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LSU women’s basketball coach Kim Mulkey was asked about Caitlin Clark’s most recent accomplishment as she passed former Tiger Pete Maravich in scoring. That now puts her alone atop the NCAA’s all-time list as she’s now bested the men’s and women’s marks.
Mulkey didn’t want to “make too much of” that feat this weekend, believing the two situations aren’t all that comparable.
Clark passed over Maravich’s record of 3,667 points in her final home regular season game of the year. She entered that contest just 18 points shy of the title and finished with 35 to help the Hawkeyes land a 93-83 win over Ohio State.
The record-setting point came from the charity stripe after a controversial technical foul call.
The accomplishment is a monumental one, and she’ll have a chance to add to it as Iowa preps for the postseason. Some, however, aren’t ready to rank the feat as being more impressive than Pistol Pete’s.
A number of Maravich supporters have come out to remind that he was able to set that scoring mark in far fewer games without the luxury of the three-point line – which Clark has certainly used to her advantage (2nd all-time in 3-pt makes).
Most adamant about preserving Maravich’s legacy is his son, Jaeson, who called Clark’s pursuit of the title an “apples to oranges” debate.
“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,” he said. “I think they had said if he had played four years, he would have had close to 5,000.”
Jaeson Maravich points to a previous NCAA policy that wouldn’t allow freshmen to compete on the varsity level, robbing Pistol Pete of an extra season. He averaged more than 44 points in the three seasons he did play.
His Tigers also only played four postseason games over his three college seasons, making the NIT during his senior campaign. There was no SEC Tournament while he was on campus.
For reference, Maravich totaled 83 games to Clark’s 130 (and counting!).
LSU’s Kim Mulkey agreed with that argument.
. @LSUwbkb @KimMulkey shares her thoughts on @IowaWBB @CaitlinClark22, @LSUBasketball “Pistol” Pete Maravich and the NCAA scoring record. #LSU pic.twitter.com/ci5j994NHS
— Jacques Doucet (@JacquesDoucet) March 3, 2024
“I’m gonna get long-winded here, okay,” she said in a recent press conference. “Pete Maravich could do things with the basketball that I had never seen done in my life… He was ahead of his time.
“I don’t look at comparing apples to oranges. What [Caitlin] Clark has done is unbelievable, and her name will be right up there at the top, but he played over here with no three-point line for three years. I don’t think we need to make too much of, ‘Well she passed him because he’s a man.'”
Mulkey continued on to give Clark her flowers, but like many, she doesn’t like the Maravich comparison.
“She is who she is, and that’s awesome… What a generational talent… but I look at it like two separate things.”
Kim Mulkey has been critical of Caitlin Clark in the past, insinuating that she played a selfish style of ball earlier this season. This, coming after LSU knocked Iowa off in the 2023 national championship game.
Still, the Tigers head coach knows that Clark is a special talent. Hopefully, we get a rematch this March!