By Patrick Hayes

Although polarizing to some, there’s no denying that former Country Day, Michigan and NBA star Chris Webber is one of the greatest athletes the state of Michigan has ever produced. Keith Langlois of Pistons.com recently wrote about how the Palace of Auburn Hills was often a key building in Webber’s career:

The Class B game started the day, so Webber had the net around his neck by early afternoon. The MHSAA was less than thrilled that Webber chose that day to announce his college choice – and several notches below “less than thrilled” that he chose to do so at a riverfront Detroit restaurant. A significant chunk of the media in town from all over the state to cover the state finals trailed Webber down Interstate 75 to report on his announcement – it was a Michigan-Michigan State battle all the way and, almost beyond challenge, the most hyped recruiting battle ever between the rivals – thus missing the Class C-D doubleheader that afternoon.

One of the great things about the Palace, and something that speaks to just how visionary late Pistons owner Bill Davidson was when he constructed it, is that it is still considered a state of the art facility despite being relatively old by arena standards. The Palace has already hosted so many great players in the yearly high school championships and exhibition games over the years, and the fact that it will continue to do so will make it a truly iconic arena that will witness so much of the state’s basketball history.