There might not be a more legendary player in the history of college basketball than “Pistol” Pete Maravich, who scored an NCAA record 3,667 points during his three seasons with the LSU Tigers from 1967 to 1970. That scoring record has stood for over 50 years, but Detroit Mercy star Antoine Davis has a chance to break it this year. But if he does, his spot in the record books would be quite controversial.
For starters, Detroit Mercy’s season ended on Thursday night when they were eliminated from the Horizon League Tournament with a loss to Youngstown State, presumably ending the career of Antoine Davis with 3,664 points – just three shy of Maravich’s record. After all, the team has a 14-19 overall record and certainly hasn’t earned a spot in any postseason tournament.
However, it sounds like there’s a chance the CBI Tournament invites Detroit Mercy to the tournament any way for the sole purpose of allowing Davis to chase the record, thus generating fan interest.
“We do take teams that are below .500, depending on the circumstances,” CBI director Rick Giles told OutKick on Friday afternoon. “Not every year, but we have for different reasons. We have invited Power Five teams known for their fan base and tradition and teams with star players. We want a competitive tournament but also one that generates fan interest.”
Detroit Mercy has not yet been invited, but it sounds like there’s a chance they could be. And if the team is invited and pays the $27,500, Davis will surely break Maravich’s record – without necessarily earning that chance.
But even if Davis had broken Maravich’s points total on Thursday night, it still would not have compared to Maravich’s record. After all, Maravich set his record in just three seasons at LSU, playing 88 total games. He also did it in 1970, before the introduction of the three-point line.
Davis, meanwhile, has amassed his 3,664 points in 144 games throughout five full seasons, getting an extra year of eligibility due to the COVID-19 pandemic affecting the 2020 season. He also played his entire career with a three-point line and made great use of it, averaging nearly 11 three-point attempts per game.
If he breaks the record, his 25.4 points per game will never compare to Maravich’s 44.2. But to their credit, it sounds like the Davis family understands that.
“People would have put an asterisk by his name if he would’ve broken it,” said Antoine’s father Mike Davis, who is also Detroit Mercy’s head coach. “Pistol Pete was in a world of his own, and there will never be another Pistol Pete in college basketball.”
[Outkick]
