Richard Albert Van Arsdale (February 22, 1943 – December 16, 2024) was an American professional basketball player in the

National Basketball Association The National Basketball Association (NBA) is a professional basketball league in North America composed of 30 teams (29 in the United States and 1 in Canada). The NBA is one of the major professional sports leagues in the United States and Ca ...

(NBA). A three-time

NBA All-Star The National Basketball Association (NBA) All-Star Game is an annual exhibition basketball game. It is the main event of the NBA All-Star Weekend. Traditionally, the All-Star Game featured a conference-based format, featuring a team composed of ...

selection, his 5 was retired by the

Phoenix Suns The Phoenix Suns are an American professional basketball team based in Phoenix, Arizona. The Suns compete in the National Basketball Association (NBA) as a member of the Pacific Division (NBA), Pacific Division of the Western Conference (NBA), We ...

. Van Arsdale played

college basketball College basketball is basketball that is played by teams of Student athlete, student-athletes at universities and colleges. In the Higher education in the United States, United States, colleges and universities are governed by collegiate athle ...

for the

Indiana Hoosiers The Indiana Hoosiers are the intercollegiate sports teams and players of Indiana University Bloomington, named after the demonym for people from the state of Indiana. The Hoosiers participate in NCAA Division I, Division I of the National Coll ...

, along with his identical twin brother, Tom. The

New York Knicks The New York Knickerbockers, shortened and more commonly referred to as the New York Knicks, are an American professional basketball team based in the Boroughs of New York City, New York City borough of Manhattan. The Knicks compete in the Na ...

selected Van Arsdale in the second round of the

1965 NBA draft The 1965 NBA draft was the 19th annual draft of the National Basketball Association (NBA). The draft was held on May 6, 1965, before the 1965–66 season. In this draft, nine NBA teams took turns selecting amateur U.S. college basketball player ...

. He was named to the

NBA All-Rookie First Team The NBA All-Rookie Team is an annual National Basketball Association (NBA) honor given since the 1962–63 NBA season to the top rookies during the regular season. Voting is conducted by the NBA head coaches who are not allowed to vote for play ...

and played three seasons for the Knicks before being selected by the Suns with their first pick of the 1968 NBA expansion draft. An All-Star in each of his first three seasons with Phoenix, he is known as "the Original Sun". He was later an interim coach, executive, and

color commentator A color commentator or expert commentator is a sports commentator who assists the main (play-by-play) commentator, typically by filling in when play is not in progress. The person may also be referred to as a summariser (outside North America) ...

for the team.

Early life and education

Van Arsdale was born on February 22, 1943, in

Indianapolis Indianapolis ( ), colloquially known as Indy, is the List of capitals in the United States, capital and List of municipalities in Indiana, most populous city of the U.S. state of Indiana and the county seat of Marion County, Indiana, Marion ...

, along with his identical twin brother, Tom. They attended Emmerich Manual High School in Indianapolis. In 1961, the brothers were jointly awarded the Indiana Mr. Basketball award, and the Trester Award for Mental Attitude.

College career

Kentucky Wildcats The Kentucky Wildcats are the men's and women's intercollegiate athletic squads of the University of Kentucky (UK), a founding member of the Southeastern Conference. The Kentucky Wildcats is the student body of the University of Kentucky. 30, ...

coach

Adolph Rupp Adolph Frederick Rupp (September 2, 1901 – December 10, 1977) was an American college basketball coach. Nicknamed the "Baron of the Bluegrass", he coached the University of Kentucky Wildcats to four NCAA Division I men's basketball tournam ...

tried to get the brothers to attend the

University of Kentucky The University of Kentucky (UK, UKY, or U of K) is a Public University, public Land-grant University, land-grant research university in Lexington, Kentucky, United States. Founded in 1865 by John Bryan Bowman as the Agricultural and Mechanical ...

, but they chose

Indiana University Bloomington Indiana University Bloomington (IU Bloomington, Indiana University, IU, IUB, or Indiana) is a public university, public research university in Bloomington, Indiana, United States. It is the flagship university, flagship campus of Indiana Univer ...

, playing for the Hoosiers from 1962 to 1965 under head coach Branch McCracken. At , Van Arsdale played guard and

small forward The small forward (SF), also known as the three, is one of the five Basketball position, positions in a regulation basketball game. Small forwards are typically shorter, quicker, and leaner than Power forward (basketball), power forwards and Cent ...

. He was an

All-American The All-America designation is an annual honor bestowed on outstanding athletes in the United States who are considered to be among the best athletes in their respective sport. Individuals receiving this distinction are typically added to an Al ...

in 1965, and also an Academic All-American. In three years, he scored 1,240 points with 719 rebounds (while his brother scored 1,252 points with 723 rebounds). He averaged a double-double for the Hoosiers over his career, with 17.2 points per game and 10.0 rebounds per game. In 1963–64, he was named to the All-

Big Ten The Big Ten Conference (stylized B1G, formerly the Western Conference and the Big Nine Conference, among others) is a collegiate athletic conference in the United States. Founded as the Intercollegiate Conference of Faculty Representatives in 1 ...

team after averaging 22.3 points and 12.4 rebounds per game in his second year with the Hoosiers. Van Arsdale was a member of the U.S. team that won the gold medal in the 1965 Summer Universiade. He was inducted into the Indiana Basketball Hall of Fame in 1988. In February 2019, the Van Arsdale brothers were honored by Indiana at halftime of a game between Indiana and

Purdue Purdue University is a public land-grant research university in West Lafayette, Indiana, United States, and the flagship campus of the Purdue University system. The university was founded in 1869 after Lafayette businessman John Purdue donat ...

Professional career

Van Arsdale was selected by the

in the second round of the

with the 10th overall pick, and was named to the

NBA All-Rookie Team The NBA All-Rookie Team is an annual National Basketball Association (NBA) honor given since the 1962–63 NBA season to the top rookies during the regular season. Voting is conducted by the NBA head coaches who are not allowed to vote for play ...

1966 Events January * January 1 – In a coup, Colonel Jean-Bédel Bokassa takes over as military ruler of the Central African Republic, ousting President David Dacko. * January 3 – 1966 Upper Voltan coup d'état: President Maurice Yaméogo i ...

, together with Tom. They were the first pair of identical twins to play in the league. Van Arsdale played in the NBA for twelve seasons; three with the Knicks and the remainder with the

, their first selection in the 1968 expansion draft. Van Arsdale was a three-time

All-Star An all-star team is a group of people all having a high level of performance in their field. Originating in sports, it has since drifted into vernacular and has been borrowed heavily by the entertainment industry. Sports "All-star" as a sport ...

(1969–1971) and an

NBA All-Defensive Second Team The NBA All-Defensive Team is an annual National Basketball Association (NBA) honor given since the 1968–69 NBA season to the best defensive players during the regular season. The All-Defensive Team is generally composed of ten players in two ...

selection (1974), and was consistently one of the better

free throw In basketball, free throws or foul shots are unopposed attempts to score points by shooting from behind the free-throw line (informally known as the foul line or the charity stripe), a line situated at the end of the restricted area. Free throws ...

shooters in the league, averaging 79% over his entire career, and near or over 80% from 1969–1977. He retired from the NBA in 1977 and is remembered in Phoenix basketball lore as "the Original Sun". In the NBA, he averaged 16.4 points per game, 4.1 rebounds per game, and 3.3 assists per game, and his number 5 jersey was retired by the Suns.

Post-playing career

Van Arsdale later became the Suns' general manager and senior vice president of player personnel. Following the firing of John MacLeod in February

1987 Events January * January 1 – Bolivia reintroduces the Boliviano currency. * January 2 – Chadian–Libyan conflict – Battle of Fada: The Military of Chad, Chadian army destroys a Libyan armoured brigade. * January 3 – Afghan leader ...

, he was the interim head coach for that season's final 26 games. He also worked as a television and radio

for the Suns, alongside Al McCoy.

Personal life and death

He was the

identical twin Twins are two offspring produced by the same pregnancy.MedicineNet > Definition of Twin Last Editorial Review: 19 June 2000 Twins can be either ''monozygotic'' ('identical'), meaning that they develop from one zygote, which splits and forms two ...

brother of Tom Van Arsdale. The twins played together through college and again in Phoenix during the 1976–77 season, the final for both. The original lockers of both Tom and Dick remain in the display case in the lobby of the Emmerich Manual High School gymnasium. In 2005, he suffered a massive stroke, but made a physical recovery, though with some speech difficulties. He and Tom shared a post-retirement art studio in

Scottsdale, Arizona Scottsdale is a city in eastern Maricopa County, Arizona, United States, and is part of the Phoenix metropolitan area. Named Scottsdale in 1894 after its founder Winfield Scott (chaplain), Winfield Scott, a retired Chaplain Corps (United States ...

, which they opened in May 2018. Their art focuses on promoting racial tolerance and harmony. Van Arsdale died of kidney failure in

Phoenix, Arizona Phoenix ( ) is the List of capitals in the United States, capital and List of cities and towns in Arizona#List of cities and towns, most populous city of the U.S. state of Arizona. With over 1.6 million residents at the 2020 census, it is the ...

, on December 16, 2024, at the age of 81.

Career playing statistics

NBA

Source

Regular season

{, class="wikitable sortable" style="font-size:95%; text-align:right;" , - ! Year ! Team ! GP ! GS ! MPG ! FG% ! FT% ! RPG ! APG ! SPG ! BPG ! PPG , - , style="text-align:left;", , style="text-align:left;", New York , 79 , , 69 , , 29.0 , , .428 , , .715 , , 4.8 , , 2.3 , , , , , , 12.3 , - , style="text-align:left;", , style="text-align:left;", New York , 79 , , 79 , , 36.6 , , .449 , , .729 , , 7.0 , , 3.1 , , , , , , 15.1 , - , style="text-align:left;", , style="text-align:left;", New York , 78 , , 50 , , 30.1 , , .436 , , .670 , , 5.4 , , 2.9 , , , , , , 11.0 , - , style="text-align:left;", , style="text-align:left;", Phoenix , 80 , , , , 42.4 , , .442 , , .705 , , 6.9 , , 4.8 , , , , , , 21.0 , - , style="text-align:left;", , style="text-align:left;", Phoenix , 77 , , , , 38.5 , , .508 , , .798 , , 3.4 , , 4.4 , , , , , , 21.3 , - , style="text-align:left;", , style="text-align:left;", Phoenix , 81 , , , , 39.0 , , .452 , , .811 , , 3.9 , , 4.1 , , , , , , 21.9 , - , style="text-align:left;", , style="text-align:left;", Phoenix , 82 , , , , 37.8 , , .463 , , .845 , , 4.1 , , 3.6 , , , , , , 19.7 , - , style="text-align:left;", , style="text-align:left;", Phoenix , 81 , , , , 36.8 , , .476 , , .859 , , 4.0 , , 3.3 , , , , , , 18.4 , - , style="text-align:left;", , style="text-align:left;", Phoenix , 78 , , , , 36.3 , , .500 , , .853 , , 2.8 , , 4.2 , , 1.2 , , .2 , , 17.8 , - , style="text-align:left;", , style="text-align:left;", Phoenix , 70 , , , , 34.6 , , .470 , , .832 , , 2.7 , , 2.8 , , 1.2 , , .2 , , 16.1 , - , style="text-align:left;", , style="text-align:left;", Phoenix , 58 , , , , 32.2 , , .484 , , .830 , , 2.4 , , 2.4 , , .9 , , .2 , , 12.9 , - , style="text-align:left;", , style="text-align:left;", Phoenix , 78 , , , , 19.7 , , .456 , , .873 , , 1.5 , , 1.5 , , .4 , , .1 , , 7.7 , - class="sortbottom" , style="text-align:center;" colspan="2", Career , 921 , , 198 , , 34.5 , , .464 , , .790 , , 4.1 , , 3.3 , , .9 , , .2 , , 16.4 , - class="sortbottom" , style="text-align:center;" colspan="2", All-Star , 3 , , 0 , , 12.7 , , .500 , , .000 , , 2.7 , , 1.7 , , , , , , 5.3

Playoffs

{, class="wikitable sortable" style="font-size:95%; text-align:right;" , - ! Year ! Team ! GP ! MPG ! FG% ! FT% ! RPG ! APG ! SPG ! BPG ! PPG , - , style="text-align:left;",

1967 Events January * January 1 – Canada begins a year-long celebration of the 100th anniversary of Canadian Confederation, Confederation, featuring the Expo 67 World's Fair. * January 6 – Vietnam War: United States Marine Corps and Army of ...

, style="text-align:left;", New York , 4 , , 38.3 , , .319 , , .727 , , 6.3 , , 3.5 , , , , , , 11.5 , - , style="text-align:left;",

1968 Events January–February * January 1968, January – The I'm Backing Britain, I'm Backing Britain campaign starts spontaneously. * January 5 – Prague Spring: Alexander Dubček is chosen as leader of the Communist Party of Cze ...

, style="text-align:left;", New York , 4 , , 22.0 , , .227 , , .750 , , 4.0 , , 3.3 , , , , , , 3.3 , - , style="text-align:left;",

1970 Events January * January 1 – Unix time epoch reached at 00:00:00 UTC. * January 5 – The 7.1 1970 Tonghai earthquake, Tonghai earthquake shakes Tonghai County, Yunnan province, China, with a maximum Mercalli intensity scale, Mercalli ...

, style="text-align:left;", Phoenix , 7 , , 36.4 , , .430 , , .879 , , 2.6 , , 4.1 , , , , , , 16.4 , - , style="text-align:left;",

1976 Events January * January 2 – The International Covenant on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights enters into force. * January 5 – The Pol Pot regime proclaims a new constitution for Democratic Kampuchea. * January 18 – Full diplomatic ...

, style="text-align:left;", Phoenix , style="background:#cfecec;" , 19* , , 24.8 , , .488 , , .870 , , 1.2 , , 2.0 , , .7 , , .1 , , 8.5 , - class="sortbottom" , style="text-align:center;" colspan="2", Career , 34 , , 28.5 , , .422 , , .838 , , 2.4 , , 2.8 , , .7 , , .1 , , 9.9

College

Source {, class="wikitable sortable" style="font-size:95%; text-align:right;" , - !Year !Team !GP !FG% !FT% !RPG !PPG , - , style="text-align:left;", 1962–63 , style="text-align:left;",

Indiana Indiana ( ) is a U.S. state, state in the Midwestern United States, Midwestern region of the United States. It borders Lake Michigan to the northwest, Michigan to the north and northeast, Ohio to the east, the Ohio River and Kentucky to the s ...

, 24 , .422 , .718 , 8.9 , 12.2 , - , style="text-align:left;", 1963–64 , style="text-align:left;",

, 24 , .449 , .803 , 12.4 , 22.3 , - , style="text-align:left;", 1964–65 , style="text-align:left;",

, 24 , .446 , .852 , 8.7 , 17.2 , - , colspan="2" style="text-align:center;" , Career , 72 , .442 , .793 , 10.0 , 17.2

Head coaching record

, - , style="text-align:left;", Phoenix , style="text-align:left;", , 26, , 14, , 12, , , , style="text-align:center;", 5th in Pacific, , —, , —, , —, , — , style="text-align:center;", Missed playoffs Source

References

External links

Basketball-Reference.com: Dick Van Arsdale (as coach)

{{DEFAULTSORT:Van Arsdale, Dick 1943 births 2024 deaths All-American college men's basketball players American men's basketball coaches American men's basketball players American people of Dutch descent Basketball coaches from Indiana Basketball players from Indianapolis Identical twins Indiana Hoosiers men's basketball players NBA All-Stars NBA executives NBA players with retired numbers New York Knicks draft picks New York Knicks players Parade High School All-Americans (boys' basketball) Phoenix Suns announcers Phoenix Suns expansion draft picks Phoenix Suns head coaches Phoenix Suns players Shooting guards Small forwards American twins Sigma Alpha Epsilon members 20th-century American sportsmen Deaths from kidney failure in the United States