The LSU men’s basketball program turns 100 years old this weekend. Happy birthday!Tiger basketball is probably one of the hottest centenarians ever.The program has had 10 Southeastern Conference players of the year in the award’s 43-year history and three of the past five SEC Freshmen of the Year.That’s pretty sexy.But even with all the good players to come through Baton Rouge, five stand out as the all-time greats of Tiger basketball lore.5. Rudy Macklin Macklin was a four-time Associated Press All-American with three of those being on the first team.He amassed 2,080 points and 1,276 rebounds from 1976-1981.Macklin is on a very short list of college athletes who have both 2,000 points and 1,000 rebounds in their career.He led LSU to their second ever Final Four and was named SEC Player of the Year in 1981.4. Bob PettitHe was the first great power forward in basketball, and his No. 50 hangs in the PMAC rafters to this day.Pettit averaged 27 points and 15 boards a game in three collegiate seasons.He also went on to have success in the NBA, being named league MVP twice and being elected to the Hall of Fame in 1971.And really, how bad can a man be if his jersey is retired by the most awesome franchise in professional basketball, my hometown Atlanta Hawks?3. Chris JacksonJackson, better known now as Mahmoud Abdul-Rauf, changed his name in 1993 after a conversion to Islam.After the conversion, Abdul-Rauf refused to stand during the Star-Spangled Banner until he was suspended by the NBA in 1996. But despite how you feel about the man, no one can deny his basketball prowess in college.He scored 1,854 points in 64 games during his two year stint at LSU — an average of 29 points a game.He was selected as a First-Team All-American both seasons and was the No. 3 overall draft pick by the Denver Nuggets in 1990.2. Shaquille O’NealThe second best player would have to be one of my personal favorites, “The Diesel” — or whatever he’s calling himself this week — Shaquille O’Neal.The original Superman is probably the most dominant post player in NBA history, and he got his start dominating opponents at LSU.  He scored 1,941 points, grabbed 1,217 rebounds and blocked 412 shots in his three seasons in the purple and gold.His 412 career blocks is 282 more than any other player in LSU history — and he did it in only three seasons. He still holds the LSU record for blocked shots in a game with 12.All three of those seasons, O’Neal was also named a first-team AP All-American and won the Adolph Rupp Trophy for being Player of the Year in 1991.And as good as he is at basketball, he’s an even better rapper. I’ve been bumping “Shaq Fu – The Return” off and on since I was six.He was great in “Blue Chips” and “Kazaam,” too.OK, so he isn’t that great at music or acting, but he’s still the best center of all time.1. Pete MaravichAnd, obviously, the best LSU basketball player ever is “Pistol” Pete Maravich.There’s a reason the PMAC is named after him. He dominated basketball for as long as he played at LSU.Maravich still holds almost 10 records for his scoring prowess. In three varsity seasons at LSU, he scored 3,667 points and is still No. 1 on the NCAA all-time scoring list.Most impressive about his nearly 4,000 points is that he did it all before the implementation of the 3-point line.He was so good, it’s scary.He was named a three-time AP All-American and won the 1970 Naismith Award as the best college player in the country.So there you have it. The five greatest names in LSU basketball history.They’ve given so much to Tiger basketball in its 100 years of existence, and I can never match that.But since it’s a birthday party Saturday, I still feel compelled to buy a gift.But what kind of present does one give to a 100-year-old institution?A tie? A nice bottle of wine? Maybe a national championship?I’m no good at shopping for these kinds of occasions.——Contact Johanathan Brooks at [email protected]