Tag: Pete Maravich

On this day: Reggie Lewis, Jayson Tatum, Semi Ojeleye, Brad Lohaus drafted

On this day, the Boston Celtics drafted Reggie Lewis, Jayson Tatum, Semi Ojeleye, and Brad Lohaus, and lost Brandon Hunter to the Charlotte Hornets.

On this day in Boston Celtics history, the team would select four players of note in the 2017 NBA draft, held at Barclays Center in Brooklyn, New York City, New York. While the Celtics had held the top overall pick in the draft, team president Danny Ainge would use it to trade back for the third overall pick, correctly gambling he could still get his targeted prospect, Jayson Tatum.

Tatum, a 6-foot-8 small forward out of Duke, was drafted third overall after Ainge completed the deal with the Philadelphia 76ers, who used the top overall pick on point guard Markelle Fultz out of Washington, the Los Angeles Lakers using the second overall pick on point guard Lonzo Ball.

Vindicating Ainge, Tatum has gone on to become one of the top ten players in the league, racking up accolades at a historic rate.

On this day: Russell, Jones retire; ’69 banner; 76ers confetti game

On this day, Bill Russell and Sam Jones retired after winning the 1969 NBA championship, and in 2018, Boston beat the 76ers in OT.

On this day in Boston Celtics history, franchise legends Bill Russell and Sam Jones retired as champions, deciding to call it quits after winning the 1969 NBA Championship.

For Russell in particular, it was a sweet ending, defeating longtime rival big man (and good friend) Wilt Chamberlain and his Los Angeles Lakers four games to three in a 108-106 Game 7 triumph that is widely considered one of the biggest upsets in sports history. The Celtics were by then an old team and managed to make the Finals as a four seed, while Los Angeles had Hall-of-Famers Elgin Baylor and Jerry West in addition to Chamberlain, the latter winning the Finals MVP award in a loss, the only time that has happened in the history of the league.

It was Boston’s 11th championship, and that in a span of just 13 years.

Lolo Jones didn’t agree with Shaq calling Angel Reese the ‘greatest athlete’ to come out of LSU

“I think Shaq, honestly, is high on some pain medicines. The list is so big with LSU.”

[autotag]Angel Reese[/autotag] is quickly making a name for herself as one of the all-time greats in the LSU canon after leading the program to its first women’s basketball championship.

Reese’s career isn’t over. After earning All-American honors this season, she’ll be back looking for a repeat (and to become the No. 1 pick in the WNBA draft next spring).

Still, former LSU men’s basketball star and NBA Hall of Famer [autotag]Shaquille O’Neal[/autotag] raised some eyebrows this week when he called Reese the “greatest athlete to come out of LSU. Male or female.”

She may have a claim when it’s all said and done, but that title is highly contested. One athlete who has a claim to it is former hurdler (and later Olympic bobsledder) [autotag]Lolo Jones[/autotag].

Jones — who won three national titles and earned 11 All-America honors while at LSU — took a shot at Shaq’s characterization, per TMZ, and even implied that pain medication from his recent surgery may have played a roll.

“Shaq knew what he was doing,” Jones said. “Shaq’s just bored. He’s coming off hip surgery. He’s chilling at home. I think Shaq, honestly, is high on some pain medicines. The list is so big with LSU.”

…

“So, for Shaq to have the audacity to say ‘she’s the best ever,'” Jones continued, “I’m like, ‘Bro, chill on the pain meds,’ because that list is arduous. So long.”

Jones certainly has a point. Both she and O’Neal have arguments for making that claim, not to mention other greats like [autotag]Joe Burrow[/autotag], [autotag]Pete Maravich[/autotag], etc.

She later clarified that her comments were not intended to be a shot at Reese but rather to point out the proud history of the athletics department and her track and field program, specifically.

“We’re not hating on Angel. We love to see it. She’s cooking. Let her keep cooking. But I’m telling you, LSU track and field is the powerhouse for that university.”

The debate regarding LSU’s GOAT will continue, but another special season from Reese could certainly bolster her argument.

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Shaq calls Angel Reese ‘the greatest athlete to ever come out of LSU’

“The Big Diesel” went on a podcast and made a claim that Angel Reese is “the greatest athlete to ever come out of LSU. Male or Female.”

[autotag]Shaquille O’Neal[/autotag] went on a podcast and made a claim that [autotag]Angel Reese[/autotag] is ‘the greatest athlete to ever come out of LSU. Male or Female.’

Yes, he included himself. That is quite the statement when you ponder all of the best LSU athletes. We’re talking about Shaq, [autotag]Joe Burrow[/autotag], ‘Pistol’ [autotag]Pete Maravich[/autotag], [autotag]Seimone Augustus[/autotag] and [autotag]Courtney Blades-Rogers[/autotag]. The list goes on and on.

Shaq may be a victim of recency bias due to the Tigers just winning the national championship, but he is all in on Reese being the best athlete ever to step foot on the Bayou.

Reese has a chance to cement her legacy even further as she is not eligible for the WNBA draft until 2024. She helped bring LSU its first women’s hoops National Title as a Sophomore, can she do it again next year? Reese and Caitlin Clark lead that star-studded 2024 draft class.

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Detroit Mercy’s Antoine Davis says he felt ‘cheated out of something’ after falling short of Pete Maravich’s record

Davis was frustrated that the 14-19 Titans didn’t receive a CBI bid, ending their season.

When the Detroit Mercy Titans didn’t receive a bid for the CBI postseason tournament, ending its campaign, that also meant the end of star Antoine Davis’ hopes of surpassing Pete Maravich’s all-time career scoring record as he came up just four points shy in a Horizon League tournament loss to Youngstown State.

At 14-19, it would have been fairly surprising to see the Titans get a bid, though they themselves were pushing for one. Based on Davis’ comments, he seems to have taken the snub personally.

“I’m upset about it,” Davis said per The Associated Press. “I feel like I got cheated out of something that they can’t ever give back to me. I think it’s selfish — and weird — that people emailed or called the CBI to say we shouldn’t be in the tournament because they didn’t want me to break the record.

“But there’s nothing to hold my head down about. I still feel like I’m the best scorer in my generation, especially finishing No. 2 behind him.”

Rick Giles, the president of the Gazelle Group which runs the CBI, did confirm that they received emails and voicemails asking to exclude UDM to protect Maravich’s record, though he emphasized that played no role in the decision.

The CBI is a pay-to-play tournament, and Maravich’s son Jason told the AP that he thought it would be a “terrible look” to allow Davis to break the record in a lower-tier postseason tournament on a 14-19 team.

Maravich’s all-time record is safe, and given that Davis needed five full seasons granted by COVID-19 eligibility relief to even get close, it probably will be for quite a while.

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Pete Maravich’s all-time Division I scoring record is officially safe as Detroit Mercy was spurned by CBI

Maravich will hold onto his crown despite a close call this season.

Antoine Davis’ hopes of toppling “Pistol” Pete Maravich’s all-time scoring record, which has stood for more than 50 years since Maravich left LSU in 1970, have officially ended.

The Detroit Mercy standout finishes his college career just four points shy of surpassing Maravich’s record after the Titans didn’t receive an invite to the CBI, officially ending their season.

Davis entered DMU’s Horizon League quarterfinal matchup against Youngstown State needing 26 points to pass Maravich on the all-time scoring list, and he finished with 22 in a loss for the Titans.

Even if Davis had broken Maravich’s record, it’s hard to draw a one-to-one comparison between the two. Davis played five seasons compared to Maravich’s three (freshmen weren’t permitted to play on the varsity team at the time) and the latter played prior to the advent of the three-point line or shot clock.

No one will ever match Maravich’s career, in which he averaged 44.3 points per game — an unbreakable Division I record — and he’ll also be holding onto his all-time scoring record for the foreseeable future.

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LSU men’s basketball all-time roster: Tiger Legends

The Tigers have had a surprising amount of talent come through their basketball program over the years

March is upon us, and that means that the madness will also return to us soon.

Unfortunately, LSU (in all likelihood) won’t be participating in the festivities after a rough first season under coach [autotag]Matt McMahon[/autotag] that featured a 14-game losing streak that lasted from late December until the end of February.

This will be the first NCAA Tournament the Tigers have missed since 2018. Although LSU basketball has, historically, been a bit of an afterthought compared to the more successful football and baseball programs, it’s had a surprising level of consistency.

Aside from several lengthy droughts — most notably in recent years from 1993-00 and 2009-19 (with the exception of 2015) — this team has regularly appeared in the postseason for much of the last several decades, though it is still searching for its first national title. Those teams have, unsurprisingly, featured quite a bit of talent over the years.

With that in mind, we’re taking a crack at piecing together an all-time two-deep LSU basketball roster including one head coach and two assistants. Let’s start things off with the coaching staff, with our first choice likely coming as no surprise.

Pete Maravich’s all-time scoring record survives as Detroit Mercy’s Antoine Davis falls short in (potentially) his final game

Davis missed a three in the final seconds that would have tied Maravich’s record.

Pete Maravich’s all-time scoring record, which has stood since 1970, remains intact.

Detroit Mercy’s Antoine Davis mounted quite a challenge to the record this season, and he entered Thursday’s Horizon League Tournament game against Youngstown State just 26 points away from surpassing Maravich’s Division I career scoring record of 3,667 points.

However, Davis finished with 22 points as he battled a shoulder injury, and a three-pointer in the final seconds that would have tied the record came up short in a 71-66 loss that may have ended the Titans’ season and Davis’ career.

Maravich’s record isn’t necessarily safe for good. Detroit Mercy is in contention for a CBI bid, which would give Davis an extra game and an excellent chance of breaking the record. At 14-19 overall with a 9-11 record in league play, an invite is far from guaranteed.

Even then, the Titans would have to pay a $27,500 entrance fee, which isn’t exactly pocket change for a low mid-major program.

Time will tell if Maravich’s record is safe for good. Regardless, it’s worth noting a few things that make his achievement during his playing career even more impressive.

Freshmen were not allowed to play on the varsity team at that time, so Maravich only played three seasons compared to Davis’ four. Maravich also accomplished this feat in the days prior to the invention of the shot clock and three-point line.

Maravich averaged more than 44 points per game over his entire career, a record that will almost certainly never be contested. His college career was one of one, and his all-time scoring record is safe — for now, at least.

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Pete Maravich’s career scoring average among college basketball’s (likely) unbreakable records

Maravich averaged an unbelievable 44.2 points per game over three seasons at LSU.

As a sport changes and evolves over time, so do the rules and style of play. This can result in largely different statistical outputs when looking at different eras of the game, and it’s where the concept of an “unbreakable record,” one which will likely stand the test of time given the way the modern game is played, comes from.

This is most commonly seen in a sport like baseball, but unbreakable records exist in football and basketball, too. Our Will Rosenblatt already took a look at six unbreakable program records for LSU football, but former Tigers basketball star [autotag]Pete Maravich[/autotag] set an NCAA record that isn’t likely to be broken any time soon.

“Pistol Pete,” as he is affectionately known, averaged an unbelievable 44.2 points per game over three full seasons at LSU. That mark will almost certainly stand the test of time considering what it would take to produce at that level for so long, and it was listed among college basketball’s unbreakable records in an article for College Sports Wire by regional editor Patrick Conn.

With a name like “Pistol” Pete Maravich, you better believe you have to perform on a nightly basis. During his career atLSU, Maravich averaged a blistering 44.2 points over three seasons. That includes 28 50-point games. With the opportunities for players to go the G-League or overseas route, we might not ever see 44.2 points per game again.

That’s a truly unbelievable amount of production and something we are not likely to see again any time soon. I suppose there’s a reason that Maravich later became the namesake for LSU’s basketball arena.

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On this day: Maravich signs with Celtics; Powe, Vranković born

On this day in Celtic history, the Celtics signed Hall of Fame guard Pete Maravich, and Leon Powe and Stojko Vranković were born.

On this day in Boston Celtics history, iconic Hall of Fame guard “Pistol” Pete Maravich signed with the Boston Celtics in the twilight of his famed career in 1980.

Maravich began his pro career with the Atlanta Hawks, who picked him up with the third pick of the 1970 NBA Draft after three seasons playing for Louisiana State (1967-70). The Pennsylvania native’s Hawks collided with the Celtics in the playoffs in his second year in the league but were eliminated five games to two. After that season, Maravich’s play elevated to an elite level, rising to the sixth-highest scoring player in the league in his third season.

It continued on its upward trend to be second-highest by its fourth.