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Tom Van Arsdale

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Tom Van Arsdale
Van Arsdale with the Philadelphia 76ers in 1974
Personal information
Born (1943-02-22) February 22, 1943 (age 81)
Indianapolis, Indiana, U.S.
Listed height6 ft 5 in (1.96 m)
Listed weight202 lb (92 kg)
Career information
High schoolEmmerich Manual
(Indianapolis, Indiana)
CollegeIndiana (1962–1965)
NBA draft1965: 2nd round, 11th overall pick
Selected by the Detroit Pistons
Playing career1965–1977
PositionShooting guard / small forward
Number5, 17, 4
Career history
1965–1968Detroit Pistons
1968–1973Cincinnati Royals / Kansas City-Omaha Kings
1973–1974Philadelphia 76ers
1974–1976Atlanta Hawks
1976–1977Phoenix Suns
Career highlights and awards
Career NBA statistics
Points14,232 (15.3 ppg)
Rebounds3,942 (4.2 rpg)
Assists2,085 (2.2 apg)
Stats at NBA.com Edit this at Wikidata
Stats at Basketball Reference Edit this at Wikidata

Thomas Arthur Van Arsdale (born February 22, 1943) is an American former professional basketball player. A graduate of Emmerich Manual High School in Indianapolis, the 6 ft 5 in (1.96 m) guard played collegiately at Indiana University under longtime head coach Branch McCracken.

Early life

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Van Arsdale was born on February 22, 1943 in Indianapolis, along with his identical twin brother Dick Van Arsdale. They attended Emmerich Manual High School in Indianapolis. In 1961, the brothers were jointly awarded the Indiana Mr. Basketball award,[1][2][3] and the Trester Award for Mental Attitude.[4][5]

Van Arsdale idolized future hall of fame player Oscar Robertson when Robertson was an Indianapolis high school player, and later became Robertson's teammate in the NBA.[6]

Kentucky's College Basketball Hall of Fame and Naismith Memorial Basketball Hall of Fame coach Adolph Rupp tried to get the brothers to attend Kentucky, but they chose Indiana University, playing on the school's basketball team from 1962 to 1965 under head coach Branch McCracken. At 6 ft 5 in (1.96 m), Van Arsdale played guard and small forward. He was an All-American in 1965, and also an Academic All-American. In three years, he scored 1,252 points with 723 rebounds (while his brother scored 1,240 points with 719 rebounds).[4] He averaged a double-double for the Hoosiers over his career, with 17.4 points per game and 10.0 rebounds per game.[7]

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.[8][4] In February 2019, the Van Arsdale brothers were honored by Indiana at halftime of a game between Indiana and Purdue.[9]

Professional career

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Van Arsdale was selected 11th overall by the Detroit Pistons in the 1965 NBA draft.[7][10] He was named to the NBA All-Rookie Team for the 1965–66 season, together with Dick.[11] He played in the National Basketball Association (NBA) for 12 seasons; with the Pistons, Cincinnati Royals/Kansas City–Omaha Kings, Philadelphia 76ers, Atlanta Hawks, and Phoenix Suns. A consecutive three-time NBA All-Star starting in 1970,[12] Van Arsdale's play peaked as the Royals lost star Oscar Robertson to the Milwaukee Bucks.[13] In 1970 and 1971, he averaged scoring totals of 22.8 and 22.9 points per game, the latter of which was a career high.[14] On February 13, 1972, Van Arsdale scored a career-high 44 points in a 112–111 loss to the Houston Rockets.[15] He retired as player in 1977.[16]

Despite Robertson’s departure from Cincinnati in 1970 being somewhat countered by the arrival of another All-Star guard in Tiny Archibald in the 1970 NBA draft,[17] the Royals continued to finish below .500,[18] and even after being traded himself Van Arsdale never was on a team that made the postseason. He still holds the NBA record for most career games played (929) and most career points scored (14,232) without a playoff appearance.[19][20][7][4]

The Van Arsdale twins played together through college and again in Phoenix during the 1976–77 season,[21] the final for both.[6] The original lockers of both Tom and Dick remain in the display case in the lobby of the Emmerich Manual High School gymnasium.[7]

Van Arsdale served on the NBA Players Association and Retired Players Association.[6]

Personal life

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After retirement, Van Arsdale authored the book, JOURNEY MAN: Celebrating an Unlucky, Unpredictable, and Undeniably Successful NBA Career. He and Dick share a post-retirement art studio in Scottsdale, Arizona, which they opened in May 2018. Their art focuses on promoting racial tolerance and harmony.[6]

NBA career statistics

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Legend
  GP Games played   GS  Games started  MPG  Minutes per game
 FG%  Field goal percentage  3P%  3-point field goal percentage  FT%  Free throw percentage
 RPG  Rebounds per game  APG  Assists per game  SPG  Steals per game
 BPG  Blocks per game  PPG  Points per game  Bold  Career high

Regular season

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Year Team GP GS MPG FG% 3P% FT% RPG APG SPG BPG PPG
1965–66 Detroit 79 – 25.8 .374 – .721 3.9 2.6 – – 10.5
1966–67 Detroit 79 – 27.0 .391 – .784 4.3 2.4 – – 12.2
1967–68 Detroit 50 – 16.6 .371 – .743 2.6 1.6 – – 6.6
Cincinnati 27 – 25.3 .408 – .750 3.4 2.8 – – 10.4
1968–69 Cincinnati 77 – 39.7 .444 – .747 4.6 2.7 – – 19.4
1969–70 Cincinnati 71 – 35.8 .451 – .774 6.5 2.2 – – 22.8
1970–71 Cincinnati 82 – 38.4 .456 – .721 6.1 2.2 – – 22.9
1971–72 Cincinnati 73 – 35.6 .456 – .755 4.8 2.7 – – 19.2
1972–73 Kansas City–Omaha 49 – 26.2 .457 – .786 3.5 1.8 – – 12.4
Philadelphia 30 – 34.3 .393 – .833 6.2 2.1 – – 17.7
1973–74 Philadelphia 78 – 39.0 .428 – .851 5.0 2.6 0.8 0.0 19.6
1974–75 Philadelphia 9 – 30.3 .422 – .683 3.2 1.8 1.4 0.0 14.0
Atlanta 73 – 35.2 .429 – .768 3.4 2.8 1.1 0.0 18.9
1975–76 Atlanta 75 – 27.0 .441 – .759 2.5 1.9 0.8 0.1 10.9
1976–77 Phoenix 77 – 18.5 .433 – .703 2.4 0.9 0.3 0.0 5.8
Career 929 – 30.9 .431 – .762 4.5 2.2 0.7 0.1 15.3
All-Star 3 0 7.7 .375 – .333 1.0 0.7 – – 4.3

References

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  1. ^ "Mr. Basketball for 2024 Named". in.nhsbca.org. Retrieved November 18, 2024.
  2. ^ "Indiana Mr. Basketball". Ballislife.com. Retrieved November 18, 2024.
  3. ^ Ramsey, Brandon (April 7, 2023). "2023 Indiana Mr. Basketball Finalists". Prep Hoops. Retrieved November 18, 2024.
  4. ^ a b c d "Tom Van Arsdale - Indiana University IU Hoosiers Basketball History". IndianaHQ. Retrieved November 18, 2024.
  5. ^ Hoose, Phillip. "Op-ed: IHSAA's mental attitude award has a troubling name. I know a better one". The Indianapolis Star. Retrieved November 18, 2024.
  6. ^ a b c d Housholder, Terry (April 18, 2021). "Van Arsdale twins share art and basketball memories". KPCNews. Retrieved November 18, 2024.
  7. ^ a b c d "Indiana Basketball All-Decade Team: 1960s". 247Sports. Retrieved November 18, 2024.
  8. ^ "Tom Van Arsdale - Indiana Basketball Hall of Fame". hoopshall.com/. Retrieved November 18, 2024.
  9. ^ "Honoring the Van Arsdales". Indiana University Athletics. February 18, 2019. Retrieved November 18, 2024.
  10. ^ "Tom Van Arsdale | National Basketball Retired Players Association". February 21, 2012. Retrieved November 18, 2024.
  11. ^ "Year-by-year NBA All-Rookie Teams". NBA.com. Retrieved November 18, 2024.
  12. ^ "Tom Van Arsdale | Kansas City-Omaha Kings". NBA.com. Retrieved November 18, 2024.
  13. ^ "Royals Trade Robertson to Bucks for Robinson and Paulk, Rookie in Army". New York Times. April 22, 1970.
  14. ^ "Tom Van Arsdale Stats". Basketball-Reference.com. Retrieved November 18, 2024.
  15. ^ "Tom Van Arsdale | Player Game Stats Finder". Stathead.com. Retrieved November 18, 2024.
  16. ^ "Tom Van Arsdale Decides To Retire After Season". New York Times. March 16, 1977.
  17. ^ "Legends profile: Nate Archibald". NBA.com. Retrieved November 18, 2024.
  18. ^ "Sacramento Kings Historical Statistics and All-Time Top Leaders". Basketball-Reference.com. Retrieved November 18, 2024.
  19. ^ "Most Games, No Playoffs". Basketball-Reference.com. Retrieved November 18, 2024.
  20. ^ Allen, Percy (January 11, 2009). "Veteran guard Jamal Crawford still waiting for his shot at a winner". The Seattle Times. Retrieved November 18, 2024.
  21. ^ "Van Arsdales 'one' again; Both delighted in Phoenix". Spokesman-Review. (Spokane, Washington). Associated Press. December 14, 1976. p. 20.
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