R.I.P. Shame and Humility

Yes, shame and humility seem officially dead (at the very least they're on extended life support).

As regular readers of this blog likely know, I'm not a big sports follower. I have a few teams or sides whom I follow, mostly in non-mainstream sports, at least for these United States. (The EPL is getting so popular I may have to find a different sport or league to follow {sorry Spurs and Wolves}, but the CFL is still mostly unknown here, so my support for the Ti-Cats is safe for now.)

Still, when there talk of Pistol Pete Maravich's scoring record being broken with scarcely any talk of the vast number of asterisks that would be needed, well, let's just say my blood will soon pass 99C, shall we?

Pete played in the era where all field goals were worth two points (no three pointers at any distance - the only three-point play was to score while being fouled and make your free throw), and where there were only four years of college - but freshmen didn't play varsity sports. So ... in three seasons (with fewer games per season than now) with no three-pointers, and with no shot clock (that abomination!) meaning teams could stall, Pete put up an amazing number of points. He also was one of the greatest passers of all time.

Now, along comes a player who managed in five years (that's 144 games as opposed to the 83 games Pete played) with three point shots to nearly equal Pete's three-year total, and the talk is of his school's buying its way into a tournament (with a losing record, for goodness's sake!) to let him set the new scoring record. Have they no sense of history? of shame? of humility? or at least some respect for the sport? Apparently not. 

Were I in that player's position, I like to think I would tell the school not to embarrass itself by buying its way in; and that, if they did, I would sit on the bench or at least miss any shot I was forced to take. (As I said, I hope I would do that - I know the temptation would be great. That's why there are supposed to be adults in charge of the school and the team - to do what's best for the students. Oh, I forgot; we don't really have student athletes competing for their schools anymore - it's all about the sport and going pro as soon as economically advantageous, all while trying to score some big NIL bucks. Good grief, no wonder I don't follow any college sports anymore.)

Here's a excerpt from an excellent article over at FanBuzz: (link to full article)

Pete Maravich's college career was nothing short of incredible. Perhaps the most astounding factor of his time at LSU is the 3-point shot had yet to be introduced in college basketball. Pistol's game was unique for his time because he loved shooting from outside and a lot of his shots would've been worth more had the arc been in play.

It's estimated Maravich would've averaged 57 points per game with the 3-point line. Absurd.

Since freshmen were forbidden to play at the varsity level during Pete's time, his freshmen year scoring totals didn't count towards his career numbers. Had they counted the 741 points he scored on the freshmen team, he would've scored 4,408 points in his four-year career. Additionally, the shot clock had yet to be invented, allowing teams to stall and restrict opposing possessions.

Pete Maravich is the greatest scorer college basketball has seen. His ball-handling wizardry, shooting ability and baggy socks are cemented in the sport's lore. Pistol was always locked, loaded and ready to fire from anywhere on the court.

Exactly. Asterisks for three v. five seasons, 83 v. 145+ games, three point shots, shot clocks, etc.

Grr.