3,667 career points. That’s the NCAA scoring record set by Pete Maravich at LSU in 1970. Fifth-year Detroit Mercy senior Antoine Davis is 63 points away from tying the mark and can set a new mark if he plays enough games.
Davis, the son of Detroit Mercy head coach Mike Davis, will play Tuesday night in the opening round of the Horizon League tournament against Purdue Fort Wayne.
Can Pistol Pete’s Scoring Record Be Broken?
Detroit Mercy needs to advance deep into the tournament to give Antoine Davis a shot at the record. While the senior is averaging 28.1 points per game this season, the Titans are seeded eighth in the conference tournament and with a dismal 13-18 record they will not be eligible for any additional postseason games.
They’ll need to play in at least two games and likely three to give the younger Davis a shot at breaking Maravich’s record.
“The record definitely matters to a parent,” Mike Davis told MLive.com earlier this month. “But as a coach, you want to win. So I’m torn between the coach and the parent.”
This would be a huge accomplishment for Antoine and the Davis family, but if the team wins games and advances deep into the conference tournament his teammates would feel a sense of accomplishment too.
For Mike Davis, that should be the goal. How do you get your team to feel a part of your son’s major accomplishment.
Who Was Pistol Pete Maravich?
Maravich amassed his 3,667 points in just 83 games spread across three seasons, averaging 44.2 points per game. Back in those days freshmen were ineligible to play at the varsity level. Maravich also took half his team’s shots per game, averaging a whopping 38.1 shot attempts per game. There was also no three-point line.
It’s pretty impressive.
Davis has played five years and 142 games (and counting) at Detroit, not only starting as a true freshman in 2018-19, but getting an extra season of eligibility due to the COVID pandemic.
Regardless, he’s been a five-time All-Horizon League first-teamer and on Monday was named the conference’s player of the year for the second straight season.
Pistol Pete Had A Prolific College Career
Davis has averaged 25.4 points per game in his career, and at least 24 per game in all five of his seasons. He’s one of just 11 players in NCAA men’s basketball history to score 3,000 points, and with former St. Peter’s star Keydren Clark one of only two with 3,000 points and 500 steals.
Maravich was 6 feet 5. Davis is barely 6-1 and has used the three-point line to his advantage.
The diminutive Titan has averaged just under 11 three-point attempts per game his entire career and shoots it at a career 37.6 percent, though this year he’s making a career high 41.7 percent.
Maravich’s son Jaeson was alerted to the chance that one of his dad’s records might fall and wondered why it wasn’t a bigger story. Either way he would be happy if Davis ends up breaking the record.
“I’m proud of all my dad’s records,” Jaeson Maravich told Yahoo Sports. “I’d like them to stand as long as possible. But if he breaks it, I’m certainly not going to hate on this guy. I’ll be happy for him.”