Early Years
Versace (birth name Richard Versace) was born in Fort Bragg, North Carolina. His parents were Colonel Humbert Joseph Versace and Marie Teresa Rios, a Puerto Rican author. The 1960s television sitcom The Flying Nun was based on one of her books.
Versace has coached at the high school and collegiate level and in the NBA. Versace coached at St. Joseph High School in Kenosha, Wisconsin and Gordon Tech in Chicago. Oddly, his first coaching position after college was at Forrest-Strawn- Wing High School in the small Central Illinois community of Forrest during the years of 1964 and 1965. The odd thing being that he was the head football coach. He led the team to an 8-1 record and a Vermilion Valley Conference championship. He coached junior varsity basketball that winter. Versace began his college coaching career at St. Louis University in 1973, after compiling a 204-66 record at the high school coaching level. He then moved to Michigan State University, where he was heavily involved in the recruitment of Magic Johnson. Versace's first head coaching assignment was at the Jackson Community College in 1976. In the early 1980s, he was head men's basketball coach at Bradley University, where he led the team to the NIT championship and was named National College Coach of the Year by the U.S. Basketball Writers' Association. That year, his Bradley Braves went 32-3 and were ranked #7 in the nation during the season. His back court players included future NBA star Hersey Hawkins and former Bradley Head Coach Jim Les.
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