"She’s the real deal": Pete Maravich's son notes parallels between $910,000 NIL-valued Caitlin Clark and his father's game
With the NCAA women's scoring record secured, Iowa's Caitlin Clark sets sights on Pete Maravich's legendary NCAA Division I career points record. Like Maravich's prolific scoring for LSU, Clark has proven a dominant point-getter for the Hawkeyes. Maravich's son, Jaeson Maravich, sees similarities between Clark and his late, great scoring-machine father.
In an interview with OutKick, Jaeson revealed Clark's game has impressed him a lot, and he can't help but see similarities between his father and her electrifying playing style.
"I was really impressed right off. She's the real deal," Jaeson said. "And she looks like she could be a cousin or something. There is definitely a resemblance to my dad - the lanky build and real dark eyes. She shoots from 30 or 35 feet like he did, and she passes the ball like a magician. Not as flashy, but a real good ball handler, too. And no one could guard her."
Jaeson and his mother, Jackie Maravich, were watching Iowa take on South Carolina in last season's Final Four, where they saw the $910,000 On3 NIL-valued superstar play for the first time. They witnessed Clark put on a scintillating 41-point, eight-assist, six-rebound tour de force to lead Iowa past top-ranked, undefeated South Carolina 77-73.
"I don't keep up with women's basketball, so I was like, ‘Who is this?’ I mean, she was hitting from 30 feet," Jaeson said. "She can stop on a dime from 25 or 30 feet. She's very unpredictable. She has great composure and confidence and really is an all-around player like dad."
Sitting just 51 points from breaking Maravich's hallowed NCAA career scoring mark of 3,667, Iowa senior point guard Caitlin Clark scored 24 with 15 rebounds and 10 assists in Sunday's 101-85 win over Illinois.
She now has 3,617 career points with two regular season games left to surpass one of college basketball's most revered records.
Jaeson Maravich's views on Caitlin Clark chasing his father's record
If Caitlin Clark eclipses his father's career scoring record, Jaeson Maravich hopes both marks stand as celebrated testaments to individual brilliance rather than rivaling records.
“I look at my dad's record, and if somebody breaks it, it's almost like two totally different records,” Jaeson said per NOLA. "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. And then if you're talking about the women's record, I mean, to me, that'd be two totally separate records.”
Pete Maravich performed his scoring sorcery for LSU without two key weapons benefiting Caitlin Clark - no 3-point line or shot clock to boost scoring. The Hall of Famer was also denied a freshman varsity season by archaic NCAA rules.
Yet Maravich still averaged a phenomenal 44.2 points over his iconic three-year college run, establishing the heralded NCAA career scoring record.