Dick_Van_Arsdale

Dick Van Arsdale

Dick Van Arsdale

American Basketball player and executive

Richard Albert Van Arsdale (born February 22, 1943) is an American former professional basketball player and coach, and a current National Basketball Association (NBA) executive.

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College career

A graduate of Emmerich Manual High School in Indianapolis, Van Arsdale played collegiately at Indiana University under longtime head coach Branch McCracken. At Indiana, Van Arsdale averaged 17.2 points and 10 rebounds per game over his collegiate career. In 1963-64, he was named to the All-Big Ten team after averaging 22.3 points and 12.4 rebounds per game in his second year with the Hoosiers.

Professional career

He was selected by the New York Knicks in the second round of the 1965 NBA draft, and was named to the NBA All-Rookie Team in 1966, together with his identical twin brother Tom.

Van Arsdale played in the NBA for twelve seasons; three with the Knicks and the remainder with the Phoenix Suns (their first selection in the 1968 expansion draft).[1] Van Arsdale, a three-time All-Star, was consistently one of the best free throw shooters in professional basketball. He retired from the NBA in 1977 and is remembered in Phoenix basketball lore as the "original Sun".[2]

Post-playing career

Van Arsdale later became the Suns' general manager; he is currently the team's senior vice president of player personnel.[2] Following the firing of John MacLeod in February 1987, he was the interim head coach for that season's final 26 games.[1]

Personal life

He is the identical twin brother of Tom Van Arsdale.[3] The twins played together through college and again in Phoenix during the 1976–77 season,[4] the final for both.

References

  1. [1]
    "Van Arsdale chosen Phoenix head coach". Tuscaloosa News. (Alabama). combined reports. February 27, 1987. p. 21 – via Google News.
  2. [2]
    "Dick Van Arsdale". nba.com. Archived from the original on November 12, 2006. Retrieved March 12, 2018.
  3. [3]
    Petersen, Matt (May 29, 2014). "Suns Throwback: Dick and Tom Van Arsdale". nba.com. Retrieved March 12, 2018.
  4. [4]
    "Van Arsdales 'one' again; Both delighted in Phoenix". Spokesman-Review. (Spokane, Washington). Associated Press. December 14, 1976. p. 20 – via Google News.
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