Hoops and Politics: Dave Bing talks about the daunting task of turning around Detroit

Bloomberg has an interesting read on Detroit Mayor and Pistons Hall of Famer Dave Bing. If you’re interested in the politics of Detroit and urban decay in general, it’s well worth a look. And if you’re not, there’s even a bit of basketball in there:

"Basketball paved the way for Bing to escape the poverty of Washington. The son of a bricklayer and a domestic worker, Bing became a basketball star at Syracuse University and was a first- round draft choice of the Pistons in 1966.He played guard for the team for nine years and retired in 1978, finishing his career with the Boston Celtics.After retiring from basketball, he became a bank teller, working three branches in Detroit. Using his connections with then-Pistons owner Bill Davidson, Bing got into the steel stamping business, eventually running The Bing Group, a privately held collection of small manufacturers and suppliers that made steel for the auto industry. Bing sold the company in 2010."