re: Pistol Pete - Remembered - 30 years ago today a life was ended too short

Maravich had a very good NBA career but it was very close to being so much better. He seemed to have a string of bad luck with illness and injury and along with the NBA removing his chance to play with his 'basketball soulmate' Dr. J.

My dad took me to see him play during his Jazz era when I wasn't quite 1 year old yet. I can recall seeing him play for the Shooting Stars in the Cajundome (Lafayette) along with Meadowlark Lemon.

I also tried out for his movie and listened to him talk to the other kids in the PMAC. At the end, he gave all of the kids a chance to come up to meet him as he put a basketball at the back of your neck as he dropped it (i.e. goal was to catch it). I'm guessing that was shortly before he passed.

One of the guys he was playing basketball with (when he died) said Pete had just remarked about how much fun he was having just playing a leisurely game of pickup basketball. I think that playing the game was one of the things he loved to do most although there were periods of his life that it wasn't fun due to the negativity that followed him.