Former LSU player Josh Maravich, son of Hall of Fame player Pete Maravich, has died at the age of 42

COVINGTON, Louisiana (AP) — Former LSU basketball player Josh Maravich, son of the late Hall of Fame basketball player Pete Maravich, has died at age 42, the university announced Saturday evening.

He died at home on Friday, LSU said in a statement. The cause of death has not yet been announced.

Josh Maravich was a reserve player for LSU from the 2001-02 season through the 2004-05 season under then-coach John Brady, which plays its home games at the Pete Maravich Assembly Center.

For the younger Maravich, it was a childhood dream to play for LSU, where his father set the NCAA Division I men’s scoring record with 3,667 points between 1967 and 1970.

“I wanted to come here so my dad would be proud of me,” Josh Maravich said in a 2005 article in The Daily Reveille, LSU’s student newspaper. “I knew I wasn’t going to be a star player, but to me, being a walk-on was what I always wanted to be.”

Pete Maravich was an outstanding scorer during his NBA career, which ended in 1980 due to the aftereffects of a serious knee injury he had suffered several years earlier.

In 1988, at the age of 40, he died of an undiagnosed heart disease.

Earlier this year, He was back in the headlines as his best mark in Division I – which has not been achieved by any male or female player in over half a century – surpassed by Iowa star Caitlin Clark (3,951 points).

When LSU unveiled a bronze statue of Pete Maravich in front of its basketball facility in 2022, sculptor Brian Hanlon credited Josh Maravich and his older brother Jaeson Maravich with the idea of ​​depicting their father – who was known for his showmanship and creativity – making a behind-the-back pass.

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AP College Basketball: https://apnews.com/hub/ap-top-25-college-basketball-poll And https://apnews.com/hub/college-basketball