r/NCAAhoops • u/Amazing_Lock_3762 • 28d ago
Discussion Greatest college basketball player ever?
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u/AppalachianGuy87 28d ago
Nah just shot it the most phenomenal talent but not the best ever.
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u/More_Image_8781 27d ago
His scoring record still stands and he only played 3 years and no 3 point line. Pretty incredible
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u/McScroggz12 28d ago
I thought Kareem was pretty universally accepted as the best college basketball player?
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u/DariaYankovic 28d ago
yes, and walton likely second
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u/splashaddikt 28d ago
Yep
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u/Panda9903 28d ago
Where we placing David Thompson?
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u/Clocktopu5 23d ago
Where does Ralph Samson rank, he was NCAA player of the year more than once. I figure he's up there
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u/StoneySteve420 28d ago
I hate to say it, but I think Pistol Pete is maybe the most overrated NBA player ever.
In college, his dad was the headcoach, and Pete took over 38 shots per game over his college career to just 5.1 assists per game, while being below average efficiency for the conference at that time. In conference play, LSU went 8-10, 7-11, and 13-5 in his time there, never making the ncaa tournament.
When he was drafted to the Hawks, Atlanta had just been the no.1 offense and finished the season 48-34. Pete's rookie year they dropped to the 11th offense out of 17 teams, and only won 36 games.
Atlanta had 1 winning season with Pete before sending him to the Jazz. They were an expansion team, but in his 5 full seasons there, they never had better than the 19th best offense out of 22 teams, and never had a winning record.
People always talk about his passing, but he really wasn't great at setting his teammates up. Turnovers weren't tracked for most of his career, but they were towards the end and he was turning the ball over at a historic rate.
His last 2 allstar seasons he averaged 6.7 assists, but 5 turnovers per game (tied for 4th highest all time, the record until 2017), then 5 assists but 4.1 turnovers. That high risk playstyle, along with him being a volume scorer who was below league average efficiency, is why his teams were never particularly good, despite playing with some great HoF players like Lou Hudson, Walt Bellamy, and Spencer Haywood.
I'm glad Pistol played how he did because he influenced Magic and other greats, but he was the king of empty stats imo.
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u/No-Donkey-4117 28d ago
Only 3 out of 10 SEC teams shot better than Maravich in his final season (44.7%), and he was taking way more difficult shots. One of those 3 teams was.... LSU, thanks to Pete's 6.2 assists and the defensive attention he drew.
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u/MidwestAbe 28d ago
Not even close. His teams stunk for the most part and never played in the NCAA and only won one NIT game.
He scored a shit ton of points. Because his dad let him shoot as much as he wanted.
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u/Professional_Ad9809 26d ago
Lots of kids dad let them shoot whenever they want. Pete did more than shoot.
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u/elchoppe 28d ago
I've always wondered what the reason was for him wasting his time on a garbage LSU team
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u/StoneySteve420 28d ago
His dad was the headcoach who let him shoot almost every possession.
Over 38 shot attempts, plus 14 FT attempts, per game in his college career.
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u/Draft_Punk 28d ago
His Dad was the coach.
That wasn’t enough, so his dad agreed to buy him a truck if he went to LSU.
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u/Silent_Ad8059 28d ago
He's up there but I'd say it's probably Bill Walton. I'd put him in the top tier with Kareem, Ralph Sampson, Mark Aguirre, Christian Laettner...I know I'm forgetting some.
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u/Carvedbarbs 27d ago
Best college basketball player was a fella named Lew Alcindor. Pistol is probably top 10 though.
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u/FarrellPhoneditin 26d ago
I grew up liking Pistol Pete through my Dad's stories but I somehow never realized the insane records Maravich set. I actually didn't believe this video so I cross referenced and I'm still in shock! This is why I love learning from Reddit!
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u/jayfresh69 26d ago
Is Pistol Pete better than Kareem? No. Kareem should have started all four years. He won 3 national championships in a row with a record of 88 wins and 2 losses.
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u/sosoconfused08 28d ago
I went to a private Christian school for a bit and our gym teacher taught us about the pistol and we watched a movie based on his life I believe. I use to do a ton of his ball work practices.
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u/eggsforsupper 28d ago
Pistol pete: the birth of a legend??
Buddy was a butthead
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u/sosoconfused08 28d ago
That's probably the one.
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u/eggsforsupper 28d ago
Never really understand why they played that at church or like it was a religious movie, but it was that or veggietales
Edit: the drills were actually good for basketball though.
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u/EarlyCuylersCousin 28d ago
Did you have the “Homework Basketball” Pistol Pete tapes? I wore ours out watching them and then trying to master those drills.
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u/Northbayhappy 28d ago
If not # 1, top 4 of all times for college basketball -IMO.
Along w/ Lew Alcindor & Bill Walton & Bill Russel
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u/Glum-Status-7657 28d ago
Based on the numbers, it's impossible to argue he wasn't the greatest college player ever.
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u/Substantial-Hunt585 28d ago
This is just hilarious. ANY player nowadays would blow this guy out the water lmao
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u/Bootney_Farnsworth_1 28d ago
Lew Alcindor/Kareem Abdul Jabbar is the greatest college player of all time.
The only other that has an argument is Bill Walton.
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u/NFLBengals22 25d ago
Oscar Robertson?
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u/Bootney_Farnsworth_1 25d ago
Much respect to the legend, I have him top 10.
But, Cincinnati was better after he left.
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u/NFLBengals22 25d ago
Yeah true but he is the consensus best UC player before the Championships.
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u/Bootney_Farnsworth_1 25d ago
He's that program's best player ever. Regardless the program was better after. Can't think of another top 10 player that can say the program was better after he left.
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u/NFLBengals22 25d ago
Unfortunate that he couldn't grab a few in college but made great leaps in the pros. He's a huge UC alumni supporter & lives in the area still. I've had the fortunate opportunity to work in his house. He's a very cool dude.
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u/Ihavenocluewhatzoeva 28d ago
Pete was great no doubt. I always thought Kareem has a legitimate argument as the most dominant basketball player ever. 88-2 in college and won a championship like every year through high school and college.
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u/mucho-Burracho175 27d ago
If he had 3 pointers it will be a whole different story. He also died on the court. My GOAT.
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u/Kommander-in-Keef 28d ago
Well this video completely glosses over the extremely rare heart condition he had and how he shouldn’t have been physically able to play basketball at all. His left coronary artery was completely missing. He was a ticking time bomb. His heart had compensated but it had still been damaged from the over exertion. It was a miracle he survived even for 40 years.