From Villanova, Bill Melchionni was drafted by the nearby Philadelphia 76ers, where he was a reserve player on their 1967 Championship team. His stay with the Sixers only lasted two years, as his contract was not renewed.  He played for the Trenton Colonials of the Eastern Professional Basketball League, but when the ABA came into existence, his chance for prominence came.

Melchionni joined the New York Nets in 1969, and it was an instant success for both parties.  As their starting Point Guard, Melchionni won three straight Assists Titles (1970-71 to 1972-73), all of which saw him go to the ABA All-Star Game.  He was also a First Team All-ABA Selection in 1972.

The arrival of Julius Erving reduced his role but improved the club, and Melchionni helped the Nets win the 1974 and 1976 ABA Championships.  Following the merger of the ABA and NBA, Melchionni retired and served as their General Manager for two years.

His number 25 would later be retired by the Nets.

The identical twin of Dick Van Arsdale, Tom Van Arsdale played with his brother at the University of Indiana, where he impressed enough to be drafted by the Detroit Pistons in 1965.  He was decent enough with the Pistons, but in his third year, Van Arsdale was traded to the Cincinnati Royals, where he had his best run. 

From 1969-70 to 1971-72, Van Arsdale was named to the All-Star Team and averaged over 22 Points per Game in those first two years.  It was productive for Van Arsdale, but his respective team was not very good like in Detroit.  Van Arsdale later played for Kansas City, Philadelphia, Atlanta and one last year in Phoenix where he played with his twin. 

Despite playing 929 Regular Season Games with a 15.3 PPG, Van Arsdale never appeared in a playoff game.

The problem with running a Hall of Fame-related website is that many of the big ones we cover all have announcements within months of each other.  The backbone of what we do is list-related, resulting in a long push to revise what we already have, specifically now with our Football and Basketball Lists.

At present, we have a minor update as we have completed the seventh ten of the 2024 Basketball List, which you can comment on and vote on:

The new 61 to 70:

61. Dale Ellis
62. Randy Smith
63. Michael Finley
64. Rod Strickland
65. Jermaine O’Neal
66. Terry Porter
67. Danny Ainge
68. Antawn Jamison
69. Sidney Wicks
70. Jeff Mullins

Rankings are impacted annually based on your comments and votes.

Thank you all for your patience. We will soon unveil more changes to the football and basketball lists.

The problem with running a Hall of Fame-related website is that many of the big ones we cover all have announcements within months of each other.  The backbone of what we do is list-related, resulting in a long push to revise what we already have, specifically now with our Football and Basketball Lists.

At present, we have a minor update as we have completed the next twenty-five of the 2024 Football List, which you can comment on and vote on:

The new 176 to 200:

176. Dick Barwegan
177. Charley Hennigan
178. Cornell Green
179. Charley Brock
180. Bob Baumhower
161. Tank Younger
182. Buford “Baby” Ray
183. Bob Hoernschemeyer
184. Asante Samuel
185. Rich Jackson
186. Jim Katcavage
187. Matt Blair
188. Ken Kavanaugh
189. Abe Woodson
190. Nate Newton
191. Tom Sestak
192. Bill Forester
193. Brian Waters
194. Tim McDonald
195. Don Perkins
196. Steven Jackson
197. Jim Lachey
198. Brandon Marshall
198. Butch Byrd
199. Frank Minnifield
200. Dave Krieg

Rankings are impacted annually based on your comments and votes.

Thank you all for your patience. We will soon unveil more changes to the football and basketball lists.