Basketball was a part of Dick Percudani's life for over 50 years - in New York, at Georgetown, and literally around the world.

The New York native was Georgetown's only basketball player recruited from Power Memorial HS, one of the nation;s most successful high school programs. At Georgetown, Percudani averaged 6.9 ppg as a 6-1 reserve guard from 1954-1957, then returned to Power Memorial as an assistant coach for nine seasons. For two of those years, Percudani worked in the off-season as a coach in the Italian League, earning coaching Rookie of the Year in 1958 at Pallacanestro Milano.

Back at Power, he coached Lew Alcindor (Kareem Abdul-Jabbar) before successful coaching assignments returned in Italy and later at Sacred Heart College in Connecticut, leading the Pioneers to a Division II Final Four appearance in 1977. He joined the NBA's Phoenix Suns as a scout in 1983 and was the team's scouting director from 1995 until his death in 2001.

"He was a good person, family man and friend," Suns chairman Jerry Colangelo told the Arizona Republic. "He's going to be sorely missed. He did a great job for us. Perc was very passionate about the game, his job, his work ethic. Everything about him was the way it should be: classy."