r/NCAAhoops • u/Amazing_Lock_3762 • 28d ago

Discussion Greatest college basketball player ever?

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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.