Richard Albert (Dick) Van Arsdale (born February 22, 1943 in Indianapolis, Indiana) is a former professional basketball player and coach, and a current NBA executive. A graduate of Indianapolis Emmerich Manual High School, the 6'5" guard played collegiately at Indiana University, Van Arsdale was selected by the New York Knickerbockers in the 2nd round of the 1965 NBA Draft. He was named to the NBA All-Rookie Team in 1966, together with his brother Tom Van Arsdale. Van Arsdale played in the NBA for 12 seasons; three with the Knickerbockers and the remainder with the Phoenix Suns (after he was selected in the 1968 expansion draft). Van Arsdale, a three-time All-Star, was consistently over his career one of the best free throw shooters in the NBA. He retired from play in 1977. Van Arsdale is remembered in Phoenix basketball lore as the "original Sun".
Van Arsdale later became the team's general manager; he is currently the team's senior vice president of player personnel. In 1987, he briefly served as the team's head coach, following the departure of John MacLeod.
He is the identical twin brother of Tom Van Arsdale.
Famous quotes containing the words dick and/or van:
“Science fiction writers, I am sorry to say, really do not know anything. We can’t talk about science, because our knowledge of it is limited and unofficial, and usually our fiction is dreadful.”
—Philip K. Dick (1928–1982)
“His reversed body gracefully curved, his brown legs hoisted like a Tarentine sail, his joined ankles tacking, Van gripped with splayed hands the brow of gravity, and moved to and fro, veering and sidestepping, opening his mouth the wrong way, and blinking in the odd bilboquet fashion peculiar to eyelids in his abnormal position. Even more extraordinary than the variety and velocity of the movements he made in imitation of animal hind legs was the effortlessness of his stance.”
—Vladimir Nabokov (1899–1977)