Via Detroit News:

Legendary basketball coach Will Robinson died Sunday night at Henry Ford Hospital at age 96. He’d been in a nursing home for more than a year.

Robinson, who lived in Detroit, was the first African-American Division I basketball coach, at Illinois State. He began in 1970 and coached then-All American Doug Collins, who later was the first pick in the NBA draft and coached the Pistons.

Robinson coached in the Detroit Public School League for 26 years. He began at Miller High in 1944 at age 33. He coached basketball and football at Miller.

Robinson’s greatest acclaim came at Pershing, where he led the Doughboys to state titles in 1967 and 1970. The 1967 team, which included Spencer Haywood and Ralph Simpson, is considered one of the greatest high school basketball teams in Michigan history.

He worked as a scout for the Lions and discovered cornerback Lem Barney.

Robinson joined the Pistons as a scout in 1976. He retired in 2003 as an assistant to president Joe Dumars.

This is sad news. I know guys like Isiah and Joe cared for Will very much. I read that Isiah stayed close to Will even after leaving the Pistons and would usually make trips to visit him when he was in town. Will lived a long life but it’s still sad to lose someone you care about no matter what age they are.

Rest in peace.

Detroit Free Press/AP: Pioneering basketball figure Will Robinson dies at 96
Pistons.com: Will Robinson Passes Away

I don’t watch the national broadcasts if I don’t have to, give me Blaha over everyone. So if you weren’t watching TNT’s coverage you probably missed Chris Webber’s take on the Pistons. Luckily The Starting Five has us covered:

Webber on the lack of intensity by the Detroit Pistons: “(The Pistons) are really nonchalant and that’s why I felt we lost last year (in the Eastern Conference Finals). It sounds crazy, but they could care less. That locker room is crazy, disciplined and unruly. Disciplined because they police themselves, they are all veterans, they know they’ve got to be in bed, they know they’ve got to work hard, I’m not talking about on the court. They come from a coach like Larry Brown, they look at him like the epitome of basketball, and they feel they can wait until the last game or the championship and they won’t lose. I’m not saying it’s right, but that’s how it is.”

He’s probably not winning over any of his teammates from last season over with those remarks, true or not. I always thought what goes on in the locker room stays there? The Pistons can be nonchalant, and it has come back to bite them but so did signing Webber. He really underpreformed in that Cleveland series as our starting center. He wasn’t the reason the Pistons lost, but he was definitely a contributing factor.

It would have been nice for him to have just a little more loyalty for the guys he was in the foxhole with. I guess he’s bitter we didn’t pick him up (thank God!).

Again, click over to The Starting Five if you tuned in to the TV20 broadcast, because they’ve also got Kenny Smith’s take and Charles Barkley’s bash on the ‘Stonz.

Through most of the first half I thought I’d be writing a eulogy to our roundball heroes. They looked like they were doing all they could just to keep from being blown out, again. They were down by 14 at one point and I was just sighing thinking what the hell is going on as the Pistons are struggling to score, shooting 38% from the floor. But then they started to pick it up towards the end of the half, turning up the defensive intensity.

The same quarter that was the Pistons undoing in the last game was the catalyst to renewed hope for the Pistons playoff success. The Pistons woke up in the third quarter and turned a 10 point deficit at halftime to an eight point lead by the end of the quarter outscoring Philly 34-16.

The reason the Pistons turn it around in the second half in my opinion is very simple, THEY MADE SHOTS. The only way they Pistons are going to be able to beat these upstart 76ers is to avoid offensive lulls. If they execute (with an emphasis on taking care of the rock) and make their open looks Philly is unable to get out and run and in turn we’re able to set up our defense.

We needed Rasheed to step up and he did. He was fired up after being T’d up in the second for arguing an offensive foul where Reggie Evans flopped. Sheed was actully pretty close to getting himself tossed. I’m glad he didn’t because he made the Sixers pay from beyond the arc hitting three triples in the quarter. Sheed rectified his 2 point game 3 performance with a spirited 20 point 10 board double-double.

The other guy we who got a measure of redemption for the game two nights prior was Mr. Big Shot. Chauncey scored 18 and dished out 7 assists and finally looked like the better PG in his matchup with Andre Miller. It was great to see Chauncey actually look for his game when the opps were there. The Pistons need his scoring and swagger, they feed off of it.

C-Bill’s backcourt mate started out slow but picked it up in the second half scoring 18 of his 20 points. Rip rounded his scoring out with 7 helpers and 5 boards.

Oh, and there’s this other guy who played pretty well last night too. How about a standing O for Tayshaun Prince? If there was ever such thing as a two game MVP Tay would be unanimous choice for the Philadelphia games. Last night: lead all scoring with 23 (11/12 FG), grabbed 6 boards, and 4 thefts. His two game field goal tally is 19/21, 90%!!

It’s not just Tay playing steadily on the offensive side. He’s continued to keep Andre Iguodala’s struggles an ongoing saga for the Sixers. Tay’s long arms are in Iggys head every time he goes to hoist. He’s taking bad shots, either fading away or rushing his jumpers. Tay’s held Iguodala to 10.5 points per on 22% shooting.

While were handing out awards let’s give Mr. McDyess a purple heart! Dice showed us his warrior side coming back strong two days after getting his sniffer broken. I don’t know if I’ve ever seen the Dice man more animated. His 10 points and 4 boards off the bench were pretty inspirational.

(Photo by Nick Laham/Getty Images)

NOTES: Chauncey Billups passed Joe Dumars (1,752) for third on the Pistons all-time playoff scoring. He trails Rip Hamilton and Isiah Thomas (2,261)…Jason Maxiell got the start for McDyess…Pistons had 15 offensive boards…Box score

Bogging it out: Sixers4guidos - Sixers blow a unique chance (Pistons 2, Sixers 2)… PistonPost - DET: 93, PHI: 84 - The Roller Coaster Ride Continues…Detroit Bad Boys - Pistons pull even with Philly…Slam Dunk Central - Prince Leads Pistons Past 76ers 93-84, Series Tied 2-2… Recliner GM - 76ers vs. Pistons Playoff Series: Philly BLOWS Game 4