Scotty Robertson

Who was Scotty Robertson?

Robert Scott "Scotty" Robertson, III was an American basketball coach. He was the first coach for the New Orleans Jazz, and he later coached the Chicago Bulls and the Detroit Pistons. He also has a stint as assistant coach for the Indiana Pacers, San Antonio Spurs, Phoenix Suns, and the Miami Heat.

Robertson was born in Fort Smith in western Arkansas. As a sixth grader, he moved to Shreveport, Louisiana, where he played basketball and baseball for C. E. Byrd High School, from which he graduated in 1947. He attended the University of Texas at Austin, but graduated in 1951 from Louisiana Tech University. He obtained a master's degree from the University of Arkansas at Fayetteville. After his graduation from Louisiana Tech, he played baseball in the Chicago White Sox organization before returning to basketball as a coach.

Robertson coached at Byrd High School for eight years, having accomplished a 163–91 record. He then coached at Louisiana Tech from 1964 to 1974. There he amassed a 165–86 record and during the early 1970s led the Bulldogs to a No. 1 ranking in the national college division. The Bulldogs procured three championships in the former Gulf States Conference under Robertson's tutelage and also entered two National Collegiate Athletic Association tournaments.