Tom Van Arsdale scored 14,232 points in his NBA career, but that unfortunately earns him the distinction as the highest-scoring player who has never played in an NBA playoff game. In fact, for all of his individual accolades, Van Arsdale never played in an NCAA Tournament game at Indiana, either.
Despite that fact, Tom, along with his identical twin brother, Dick, are two of the greatest basketball players ever born in the Circle City. They both earned Mr. Basketball honors at Manual in 1961, both were All-Americans at Indiana, and both went to exactly three NBA All-Star Games.
The Indy hoops legend concluded this year's Catching Up With feature today by looking back on his storied hoops career, he and his brothers' friendly battles in the famous Dust Bowl, dealing with some bad luck as far as team success is concerned, rejecting ABA overtures from the hometown Pacers, and how retired life is treating he and his brother in Arizona today. Take a listen:
Here's a rundown:
1:39 Cherished hoops memories from coming up in Indy
3:52 Playing at the Dust Bowl
6:46 Processing the black and white divide in Indiana off the court
8:39 Idolizing Slick Leonard and the 1953 IU championship team
9:53 The Van Arsdales being all-time Indy greats
11:55 Recruitment and if he and his brother were a package deal
13:00 Playing for Branch McCracken
15:10 His mom's and family's close bond with Bob Knight
18:01 Ever consider joining the hometown Pacers in the ABA?
19:56 Oscar Robertson's place among all-time legends
22:40 Jealous of Dick's stability in Phoenix while he was traded five times
24:13 Everyday life for Tom Van Arsdale today
26:15 Sad about the changes/struggles at Manual and IPS in general
27:14 The eerily similar stats he and his brother ended up with