Dick Versace
Personal information | |
---|---|
Born | Chicago, Illinois) | April 16, 1940
College | Wisconsin |
Coaching career | 1964–1998 |
Career history | |
As coach: | |
1965–1969 | St. Joseph HS |
1969–1973 | Gordon Tech |
1973–1974 | Saint Louis (assistant) |
1974–1977 | Michigan State (assistant) |
1977–1978 | Jackson Community College |
1978–1986 | Bradley |
1986–1988 | Detroit Pistons (assistant) |
1988–1990 | Indiana Pacers |
1996–1998 | Milwaukee Bucks (assistant) |
Career highlights and awards | |
| |
Richard Patrick Versace (April 16, 1940 – February 25, 2022) was an American basketball coach and executive. He was also the first American of Puerto Rican descent to have coached a National Basketball Association (NBA) team.[1]
Early life
Versace was born in
Versace coached at the high school and collegiate level and in the NBA. Versace coached at
College
Versace became the head coach at Bradley University in 1978 and remained at Bradley until 1986. In his second season at Bradley the team finished first in the Missouri Valley Conference and qualifying for the NCAA tournament. Losing in the first round to
Season-by-season results
Season | Coach | Overall | Conference | Standing | Postseason | ||||
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Bradley Braves (Missouri Valley Conference) (1978–1986) | |||||||||
1978–79 | Bradley | 9–17 | 3–13 | T–8th | |||||
1979–80 | Bradley | 23–10 | 13–3 | 1st | NCAA Division I first round | ||||
1980–81 | Bradley | 18–9 | 10–6 | T–4th | |||||
1981–82 | Bradley | 26–10 | 13–3 | 1st | NIT champions
| ||||
1982–83 | Bradley | 16–13 | 10–8 | 5th | |||||
1983–84 | Bradley | 15–13 | 7–9 | T–5th | |||||
1984–85 | Bradley | 17–13 | 9–7 | T–4th | |||||
1985–86 | Bradley | 32–3 | 16–0 | 1st | NCAA Division I second round | ||||
Bradley: | 156–88 (.639) | 81–49 | |||||||
Total: | 156–88 (.639) | ||||||||
National champion
Postseason invitational champion
|
NBA
He later served as an assistant coach for the
In
Later years
On October 8, 2007, Versace announced that he would run as a Democratic Party candidate for Illinois' 18th Congressional District seat, then held by Republican Congressman Ray LaHood who was retiring. On December 8, 2007, however, Versace announced that he would not be running due to "unforeseen personal circumstances."[3]
Personal life and death
Versace was the brother of Vietnam War posthumous Medal of Honor recipient Rocky Versace, who was executed by the Viet Cong while a Prisoner of War in 1965.[4] He had two other brothers, Dr. Stephen Versace (his twin) and Michael Versace Rios, and a sister, Trilby Versace. Versace was divorced and had two children, David and Julie. He died on February 25, 2022, at the age of 81.[5]
See also
- List of notable Puerto Ricans
- Sports in Puerto Rico
References
- ^ "A character takes a shot at politics". Los Angeles Times. November 16, 2007.
- ISBN 0-89204-328-8.
- ^ Rothert, Brenda (December 8, 2007). "Versace 'extremely disappointed' to end congressional run". The Daily Register.
- ^ "Humbert Roque "Rocky" Versace - 5th Special Forces Group (Airborne)". somf.org. Archived from the original on 2011-07-28. Retrieved 2011-02-20.
- ^ "Former Pacers coach Dick Versace dies at 81". The Indianapolis Star. February 26, 2022.