Auburn Hills, MI – Scotty Robertson, who preceded Chuck Daly as head coach of the Detroit Pistons, passed away on Thursday after a lengthy illness. He was 81.
Robertson, who was the first coach of the New Orleans Jazz in 1974, later coached the Chicago Bulls and the Pistons. He also was an assistant for several teams, including the Phoenix Suns and Miami Heat.
Robertson, though, may be most remembered for his time at Louisiana Tech University. He was the head men's basketball coach from 1964-74 and was inducted into the school's Hall of Fame in 1998.
"Scotty Robertson is one of the all-time greats at Louisiana Tech," said school athletics director Bruce Van De Velde. "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."
He compiled a 165-86 record during his 10 years coaching the Bulldogs.
Robertson was a member of the Suns staff in 1992-93 when the franchise made it to the NBA Finals before losing to the Michael Jordan-led Chicago Bulls.
He accumulated a head coaching record of 109-178 during his time in the NBA. His final season with the Pistons was in 1982-83. Daly took over the following nine seasons and won a pair of NBA titles.
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