Athlete of the Day---"Pistol" Pete Maravich

Pete Maravich is one of the greatest basketball players to ever live. I fell in love with Pete Maravich in middle school after watching the movie based on his life, Pistol: The Birth of a Legend. I have watched this movie probably a hundred times and it inspired me to play basketball at a young age. Maravich gives hope to unathletic white guys and shows that basketball IQ is just as an important part of the game as athleticism. The Pistol's fundamentals were off the chart and he holds many records that still stand today. Playing for his father at LSU, Maravich averaged 44 points a game in his three years there. His first ever collegiate game, he scored 50 points, had 14 boards, and 11 assists. It is also worth noting that this was before the three point era and if there was a three point line when he played an expert stated that he would have averaged 13 three's a game which would raise his average to 57 ppg! That's just not possible now a days. Unfortunately, Maravich died when he was only 40, but his unbelievable shots, passes, and determination will live on forever.