On Thursday, history could be achieved if Antoine Davis, the Detroit Mercy star, scores 26 points in his team’s matchup against Youngstown State in the Horizon League tournament quarterfinals (8 p.m. ET on ESPN+) and passes “Pistol” Pete Maravich on the career scoring list. He needs 25 points to tie the mark.
For multiple generations, Maravich’s record of 3,667 points in three seasons at LSU always seemed too incredible to pursue. After all, he did it averaging 44.2 points per game without a 3-point line. (It’s worth noting, though, that across men’s and women’s Division I hoops, Kelsey Plum got to within 140 points of him in four seasons at Washington.)
But the additional year granted to all players because of COVID allowed Davis, who now has 3,642 points in his career, to return to Detroit Mercy for a fifth season. He has averaged 25.5 PPG in his five seasons, which also includes the NCAA record for career 3-pointers (584 and counting).
In women’s college basketball, Kelsey Plum — who played at Washington — set the women’s record with 3,527 points, then passing Jackie Stiles.
Davis respects Maravich and his record. He never thought he’d come close to breaking it, but he recently told ESPN that he’s grateful for the experience.
“Yeah, I’d be lying if I said I didn’t [think about Maravich’s record],” Davis told ESPN after moving into the No. 2 slot earlier this season. “It’s a big accomplishment. At the end of the day, No. 2 with 3,274 points is something that’s never been done either, so I’m just playing and having fun and enjoying this.”
Here are five things to know about Davis as he attempts to break the Division I career scoring mark.
He nearly left his father’s school last summer
At Detroit, Davis is coached by his father, Mike Davis. That bond has helped him…
