Pete Maravich

"Pistol" Pete Maravich brought his basketball game from his childhood to college and then to the NBA. He was successful at all three levels. Maravich was introduced to me by my father, and ever since then I have looked up to him for his skills. His life shows that hard work will eventually pay off. As a child when he would walk home he would walk on the train track and dribble the basketball. The basketball was Pete's best friend. Maravich was a basketball hero who brought his game throughout his life.

Pete Maravich was born on June 22, 1947, and as soon as his father set eyes on his newborn son he knew something special was going to come out of this kid. Press Maravich, Pete's father, taught Pete to play basketball from the get go, starting with basic techniques like form and ball handling skills. During his childhood, you wouldn’t see the kid without a basketball. He would dribble the ball on the left and right during class. All he thought about was basketball. In junior high school, little Pete was playing up with the varsity basketball kids. Some of the upper classmen weren’t too happy that this little kid was showing them up and was a better ball player than themselves. He would show all the kids up with his skills that they had never seen before: behind the back passes, no look passes, quick maneuvers, and crazy trickery. He received his nickname "Pistol" because he was so quick with decisions with the basketball. Pete was challenged to spin the ball on his finger for an hour and make a basket once the hour was up and he won the bet.

After high school, "Pistol" Pete Maravich went to LSU. Any person should look up to him for the great accomplishments he achieved at LSU. In his three years of college he averaged 44.2 points a game. He lost a year of playing because as a freshman you weren't allowed to play on the varsity team. The freshman games would sell out just because of Pete, but when it was time for the varsity game, half the crowd would be gone. Once Pete was playing up with varsity, the crowds were crazy. He set every record for LSU and 11 NCAA college records. Maravich had three games of over 60 points. Maravich accomplished these records even though there wasn't a three point shot back in those days. If the three point line existed then Pete would have been averaging much more than he was. The fact that he was still averaging 42.2 points per game in three seasons is just so phenomenal.

Maravich was adored by many of the basketball viewers. Besides his basketball career he did many commercials. All of his commercials were based on the pretty boy hair style he had. He just had that long straight hair. Pete was drafted in 1970 to the Atlanta Hawks. He made history when he signed with them for a $1.6 million dollar contract. He wasn't very successful playing for the Hawks because he wasn't appreciated as much as he should have been. He would make crazy passes and would make his teammates look bad so they would get angry with him. They should have known that if he wayou'd wasn't looking at you, then you'd better prepare to get the ball in your hands somehow. He was traded over to the Jazz where he was more successful. Later in his career he was traded to the Celtics. He averaged a good 24.2 points a game in his NBA career and his season high average was 31 per game. If he had not gotten injured then he would have possibly been the best all-time basketball player.

Despite Maravich’s death, his legacy still runs on. Before he died he made many basketball videos to help others. He was inducted into the Hall of Fame in 1987. In 1991 a movie was released called A Birth of a Legend. This movie showed his childhood and how he started up in basketball. Maravich was a true idol to all and will never be forgotten.