March 19, 1970

[warriorjoe]

To mark Marquette's appearance in the NIT, this is a look back at Marquette's 1970 NIT semifinal game against "Pistol" Pete Maravich and the LSU Tigers, March 19, 1970, at Madison Square Garden. What follows is an excerpt from the forthcoming Centennial Edition of my first book "You Can Call Me Al: The Colorful Journey of College Basketball's Original Flower Child, Al McGuire," which will be available later this spring at the Spirit Shop's on campus and online stores. The Centennial Edition of my second book, "Goin' Uptown: Marquette's March to Madness and Return to the Final Four," is currently available at the Spirit Shop. For more information about both books, send an email to Joseph Declan Moran at books@jdmpress.net and I will send a return email with ordering information.

Each morning of the NIT, a press conference was held. Before Marquette and its next opponent, LSU, squared off, Tigers coach Press Maravich, who was "Pistol" pete's father, was holding court with McGuire. According to Marquette Vice President James Sankovitz, sportswriter Pete Axthelm asked Maravich what he anticipated from a defensive team like Marquette, since LSU did not see much defense in the SEC during the regular season.

"Press said that 'Watching a team like Marquette play defense is like watching grass grow.' Al then grabbed the microphone from Maravich and retorted, 'Well, if watching defense is like watching grass grow, your ass is grass and I'm the lawn mower, '" to howls of laughter.

"Pete was on Johnny Carson the day before the game," remembered [Gary] Brell, "and he repeated the statement that Press made."

The night of the game Maravich, he of the droopy gray socks and mop-top hair, and the LSU Tigers were ready to play the Warriors. It was Maravich's senior year and he was the nation's leading scorer. McGuire rotated fresh players to hound Maravich the entire game, and he took just nine shots.

"Dean [Meminger], Jackie Burke, and Jeff Sewell played on Pete all night," said [Joe] Thomas, who credited McGuire's triangle-and-two defense with holding Maravich well under his season-leading average.

"When he [McGuire] beat Maravich and LSU in the NIT, what he did in that game was intimidate him," noted George Affuso, one of McGuire's Belmont Abbey boys, who attended the NIT Final with former Abbey teammate Bill Dockery.

"So he [McGuire] had two guys follow Maravich all over the court. Maravich didn't get a shot off because you didn't let him handle the ball until late in the first half. And he just shut him down in the second half. He had like 20 points, 16 from the free-throw line," noted Affuso, recallling the same defense McGuire used at Belmont Abbey. Maravich averaged 44.5 points a game during the 1969-70 season. During the NIT games, Maravich averaged 25.7 points per game. The Pistol did not play in the consolation game against Bob Knight's Army Cadets. He watched from the bench in street clothes with ankle and hip injuries as his Tigers lost the consolation game of the tournament.

"We ran Pete Maravich into the ground," said McGuire. "We pressured him on offense and kept running on defense."

"We played 'Pistol' Pete well in the NIT," recalled Meminger, one of the players McGuire designated to hound the Pistol.

"It was heaven. The NIT was big time back then. Pete Maravich could get only 20 points. He would acknowledge me when we saw each other later on. 'You see this little guy, here. He will follow you everywhere. Even to the bathroom,'" Meminger said of Maravich's compliments of his defense.

The NIT game against Marquette was the last collegiate game Maravich would play. He finished his college career as the game's leading scorer with 3,667 points and averaged 44.2 points per game. The fact that he accomplished that scoring feat in 83 games is even more impressive considering there was no three-point shot at that time. And Maravich never played a game in the NCAA Tournament. Later that spring, the college player of the year would be the third pick of the Atlanta Hawks in the NBA draft, where he began a ten-year Hall of Fame career.

The Warriors defeated Maravich and LSU convincingly 101-79. "I guess we mowed his [expletive deleted] lawn," reminded Brell after the game.

[4everwarriors]

Sports headline in the Post the following morning read, "Pistol Pete Meets Defeat."

[Goose]

Jackie Burke tightened the screws on Pistol. I loved Pistol Pete, but loved seeing him get stoned more.

[GurneeHitchkr]

Best Pistol Pete quote:  "They don't pay you a million dollars for two-hand chest passes."