-
Michael Voepel
-
Paul Biancardi
Close
Paul Biancardi
Basketball Recruiting
- National Recruiting Director for ESPN.com
- 18 years of coaching experience at Division I level
- Former Horizon League coach of the year at Wright State
Two days before Christmas 1969, Bill Walton first saw Pete Maravich in person.
A high school senior from San Diego headed to hoops immortality at UCLA, Walton watched at Pauley Pavilion as the LSU legend went through his pregame warmup drills.
“He was a genius,” Walton told ESPN. “And as is often the case with geniuses, they get bored very quickly. So he was constantly challenging himself. He was a showman, and he loved the show.”
Walton understands why people see similarities between Maravich and Iowa women’s college basketball star Caitlin Clark, who is closing in on passing Maravich for the Division I men’s and women’s scoring mark. Maravich scored 3,667 points from 1967-70; Clark is at 3,617.
“When I watch her play, which is as often as possible, it just puts a giant smile on my face,” Walton said. “The beauty of basketball is that…
