The greatest college basketball player of all time would have been 70 today

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Maravich at LSU in 1967 In only three years playing on the varsity team (and under his father's coaching) at LSU, Maravich scored 3,667 points—1,138 of those in 1968, 1,148 in 1969, and 1,381 in 1970—while averaging 43.8, 44.2, and 44.5 points per game. For his collegiate career, the 6'5" (1.96 m) guard averaged 44.2 points per game in 83 contests and led the NCAA in scoring for each of his three seasons.[13] Maravich's long-standing collegiate scoring record is particularly notable when three other factors are taken into account: First, because of the NCAA rules that prohibited him from taking part in varsity competition during his first year as a student, Maravich was prevented from adding to his career record for a full quarter of his time at LSU. During this first year, Maravich scored 741 points in freshman competition. Second, Maravich played before the advent of the three-point line. This significant difference has raised speculation regarding just how much higher his records would be, given his long-range shooting ability and how such a component might have altered his play. Writing for ESPN.com, Bob Carter stated, "Though Maravich played before [...] the 3-point shot was established, he loved gunning from long range."[14] It has been reported that former LSU coach Dale Brown charted every shot Maravich scored and concluded that, if his shots from three-point range would have been counted as three points, Maravich's average would have totaled 57 points per game.[15][16] Third, The shot clock (45, 35, 30 seconds) was not instituted until fifteen years after Maravich left LSU. The shot clock speeds up play, mandates an additional number of field goal attempts, eliminates stall tactics, and results in higher scoring. Had the shot clock been in effect during Maravich's career at LSU, he would have scored many more points per game. More than 40 years later, however, many of his NCAA and LSU records still stand. Maravich was a three-time All-American.

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