Former NBA coach Scotty Robertson dies at the age of 81 – NBA News
Former National Basketball Association’s head and assistant coach, Scotty Robertson, expired on Thursday. Robertson had been suffering from a long time cancer and had a stroke last year. He died at the age of 81.
In 1930, Robertson was born in Fort Smith and later shifted to Shreveport. He studied in Byrd High School and played baseball before he graduated in 1947. Before becoming a basketball coach at Louisiana Tech University after graduating
in 1951, he joined the White Sox Organization as a baseball player.
In 1964, Robertson started coaching at Louisiana Tech University and served there for ten years. He enjoyed a successful career at Louisiana Tech and became a Louisiana Sports Hall of Fame inductee in 1998. During the whole decade
with the Bulldogs, he finished with a 161-86 record. This record includes the three Gulf State Conference titles that his team won. He led the team to two
National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) tournaments and was selected as the coach of the year in 1967 and 1971.
The 1971-72 was the best season of Robertson at Louisiana Tech during which he compiled a phenomenal 23-3 record. The best player he ever coached in the Bulldogs was Mike Green, the 6 feet 10 centre who was later chosen as the
Southland Conference Player of the Year in 1973 and played in NBA.
As a professional coach, he joined the New Orleans Jazz in 1974. After starting with a 1-14 record though, he had to leave the Jazz. The two other NBA teams that he coached in the following years were the Detroit Pistons and Chicago
Bulls.
Robertson coached the Bulls in the in 1978-79 season and guided them to 11win in 15 games. He also had a good time with the Detroit Pistons from 1980-83 where he marked 97 victories in 149 games. The last season with the Pistons
was great where he ended up with a 37-45 record and coached the players who made the core of the championship team after some time.
He also worked with the Indiana Pacers, Phoenix Suns, San Antonio Spurs and Miami Heat as an assistant coach and also coached in the NBA All-Star Games twice.
The Director of Athletics at Louisiana University, Bruce Van De Velde, appreciated the efforts of Robertson and said, “Scotty Robertson is one of the all-time greats at Louisiana Tech. His legacy lives on through the many student-athletes
whose lives he has influenced in such a positive manner. Our thoughts and prayers go out to Scotty and his family.”
Robertson is survived by his wife, Betty Lou Lancaster Robertson, three daughters and ten grandchildren.
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