by Kent Lowe
Special to LSUsports.net
Has it really been 30 years? Has it been that long ago that Pistol Pete Maravich put his stamp on college basketball forever by becoming Division I’s all-time leading scorer?
Yes it has. On Jan. 31, 1970, Maravich became the game’s top scorer passing the mark of Oscar Robertson. Just a few nights later, on Feb. 7, 1970, he would score 69 points against Alabama.
So on the week of the 30th anniversary of this milestone, it seems appropriate to remember and it seems even more appropriate that we give the Pistol one more spot on an LSU basketball program cover.
A lot of people get tired of old stories about days gone by. But some subjects never get old. Pete Maravich stories are there by the thousands.
Everyone who either had a ticket or snuck into the Cow Palace the night Pete broke the scoring record has a story. Our public address announcer, Dan Borne’, (who along with the Advocate’s Sam King and Pete Finney of the Times-Picayune are among the few who covered that game and are still in the media business today) gives us his thoughts on the game in another section of the program.
I never saw the Pistol play. I saw him on television when one of those rare Saturday afternoon games were on and I’ve seen the footage of the night he broke the record. I wish I had been able to see him play in person at LSU.
Those must have been exciting times.
Basketball was of a different breed when Pistol Pete played. The game wasn’t played as much above the rim as it is now. There was no three-point shot (heavens, what would his scoring average had been with the three-pointer in existence) and no shot clock.
I was in the crowd when Pete made his last appearance at LSU in December, 1987, to accept a painting that Donald McCorkle did of Pete and his dad, Coach Press. I was touched that night that Pete appeared so at peace with himself and finally, with LSU. Little did we know that he would leave us sadly just about one month later.
The words of a song written during Pete’s era certainly continue to ring true about this basketball genius:
Maravich, O Maravich
Love to fake, love to score
Love to hear the people roar.
Just a boy of twenty-two
You made a name at LSU
You’ve much more yet to do. . . .
The name Maravich and LSU will go hand-in-hand for years and years to come. Just like the name O’Neal, Pettit, Macklin, Wade, etc., etc. It’s all a part of the LSU basketball heritage that is very special. Different eras have different memories. Thanks to Pete for all the wonderful memories he made for us to remember here in Tiger Town.
This would be the type of week and challenge I’m sure that Pete and his dad Press would really enjoy. An SEC West battle with Arkansas and then a non-conference match-up of national proportions against Arizona.
The Tigers did what they had to do last week with the win over Georgia and now find themselves one win shy of clinching the team’s first regular-season winning record since the 1992-93 season. Now that’s a big accomplishment to say the least. You think 30 years ago was a long time, think how long the last six years have been. But it’s just the first step on what the team hopes will be a few other goals.
To get to some of those other goals, it’s a matter of what we’ve talked about so many times — playing well at home and trying to grab a couple on the road. We’ll see where that leads us when we return home after these two games and road games at Mississippi State and Alabama.
As always, enjoy the games!!!
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One final note if I may, all of us know we are missing someone on press row this week who would love games of this magnitude. Paul Manasseh, the retired former sports information director of LSU, was in a serious car accident this past week and is in intensive care at a local hospital.
Paul was the person who got a lot of us into this business, including this writer. Even though retired, he’s been a constant figure at LSU games and has been there for us when we needed his advice and council. Now he remains in our constant thoughts and prayers as we want him to recover so we can see him back in his press seat at LSU events.