing with this guy when he appeared in NBA Street Vol. 2, destroying the CPU in the pick up games.
A true innovator, so far ahead of his time. I saw him play live. A lot of people back then, fans and players hated on him a lot because he was so good.
There are/have been amazing players since Maravich's time. But I really cannot think of anyone who tops him in combining showmanship, passing, and just flat out incredible shooting. Would have averaged 50-60 per game instead of 44 (already incredible) if 3-point line had existed during his college years.
He once spun a bball on his finger for an hour to win a bet when he was in 8th grade. Deal was if he didn't go the full hour, he had to quit the team. As you can imagine a lot of jealousy & resentment for having him up on the varsity team.
@:50 kids are still learning that move in basketball camps/training to this very day. I'm telling U all this guy was not only a legend but a legacy for basketball.
great video. Man he had every shot in the book to get it done. led ncaa in scoring 3 yrs in a row at 45 pts a f-ing game in all 3 yrs, insane scorer. I know he didn't need to and he didn't care about it either, but it would be cool to find any footage of him throwing one down in a game. No 3 point line either kids with all that scoring in college,crazy. his court awareness is off the charts.
Professional analysis of Pete's long range shots, from charting on the court, prove he would of hit 67% of 3-point shots, bumping his record by that amount. I have watched the Pistol from his days at LSU, and then through his pro career...I am satisfied that Maravich is, without question or doubt, the absolute greatest ball handler, shooter, that basketball has ever seen to date (7-22-16). Personally, I regard him as the greatest to ever play the game...period. When the great call you great, I think that pretty much settles it.
Right?!? Did you see that shit!?! Killing 'em wit it! I mean, I'm old enough to remember seeing him play on tv and saying "how did he do that!?" and my dad laughing at me. But I only now just realized Pistol Pete was crossing fools up all the way back at LSU...
+Evil JORDAN #GOAT YALL NIGGAS CANT TOUCH ME Jordan being able to defeat Pete one on one is not the point. The point is "Who can't Jordan beat one on one!!! " LOL!!!!!!
He could have scored 100 points or more a few times if the 3 point was implemented then. Old school player who I believe would have beaten many NBA players today. He's a genius basketball player.
No he wouldn't. The league is much more competitive, quicker, faster, stronger, and more athletic. Kyrie, Damian, John Wall, Russell, and CP3 given their skill set and athletic ability would destroy him if he were guarding them.
+RJPointer you must be ignorant buddy. Pete was 6,5, quick, best ball handler of all time, great defender, greatest shooter of all time. you sir dont know what you're talking. lmao those bums couldn't handle his jock.
+Kamodo Jones The game is played so much differently now. He wouldn't fit well in today's half court style game. The competition wasn't that great back when he was playing. Plus like I said the game moves much faster now. Kawhi Leonard, Jimmy Butler Paul George Klay Thompson and so on are big strong elite defenders they could handle him on the perimeter. There's a reason why he doesn't have any NBA championships or accolades.
Kamodo Jones He was just a showman and highlight reel, his impact is strictly based upon transcending ball handing and shooting. Overall his production value wasn't great and he never took his team anywhere.
I never realized how impeccable this guys game was until watching this video , he had the footwork, the shot, finishing, and leadership, dude was a beast!,
the pistol was the jimi Hendrix of basketball. what jimi did with a guitar is what the pistol did with a basketball. great highlights and the music was fantastic!
He would have dribbled circles around Iverson... Where do you think Johnson learned to pass?? No contest Pistol was way better... GREATEST all around player of all time period!
+desertsun100 Magic and Isiah sure had high regard for him. Pistol's D was OK, not bad, not real good. Underrated rebounder. Rest we know about. But, unfortunately, his prime and career was cut short w/knee injury. In recent times, with modern technology and med. advances, most likely his career would have been extended.
The world missed out on Pete's greatest mission and accomplishment. His faith in Christ and the helping other people see past what the world tells us. Who we are, why we're here, what really matters. I'm glad he found out before it was too late, he'd want the the same for anyone watching this.
ok...all through this video countless magical highlights...how many players can you do that with...no not Jordan or magic. they were great , but Pete was pure hoop magic
A person named Nikolic made a totally stupid and incorrect comment on this site. I am Croatian and grew up in Aliquippa, PA, Pistol Pete's hometown. Most Croats and Serbs in town worked in the steel mills, were born in the US and got along very well. Some even intermarried. Nikolic sounds like a newcomer who knows nothing about the ethnic relationships here in the US and is trying to spread hate.
John Doe The old school guys do, his peers. Earl Monroe, Dr J. Doc called him the most skilled basketball player ever. They played together w/Atlanta in training camp when Erving was trying to get out of his Virginia Squires contract after his rookie season in the ABA. Didn't work, he had to return. But he still fondly recalls his time in training camp w/Pete. He also notes they played one on one for dinner. Said "I think we about split those bills'.
John Doe Coz he played in small market teams, that's why he isn't that much shown even tho real bball fans knows this dude is one of the greatest, had he played for teams like Lakers or Knicks, I bet ya he is on everyone's list.
+Watch Me Nein Nein. That would have helped. In Pete's time (70's) Randy Smith also was one of the best all around guards in the game. But he played in Buffalo, then San Diego. He was a well deserved MVP of the 78' All star game and gave the superstars fits. Like Pete, Randy didn't perform in major markets. But both were great.
Great Song to start this video, 'Terrifying' by the Rolling Stones. Pistol Pete Maravich is definitely one of the best pure shooters and showman the NCAA & NBA will EVER see. His NCAA record of 44.2 PPG will NEVER come close to being broken. If the 3 point line had been in effect back then, his average would have been 50+. That's just absurd. People forget he torched Walt Frazier & the Knicks one night with 68 points. (prior to the 3 point line.) And he made at least 4 or 5 that would have been 3's.
Former LSU basketball coach Dale Brown went back and charted Maravich's college games using the play-by-play sheets to determine how many more points Maravich would have had if the 3 point shot would have been in effect. He said that with a 3-point distance set at 19'9" (which was the NCAA line until somewhat recently) Pete would have averaged *13* three point _makes_ a game, giving him an astounding 57 point per game average. In other words, HOLY $*#*!
Simon Wilder HOLY SHIT is right. 50+PPG at ANY level is outstanding. But especially with the distances Pete was shooting from. Watch his NBA game vs Walt Frazier/Knicks where Pete smokes him with 68. That was also without the 3 point line. Would have probably been 73 with. IMO Maravich & Bird were two of the best shooters in NCAA history.
Outstanding video, sweet flavor. Sure Pete wasn't perfect, certainly had his share of turnovers, rocky chemistry with teammates and stuff, but just for the love of the skills of the game Pete is amazing to watch. Definitely one of the greatest ball handlers ever. No doubt Pete wasn't the first of his kind, and legends of street ball should be respected for having players with amazing ball skills and showboating, but I think it's obvious Pete would have fit right in with some of today's ridiculous dribble moves. To me it's obvious he could have done anything he wanted with that ball. Pete may have found solace in showboating but from what I can piece together from film he displayed the ability to play all the parts of the game well when he wanted too, such as on defense. Call it what you will, but simply put, there may have never been an NBA player that had the ball in their hands as much as Pete did from a child, school/college and the amount of years he played professionally. The difference maker here is that Pete had an entire college career as the centerpiece of his teams offense, a college career where his father was the coach. That is an extraordinary amount of time dribbling the ball, lol.
crawlFace Well said. Balanced and fair. Don't always see that in comments section. And this coming from a major Pete fan. Playing for his Dad in college was probably the biggest factor in his lack of consistent D. His Dad had him handling the ball, shooting often, didn't want him to foul out, wear himself down on D. Not the best way to mold a player. In NBA, his pro coaches had to try to correct that and by then, some habits are formed and tough to break. But he could play decent D and did. Not as consistently as he could have, though.
Mick A Thanks. I never get tired of watching his highlights and footage. I truly feel he would have did great in today's game. The way the game is played today Pete would have fit right in; I'd say we're looking at a mix of Magic and Bird, plus Pete had better handle. Other than the high-flying and playing above the rim, Pete was lights-out.
crawlFace l too think he would have done just fine today. Maybe better, with the 3 pt line. You know. over the yrs, I always felt Isiah was closest to Pete in style and overall skills and creativity. You hear Rubio and Jason Williams, but their shooting was nowhere near Pete or Isiah's.
Mick A Sure I can see the Isiah similarity in the way they brought the ball up while looking around for opportunities plus dribbling around defenders and trouble situations.
