The Sporting News recently came out with their Top 10 “Great Records” written by Steve Greenberg. In an 11 part series, I will breakdown each record, why the record is impressive (or not), and if the record could ever be broken.
#10 Pete Maravich’s 44.2 Career Points Per Game in College Basketball
The most impressive word mentioned in the line above is career. Yeah, I know 44.2 points per game is a lot, that’s why I am hung up on the word career. Pistol Pete played at such high level for three years at LSU, as freshmen were not allowed to play in 1966 when he enrolled, that his career average was 44.2 points per game. Not for one season, over three years. This was without the benefit of the three point line, making his mark even more impressive. Who knows what he would’ve done had the NCAA adopted the three point shot before his college career began? We see it all the time, college shooters tend to creep behind that line when they can.
Maravich’s ability to score was unheard of, still is. His silky smooth style and quick release made him a player well beyond his years with moves that school yard kids wish they could do in today’s game. Even when the other team knew he was going to shoot, they couldn’t stop him! To this day no one has come close to his career point total of 3,667; the closest person was 400 points away. The closest person to his career average of points per game was Austin Carr at 34.6.
Could Pistol Pete’s record ever be broken, yes it can. I think it could even be broken in a power conference, not just in a mid-major conference or lower. The question at hand is what type of player would be able to do so? A point guard with a great three point shot? He would have to be able to get to the rim and draw fouls on his off shooting nights. To beat Maravich’s per game average, one would have to hit 15 three pointers per game alone. That just happens to be the Division 1 record for most threes in a game. If he can dribble penetrate and get to the rim to draw fouls and add points courtesy of the free throw line, we may have a winner.
The other type of player I see with the ability to make a run at the record is a true center, a David Robinson, Tim Duncan, or Patrick Ewing type. He would need to have an 8-10 foot jump shot and be willing to pound the offensive boards for loose change. He would also need to step into the paint with a mean streak on offense. If our big man has an 80% or better free throw attempt average, making 15 points per game from the charity stripe, that leaves him with 15 field goals made to come close. This all seems so daunting but possible. Would it be too much to ask that he has a couple of developed low post moves before stepping foot on campus?
The key to either of these players having a shot is their coach and their team. His teammates would have to be supportive of him and be willing to play without the ball. At the bare minimum our guy will be shooting 15 times a game to hit the mark, a reasonable amount of shots to take, not reasonable is hitting all 15 shots without a miss. Thus we are looking at about 25 shots per game or more. Our big man would need the offense to run through him down low and our point guard would need to have the green light to shoot at will.
Just to clarify, the career point per game average could fall if a player did it over one season but I don’t see the career total points falling. With all of the “one and done” players coming through NCAA Division 1 basketball, that holy record will never be touched. This two part record is worthy of a top 10 placement.
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