I'm referring to second round in the NBA. In college basketball, he was never able to lead his team to a Final Four.

I tend to believe that in other sports such as football or baseball that might be true. You can be a great pitcher, but if your team can't hit, then your efforts are all for naught. Or, in football, with so many players, and with offense and defense, then a single player cannot carry his team.

But, basketball is different. With only five guys, one great player can make all the difference. There's no division of offense and defense like other sports. Sure, Pistol Pete could score but he also gave up lots of points on the other end. MJ is considered one of the greatest, if not greatest basketball players, because not only could he score, especially in clutch situations, he was also one of the best defenders in the league.

Can you name any other great basketball players who couldn't lead their team further than Pistol Pete did with his teams. Karl Malone may have never won a championship, but he played in two NBA finals.

All of his life there was an empty void that needed filling, and he finally found it shortly before his death.

And, here's the difference between Pistol Pete and a champion like Karem Abdul-Jabar:

According to John Wooden, Karem could have easily set scoring records at UCLA as well. Instead, Karem sublimated his scoring potential for the good of the team, and UCLA went on to win that staggering number of championships.

did you read the post????????
how can a team come out 3rd but not make a final four?

Here ya go bitter:

"No team values the ability to “put butts in the seats” more than an expansion team, so the group that founded the New Orleans Jazz in 1974 practically traded a whole team to bring Maravich back to Louisiana as the first Jazz player ever. Six of their highest picks—two in the first round, two in the second round, and the second and third picks in the expansion draft—went to Atlanta. This made Maravich king of an expansion team, which was condemned to mediocrity by the very trade that brought him.

Maravich was always passionate about winning. When he broke the all-time college scoring record, the game stopped, and his LSU teammates hoisted him on their shoulders. Rather than parading before the crowd, he looked embarrassed at all the hoopla, and begged repeatedly to be put down. When a reporter asked him what it felt like to break the record, Maravich was dismissive, saying that the game wasn’t over, and he was focused on trying to win it."

Ummm...that kind of sounds like at least a decent attitude. Winning is the goal in sports, right? He doesn't come off as selfish as you're defining him after reading that excerpt.

Whether you make it to the second round or further in the playoffs, it's all the same if you don't win it all. And there were many greats that never won it all. It doesn't mean they were all selfish, etc. Elgin Baylor and Charles Barkley never won it all. It doesn't matter how far they got because they didn't win the big one. And they are both listed on the 50 greatest NBA players of all time list. Sometimes, it just doesn't work out for everyone.

And once again, look at LSU's 3-20 record or whatever it was before Pete showed up. He helped turn the program into a competitive one. The goal is to get better and improve and the ultimate one is to win championships. Those things take time when you're basically building from nothing.

You mention Karem (I believe it's Kareem). Kareem a lot of times had great players around him and great coaches. Pete didn't have that most of the time.

Once again, it's a coach's responsibility to bring a team together and maximize their talent. It's not on one player.

P.S. - Richdog, I believe that was the Final Four of the NIT. Technically, I guess it's still a Final Four. But....

but the nit still had some significance at that time due to the # of teams in the nc2a tourney.

LSU whips ND, now all you want to do is come here and trash everything LSU.

Yes Kareem won a title as UCLA but look who he had as teammates, then compare them to who the Pistol had. Kareem had a whos who of teammates. UCLA was a juggernaut in those days, picking all the top players. You dont win 10 consecutice national titles without recruiting the elite players. One great player will make a big difference in basketball, but teammates are a must in order to win.

Good lord Bitter. Please read something more than Simmon's article before you start posting - and at least change the words up a little or just quote it. Lets take a look.

Bill Simmons: "didn't win anything other than some scoring titles and never played in the Final Four -- or past the second round of the NBA playoffs."

Bill Simmons: "Stick The Pistol in the modern era and he would be the most polarizing figure in sports, someone who combined T.O.'s insanity, A-Rod's devotion to stats..."

Bill Simmons: "Of course, there is also substantial evidence that he was a drunk and a loon, someone who believed in UFOs and couldn't find peace until he retired and found Christianity in 1982."

:dis: :dis: :dis: :dis: