You can find a lot of interesting facts perusing statistical sheets. For instance, did you know that of the top 25 individual per-game scoring averages in D1 basketball history, fully twelve of them were in a five-season stretch from 1968 through 1972. You answer, "But that was because of Pete Maravich." True, the Pistol had the top three, but there were nine other individual seasons in the Top 25 during that stretch. Johnny Newmann of Ole Miss. Calvin Murphy of Niagara. Austin Carr of Notre Dame (twice). Elvin Hayes of Houston. Bo Lamar of Louisiana. Rich Fuqua of Oral Roberts. Rick Mount of Purdue, and Dan Issel of Kentucky. All over the country individual players were putting up huge numbers.
Why, during those particular five season was there such an outbreak of individual efforts? Beats me. You might say that offenses were just more potent in that day. Well, perhaps so, but of the top 25 team scoring averages, only six of them were in those five years, and four of those were by one team (Loyola Marymount), so that logic does not hold up.
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