Richard P. Rinaldi (born August 3, 1949) is an American former professional

basketball Basketball is a team sport in which two teams, most commonly of five players each, opposing one another on a rectangular Basketball court, court, compete with the primary objective of #Shooting, shooting a basketball (ball), basketball (appr ...

player who played for the Baltimore Bullets. Born in

Poughkeepsie, New York Poughkeepsie ( ), officially the City of Poughkeepsie, separate from the Town of Poughkeepsie around it) is a city in the U.S. state of New York. It is the county seat of Dutchess County, with a 2020 census population of 31,577. Poughkeepsi ...

, Rinaldi attended F.D. Roosevelt High School in

Hyde Park, New York Hyde Park is a town in Dutchess County, New York, United States, bordering the Hudson River north of Poughkeepsie. Within the town are the hamlets of Hyde Park, East Park, Staatsburg, and Haviland. Hyde Park is known as the hometown of Frankl ...

and was a

guard Guard or guards may refer to: Professional occupations * Bodyguard, who protects an individual from personal assault * Crossing guard, who stops traffic so pedestrians can cross the street * Lifeguard, who rescues people from drowning * Prison ...

at St. Peter's College, where he played from 1967–71. As a senior at St. Peter's in 1970–71, Rinaldi averaged 28.6 points per game, which was the nation's sixth-highest scoring average that season. Rinaldi was selected 43rd overall by the Baltimore Bullets in the 1971 NBA Draft and signed a contract which earned him $33,000 as a rookie (). He played in the NBA with the Bullets from 1971–1974. After being cut by the Bullets during the 1973–1974 season in favor of

Flynn Robinson Flynn James Robinson (April 28, 1941 – May 23, 2013) was an American professional basketball player. Early life Flynn was born April 28, 1941, from the union of Sam Hopkins and Dorothy Mae Robinson. Later Flynn's mother married Johnnie Hodg ...

and Archie Clark, Rinaldi signed with the

New York Nets New is an adjective referring to something recently made, discovered, or created. New or NEW may refer to: Music * New, singer of K-pop group The Boyz Albums and EPs * ''New'' (album), by Paul McCartney, 2013 * ''New'' (EP), by Regurgitator, ...

of the

American Basketball Association The American Basketball Association (ABA) was a major men's professional basketball league from 1967 to 1976. The ABA ceased to exist with the ABA–NBA merger, American Basketball Association–National Basketball Association merger in 1976, ...

in November 1973. After the Nets also released him, he began working in New York as a substitute teacher and then a full time

physical education Physical education, often abbreviated to Phys Ed. or P.E., is a subject taught in schools around the world. It is usually taught during primary and secondary education, and encourages psychomotor learning by using a play and movement explorati ...

teacher. In 1976, he was invited to play for an American team including

Robert Parrish Robert R. Parrish (January 4, 1916December 4, 1995) was an American film director, screenwriter, editor and former child actor. He received an Academy Award for Best Film Editing for his contribution to ''Body and Soul (1947 film), Body and Soul ...

for a tournament in Italy. The strength of his performance earned him a two-year contract with Italian club Mobilgirgi Varese. Rinaldi's most successful NBA season came in 1972–73, when he averaged 8.5 points and 2.1 rebounds in 33 games for the Bullets. He ended his professional career in Europe, playing in Italy and Switzerland from 1976–1982. In 1978, he described the quality of play in the

Swiss Basketball League The Swiss Basketball League, also known as SB League or SBL, is the top-tier professional club basketball league in Switzerland. It is organized by Swiss Basketball. The winners of the SBL are crowned Swiss national basketball champions. Current ...

as "between high school seniors and college freshmen." In 1980, he won his third straight scoring title in the Swiss Basketball League while playing for

Pallacanestro Bellinzona Pallacanestro Bellinzona (in English: ''Bellinzona Basket'') is a Swiss professional basketball team of Bellinzona, in the canton of Ticino. The club plays its home games at the indoor stadium of Bellinzona that has a capacity of about 4,000 spect ...

. He averaged 40.4 points per game over 22 games. After his playing career, Rinaldi served as a men's

college basketball In United States colleges, top-tier basketball is governed by collegiate athletic bodies including National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA), the National Association of Intercollegiate Athletics (NAIA), the United States Collegiate Athleti ...

coach in his home county at

Dutchess Community College Dutchess Community College (SUNY Dutchess, Dutchess, or DCC) is a public community college in Dutchess County, New York. It is one of 30 community colleges within the State University of New York system (SUNY). The main campus covers . DCC also ...

and

Vassar College Vassar College ( ) is a private liberal arts college in Poughkeepsie, New York, United States. Founded in 1861 by Matthew Vassar, it was the second degree-granting institution of higher education for women in the United States, closely follo ...

. Despite his having written a guest article in the ''

Poughkeepsie Journal The ''Poughkeepsie Journal'' is a newspaper based in Poughkeepsie, New York, and owned by Gannett, which bought the paper in 1977. Founded in 1785 (though not a daily newspaper until 1860), the ''Journal'' is the oldest paper in New York state, a ...

'' in 1987 arguing that a " rike by heNBA players union would be difficult to justify" because "you can never recoup that lost money," the

National Basketball Players Association The National Basketball Players Association (NBPA) is a labor union that represents National Basketball Association (NBA) players. It was founded in 1954, making it the oldest trade union of the four major professional sports leagues in the Uni ...

hired Rinaldi in 2001 to serve as an educational counselor for NBA players. He called the job "the best thing to happen to me professionally" since his playing career. At the time, he was living in

Skippack, Pennsylvania Skippack ( Pennsylvania German: ''Schippach'') is a census-designated place (CDP) in Montgomery County, Pennsylvania, United States. The population was 3,758 at the 2010 census. History In 1683, thirteen families from the lower Rhine River arr ...

. , Rinaldi worked for the

, counseling players on the transition to post-basketball careers.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Rinaldi, Richard 1949 births Living people American expatriate basketball people in Italy American expatriate basketball people in Switzerland American men's basketball players Baltimore Bullets (1963–1973) draft picks Baltimore Bullets (1963–1973) players Basketball players from New York (state) Capital Bullets players New York Nets players Saint Peter's Peacocks men's basketball players Shooting guards Sportspeople from Poughkeepsie, New York Pallacanestro Varese players American sportspeople of Italian descent College men's basketball coaches in the United States Junior college men's basketball coaches in the United States