Looking At Legends: "Pistol" Pete Maravich

I was only six years old when he died, and yet his name was firmly in my mind through the years.

In a family that loved basketball, Pistol Pete eventually was bound to come up in discussions, but it wouldn't be until I got older that I really began to appreciate what he did for the game.

Think about some of the flashiest players in basketball. Think back a bit to the Showtime Lakers, to the running style and the pizzaz that team brought, led by the legendary Magic Johnson. Think about a guy like Manu Ginobili, with all his twisting, between-the-legs, or behind-the-back passes. Think about a guy like Kobe Bryant, with all his flare, his amazing ability to get to the basket, to shoot from almost anywhere.

Got all that in your head? Good, because it still doesn't really encompass what Pistol Pete was capable of on the court. Am I saying he was as good as Magic or Kobe? No, of course not. To watch him play though was to watch magic in motion. It was to watch basketball at its most entertaining.

Don't believe me? There's plenty of video of him out there on the web. Find something, youtube it if you have to—but watch some clips of Maravich at work, because you'll find yourself rubbing your eyes and wondering if you really saw what you just saw.

His wrist pass would make you think he was passing right, but the ball would end up going left. In a crowd he could lift up and shoot right over you, and he had a perfect stroke in his form. He could loop the ball behind his back, bring it back to the front and still end up not passing at all, instead just laying it up in the basket.

Behind-the-back, through-the-leg layups? He had that in his repertoire. Through-the-leg, dribble handoff passes to his teammates? Yeah, he had that, and if you have never seen someone else do it there's a reason why. Full-speed, on-the-run, through-the-leg passes? Yeah, he had that too.

If you're wondering why you don't see too much of that anymore, well, Maravich claimed he was practicing eight hours a day by the age of twelve.

"You don't get here by just wishing" was his answer to how he'd sharpened his game up so much, a statement a lot of young players could learn from these days.

Maravich was a pioneer for the game, as much in college as in the NBA. Born in a small town in Pennsylvania and son of former player-turned-coach Press Maravich, Pistol Pete demonstrated exceptional basketball skills at a young age. Starting at the age of seven, he was taught the basics of basketball, and his regular drill before bed was to hit one hundred consecutive free throws.

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