By Pat Harty

IOWA CITY, Iowa – Rather than argue about whose career point total is more impressive between Caitlin Clark and “Pistol” Pete Maravich, doesn’t it make more sense to celebrate both of their legends?

There is no right or wrong side in debates of these kind because it’s all subjective.

Clark, with 3,685 career points, is now the all-time leading scorer in the history of NCAA basketball for both men and women. Iowa’s dynamic senior guard broke Maravich’s record by scoring 35 points in this past Sunday’s 93-83 victory over then-second-ranked Ohio State.

Maravich’s record (3,667 points) had stood for over a half century, and for Clark to have set the record despite averaging approximately 20 fewer shots per game than what Maravich averaged while playing for his father at Louisiana State from 1967-70 is quite impressive.

But to bring up that point also sparks immediate back lash from the Maravich supporters who would counter by saying that their beloved Pistol only played three seasons in college because freshmen were ineligible back then, and he also played without a 3-point shot and without a shot clock.

Those are all good and fair points since Clark has played in 130 games and with a both a shot clock and a 3-point line. But a Clark supporter could counter by saying that Iowa has 101 victories with Caitlin on the roster, while LSU only had a 49-35 record in Maravich’s three seasons.

But then a Maravich supporter could fire back with the fact that he had a 44.2 career scoring average in college, while Clark’s career scoring average is just a measly 28.3 points per game.

This could go on forever.

So why even bother?

Maravich’s legend is firmly intact and always will be as so few have been gifted with his immense skills.

He made the basketball seem almost like a yo-yo with how easily he controlled it with either hand.

Kids growing up in the 1970s tried to emulate Maravich’s ball-handling wizardry, and I know that because I was one of them.

His shot selection when playing the game of HORSE on television appearances was truly spectacular, part Harlem Globetrotter, part Larry Bird.

But Maravich also played before social media and before cable television.

He also played almost his entire NBA career in the 1970s when the league struggled to gain popularity.

Clark, on the other hand, is a generational talent and a cultural icon whose brand is being fueled by the power and influence of social media and television.

She is the face of women’s basketball and by far the most popular college athlete of our time, and maybe ever.

Legends such as “Pistol” Pete Maravich and Caitlin Clark are so rare.

So, instead of trying to promote one at the expense of the other, appreciate them both for what they have accomplished.

Maravich, who passed away in 1988 at the age of just 40, probably would’ve loved watching Clark play because in some ways their styles are similar, from the dazzling shooting and ball-handing skills to the moxie and consistency.

But to argue that one record is better than the other just seems a waste of time, sort of apples and oranges.

Each is great in her and his way.