Good quotes from former players. Thought some here might enjoy reading. http://www.nola.com/nbaallstar/index.ssf/2014/02/pistol_pete.html .
The best quote I heard about Pete was from one of his teammates from LSU who said that everyone focused on his shooting and ball handling but his passing was extraordinary, "Whenever Pete had the ball you had to keep your eyes on him or you might get a basketball in the side of your head."
It happened all the time when he was a freshman and sophomore. I was in junior high when Pete was a freshman and the Cow Palace would be full (about 10,000) for the freshman game and empty out for the varsity. He would dribble rings around the other team and hit shots from anywhere. He was the best pure basketball player I ever saw.
It was a different time...as kids we could go into the Cow Palace and play ball as LSU would leave the practice balls on the court and the doors open. I remember playing pick up and the Kentucky team coming in to shoot around and we could just stay around and watch them. It was a great time to grow up in BR and around LSU.
I saw Maravich a few times when he was with the Jazz. I can also say with pride I saw both Jordan's first and last appearances in New Orleans, in the '82 Final Four and with the Wizards vs the Hornets. Back to Maravich....he was a great pure shooter, but what was truly amazing about him as a scorer was that there did not seem to be a position the defense could get him in from which he could not manufacture a shot. He would shoot from the most unorthodox positions you can imagine and still score.
I saw him play a number of times in the Cow Palace. One of a kind. At times, you didn't want to blink, you might miss something.
I saw Pete score 66 I think it was two times in college and then 63 I believe as a pro. Also saw him blow out his knee on the pass between his legs. The best showman the game has ever seen.
We had season tickets when Pete was a frosh and that team went 17-1, and the varsity went 3-23. My dad always insisted on staying for the varsity game because they needed our support more than the freshmen did. I was at the game against Ole Miss when he broke Oscar Robertson's career scoring record, what a great achievement. Pete was really an anomaly in some ways because he was so great, in some ways you didn't really care as much if the Tigers won or not, you just wanted to see Pete do something that would blow your mind. And many nights he did just that.
Can't imagine how many points he would have scored if the 3 pointer was in effect when he was playing. Seemed like everything he made was from downtown.