Dick Van Arsdale
American basketball player
Died when: 81 years 298 days (981 months)Star Sign: Pisces
Richard Albert Van Arsdale (born February 22, 1943) was an American former professional basketball player and coach, and a current National Basketball Association (NBA) executive.
A graduate of Emmerich Manual High School in Indianapolis, Van Arsdale played collegiately at Indiana University under longtime head coach Branch McCracken.
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).
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".
Van Arsdale later became the Suns' general manager; he is currently the team's senior vice president of player personnel.Following the firing of John MacLeod in February 1987, he was the interim head coach for that season's final 26 games.
He is the identical twin brother of Tom Van Arsdale.The twins played together through college and again in Phoenix during the 1976–77 season, the final for both.
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