Caitlin Clark is not only days away from breaking Kelsey Plum's all-time scoring record in women's NCAA basketball — she is also becoming increasingly close to securing the all-time NCAA scoring record regardless of gender, currently held by LSU legend Pete Maravich.
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Yet, in an effort to preserve Maravich's legacy, his son Jaeson has concocted a strange take about Clark's record chase that sounds as if he's trying to diminish the women's game.
In a conversation with Nola.com, Maravich said, "I look at my dad's record, and if somebody breaks it, it's almost like two totally different records. Just because of the circumstances and the rules and everything else. I think they had said if he had played four years, he would have had close to 5,000.
"So, I said this last year: It's kind of like an apple-to-orange comparison," Maravich continued. "And then if you're talking about the women's record, I mean, to me, that'd be two totally separate records."
Maravich does have a point — in some ways. Considering that Maravich scored his NCAA record 3,667 points in only 83 college games (an average of 44.2 points per game) without there being a 3-point line or a shot clock, it is extraordinary that Maravich set that mark in the first place.
Then again, the fact that those modern basketball staples didn't exist back then proves how far the game has evolved since the late 1960s, when Maravich was at LSU. In addition to there being a whole slew of new rules, the overall athleticism and talent that modern players possess make watching Maravich's LSU highlights appear to be in slow motion.
So although we understand what Jaeson Maravich is trying to say, his sentiment can go both ways.
While Maravich's stance might sound as if he's trying to diminish Clark's record chase, he did make it clear that he thinks the Iowa standout is a fantastic player.
"I got a chance to see [Clark] play for the first time last year, and she's incredible," Maravich said. "She's great for the sport, for women's basketball, and I think she's going to be a great pro. So, I'm not surprised that she's on the verge of breaking the all-time scoring record for women."
Regardless of what Maravich says or wants to believe, Clark isn't just going to break the all-time scoring record for women. She's coming for his father's record, too — and it's time for him to accept that.
