Robert Scott "Scotty" Robertson III (February 1, 1930 – August 18, 2011) was an American
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 ...
coach. He was the first coach for the New Orleans Jazz (now the
Utah Jazz
The Utah Jazz are an American professional basketball team based in Salt Lake City. The Jazz compete in the National Basketball Association (NBA) as a member of the league's Western Conference (NBA), Western Conference, Northwest Division (NBA), ...
), and he later coached the
Chicago Bulls
The Chicago Bulls are an American professional basketball team based in Chicago. The Bulls compete in the National Basketball Association (NBA) as a member of the league's Eastern Conference Central Division. The team was founded on January 1 ...
and the
Detroit Pistons
The Detroit Pistons are an American professional basketball team based in Detroit. The Pistons compete in the National Basketball Association (NBA) as a member of the league's Eastern Conference Central Division and play their home games at Li ...
. He also has a stint as assistant coach for the
Indiana Pacers
The Indiana Pacers are an American professional basketball team based in Indianapolis. The Pacers compete in the National Basketball Association (NBA) as a member of the league's Eastern Conference Central Division. The Pacers were first esta ...
,
San Antonio Spurs
The San Antonio Spurs are an American professional basketball team based in San Antonio. The Spurs compete in the National Basketball Association (NBA) as a member of the league's Western Conference (NBA), Western Conference Southwest Division ( ...
,
Phoenix Suns
The Phoenix Suns are an American professional basketball team based in Phoenix, Arizona. They compete in the National Basketball Association (NBA), as a member of the league's Western Conference Pacific Division. The Suns are the only team in t ...
, and the
Miami Heat
The Miami Heat are an American professional basketball team based in Miami. The Heat compete in the National Basketball Association (NBA) as a member of the league's Eastern Conference (NBA), Eastern Conference Southeast Division (NBA), Southe ...
.
Career
Robertson was born in
Fort Smith in western
Arkansas
Arkansas ( ) is a landlocked state in the South Central United States. It is bordered by Missouri to the north, Tennessee and Mississippi to the east, Louisiana to the south, and Texas and Oklahoma to the west. Its name is from the Osage ...
. As a sixth grader, he moved to
Shreveport, Louisiana
Shreveport ( ) is a city in the U.S. state of Louisiana. It is the third most populous city in Louisiana after New Orleans and Baton Rouge, respectively. The Shreveport–Bossier City metropolitan area, with a population of 393,406 in 2020, is t ...
, where he played basketball and baseball for
C. E. Byrd High School
C. E. Byrd, a Blue Ribbon School, is a high school in Shreveport, Louisiana, United States. In continuous operation since its establishment in 1925, C. E. Byrd is also the eighth-largest high school in the United States of America as of Februa ...
, from which he graduated in 1947. He attended the
University of Texas
The University of Texas at Austin (UT Austin, UT, or Texas) is a public research university in Austin, Texas. It was founded in 1883 and is the oldest institution in the University of Texas System. With 40,916 undergraduate students, 11,075 ...
at
Austin, Texas
Austin is the capital city of the U.S. state of Texas, as well as the county seat, seat and largest city of Travis County, Texas, Travis County, with portions extending into Hays County, Texas, Hays and Williamson County, Texas, Williamson co ...
, but graduated in 1951 from
Louisiana Tech University
Louisiana Tech University (Louisiana Tech, La. Tech, or simply Tech) is a public research university in Ruston, Louisiana. It is part of the University of Louisiana System and classified among "R2: Doctoral Universities – High research activ ...
in
Ruston. He obtained a master's degree from the
University of Arkansas
The University of Arkansas (U of A, UArk, or UA) is a public land-grant research university in Fayetteville, Arkansas. It is the flagship campus of the University of Arkansas System and the largest university in the state. Founded as Arkansas ...
at
Fayetteville.
[ After his graduation from Louisiana Tech, he played baseball in the ]Chicago White Sox
The Chicago White Sox are an American professional baseball team based in Chicago. The White Sox compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the American League (AL) Central division. The team is owned by Jerry Reinsdorf, and p ...
organization before returning to basketball as a coach.
Death and legacy
At the time of his death of lung cancer
Lung cancer, also known as lung carcinoma (since about 98–99% of all lung cancers are carcinomas), is a malignant lung tumor characterized by uncontrolled cell growth in tissue (biology), tissues of the lung. Lung carcinomas derive from tran ...
at the age of eighty-one, Robertson was residing in Ruston, the location of Louisiana Tech, with his wife the former Betty Lou Lancaster. He was survived by his daughters, Libby Robertson Power of Frisco, Texas
Frisco is a city in Collin and Denton counties in the U.S. state of Texas. It is part of the Dallas–Fort Worth metroplex and about from both Dallas Love Field and Dallas/Fort Worth International Airport. Its population was 200,509 at the 2 ...
, Claudia Robertson Fowler (husband Royal) of Franklin, Tennessee
Franklin is a city in and county seat of Williamson County, Tennessee, United States. About south of Nashville, it is one of the principal cities of the Nashville metropolitan area and Middle Tennessee. As of 2020, its population was 83,454 ...
, and Vicki Robertson Page of Ruston. He had ten grandchildren.[
Services were held on August 21, 2011, at the Trinity ]United Methodist Church
The United Methodist Church (UMC) is a worldwide mainline Protestant denomination based in the United States, and a major part of Methodism. In the 19th century, its main predecessor, the Methodist Episcopal Church, was a leader in evangelical ...
in Ruston. Interment followed at Forest Lawn Memorial Park in Ruston.[
In 2012, the Robert "Scotty" Robertson Memorial Gymnasium was renovated and named in Robertson's honor.]
Head coaching record
High school
Robertson coached at C. E. Byrd High School
C. E. Byrd, a Blue Ribbon School, is a high school in Shreveport, Louisiana, United States. In continuous operation since its establishment in 1925, C. E. Byrd is also the eighth-largest high school in the United States of America as of Februa ...
for eight years, having accomplished a 163–91 record.
Collegiate
Professional record
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Detroit ( , ; , ) is the largest city in the U.S. state of Michigan. It is also the largest U.S. city on the United States–Canada border, and the seat of government of Wayne County. The City of Detroit had a population of 639,111 at th ...
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References
External links
BasketballReference.com: Scotty Robertson
{{DEFAULTSORT:Robertson, Scotty
1930 births
2011 deaths
20th-century Methodists
21st-century Methodists
American men's basketball coaches
American men's basketball players
American United Methodists
Basketball coaches from Arkansas
Basketball coaches from Louisiana
Basketball players from Arkansas
Basketball players from Shreveport, Louisiana
Baton Rouge Red Sticks players
C. E. Byrd High School alumni
Chicago Bulls head coaches
College men's basketball head coaches in the United States
Deaths from cancer in Louisiana
Deaths from lung cancer
Detroit Pistons head coaches
High school basketball coaches in the United States
Indiana Pacers assistant coaches
Louisiana Tech Bulldogs baseball players
Baseball players from Shreveport, Louisiana
Louisiana Tech Bulldogs basketball coaches
Louisiana Tech Bulldogs basketball players
Miami Heat assistant coaches
New Orleans Jazz head coaches
Phoenix Suns assistant coaches
San Antonio Spurs assistant coaches
Sportspeople from Fort Smith, Arkansas
Sportspeople from Ruston, Louisiana
University of Arkansas alumni
University of Texas at Austin alumni