Jackson, Miss. ? The lanky point guard for tiny William Carey College has a slick handle, keen court vision and funky looking shot. The tattoo on his left arm explains why he looks familiar.

“PISTOL,” it reads. In place of the ‘O’ is an orange basketball.

Jaeson Maravich wasn’t always comfortable being known as the son of Pete Maravich. Being compared to the incomparable Hall of Famer even pushed the quiet 23-year-old player away from the game at one point.

That’s not the case anymore. Sure, he can live without the extra attention, but being known as Pistol Pete’s kid is no longer a burden for Jaeson Maravich.

“Now since I’m playing ball and doing my own thing and doing good, I know I’m getting some credit for that, too,” he said.

Pete Maravich was the greatest scorer college basketball has ever seen. In three seasons at LSU (1968-70), Maravich averaged 44.2 points per game.

His NBA career included a scoring title with the New Orleans Jazz in 1977. But in 1988, Maravich died of a heart attack after a pickup basketball game at age 39.

“It’s still extremely tough to deal with to this day,” Jaeson Maravich said.

Jaeson Maravich became a local celebrity when he showed promise as a basketball player while in grade school in Covington, La. He was being asked for autographs before he was a teenager.

By his sophomore year of high school, he had enough.

“People started comparing me to my dad and at that young age I couldn’t handle it and I got frustrated with it and gave it up for two years,” he said.

While Jaeson Maravich needed some time to embrace his basketball lineage, his younger brother, Josh, has immersed himself in it.

Josh Maravich is a walk-on at LSU.

The 20-year-old guard has played in four games this season, and each of his two baskets have received standing ovations in the arena that bears his father’s name.

“It made me feel proud because I saw how much they appreciated and respect my father here,” Josh Maravich said.

Jaeson Maravich has been a basketball gypsy.

He’s made previous stops at a prep school in New Hampshire, the University of Alabama, a junior college in Mississippi and McNeese State in Louisiana. But he has spent more time recovering from a back injury than playing during his seven-year journey.

Last year, a friend who was playing at William Carey suggested the NAIA school in Hattiesburg to Maravich. The Crusaders play an up-tempo style — which Maravich likes. Most important, he had two years of eligibility left in NAIA. If he went to another NCAA Division I school, he would have had only half a year left.

“I would have preferred D-I,” Jaeson Maravich said. “I felt two years would benefit me a lot more than just playing half a year even if the competition was better in D-I.

“I’m trying to get to the NBA.”

The 6-foot-5, 185-pound junior moved from shooting to point guard halfway through this season. Having the ball in his hands suits Maravich well.

Maravich makes his opponents react quickly.

“From foul line to the other end of the floor, Jaeson’s about as fast as anyone you’d ever want to see with the ball,” William Carey coach Steve Knight said after Maravich scored 23 points in a recent win over Belhaven College in Jackson.

Maravich’s shot is unorthodox, with a quick release and little spin. At the free-throw line, he doesn’t bounce or spin the ball before shooting. He just gets it and puts it up. More often than not, though, it goes in. He hits 75 percent from the line and is scoring 19.4 per game.

But if you’re looking for a glimpse of Pistol Pete panache out of Jaeson or Josh, don’t bother. Pete Maravich was a magician with the basketball, famous for no-look passes, behind the back dribbles and other slights of hand.

“I watch basketball games today and he was doing things then that they don’t even do now,” Jaeson Maravich said.

Jaeson Maravich was an infant when his father retired and 8 when Pete Maravich died.

“I was too young to understand just how great he was. I didn’t look at him as a legend. I just looked at him as my dad. It wasn’t until later on I realized what he did for basketball and how great he was,” Jaeson said.

Jaeson and Josh represented Pete Maravich during a ceremony honoring the NBA’s 50 greatest players at the 1997 All-Star game.

“Bill Walton was telling us stories about how great he was,” Jaeson Maravich said. “Rick Barry, Isiah (Thomas), Magic (Johnson), they all had such great things to say about how they incorporated some of his stuff into their games, watching tapes of my dad.

“It was one of the best days of my life.”