RE: How good was Pistol Pete?

Posted on: March 9, 2018 at 23:55:13 CT

He truly WAS a once in a lifetime player. He was indescribable. You have to see him on replays to even begin to appreciate what he could do with a basketball. There has never been anybody since him who has been able to do the things he did with the ball.

There are numerous youtube videos you can check out and it's worth doing. I never saw him in person but what I recall are:

a-he routinely made incredible (literally) no-look passes in any and all directions and in ways you've not seen anybody do today.......underhand, overhand, around the body and in ways that are not describable----you have to see them in slo-mo to really appreciate.

b-if he'd have played for the Harlem Globetrotters he would have outshone all his teammates

c-he was a PHENOMENAL scorer, but almost always on losing teams. Playing prior to the 3 point shot was introduced he averaged 44.2 points per game over three seasons. He still holds the D-II scoring record with 3,667 points, and unless there's a rule change on players leaving early it is unlikely to ever be broken. And YET in spite of his scoring, I'd say his greatest and most unique attribute was the ball handling and passing.