Monday, May 18, 2009

Waymon Tisdale


On Friday, a little piece of my heart was broken when a former star basketball player from the late 70's passed away from cancer at such a young age. Waymon Tisdale grew up playing basketball in Tulsa, Oklahoma. He played for Tulsa Washington High School and was a Street and Smith High School all American. I played against Waymon on three occasions during the 1979-80 season. He was a freshman, but the starting center for his team and I was the starting forward from Broken Arrow. We had some great battles. I knew he would be a great player, but nothing like the scoring machine he became at the University of Oklahoma. I will never forget his smile and his positive outlook on life. He was not only a great basketball player but a great human being.


Former Oklahoma great Tisdale dies at 44
May 15, 2009

Wayman Tisdale, a three-time All-American at Oklahoma who played 12 seasons in the NBA, has died after a two-year battle with cancer. He was 44.
Tisdale died about 8 a.m. Friday at St. John Medical Center in Tulsa, hospital spokeswoman Joy McGill said.

After three years at Oklahoma, the 6-foot-9 Tulsa native spent 12 seasons in the NBA with the Indiana Pacers, Sacramento Kings and Phoenix Suns.

He first learned he had cancerous cyst below his right knee after he broke his leg in a fall at his home in Los Angeles on Feb. 8, 2007. His leg was amputated last August, but he had made several public appearances since then, including on April 7 at an Oklahoma City Thunder game.
After his basketball career, Tisdale became an award-winning jazz musician, with several of his albums making the top 10 on the Billboard charts. Last month, Tisdale learned he had been chosen for induction into the National Collegiate Basketball Hall of Fame.

In 1983, Tisdale became the first freshman to make The Associated Press' first-team All-America list, an honor he received again in 1984 and 1985. He averaged 25.6 points and 10.1 rebounds per game during his three seasons with the Sooners, earning Big Eight Conference player of the year after each season.

He still holds Oklahoma's career scoring record with 2,661 points and career rebounding record with 1,048. Tisdale also owns the school's single-game scoring mark, a 61-point outing against Texas-San Antonio as a sophomore, along with career records in points per game, field goals and free-throw makes and attempts.

Tisdale also played on the U.S. team that won the gold medal in the 1984 Olympic Games.
He went on to average 15.3 points per game during his pro career with the Indiana Pacers, Sacramento Kings and Phoenix Suns.

Tisdale's death was announced on the Oklahoma Senate floor Friday by Senate Majority Leader Todd Lamb, who led the Chamber in prayer.

"Whether you're a Cowboy or a Sooner, Oklahoma has lost a great ambassador," Lamb said. "He was a gifted musician, a gifted athlete and he just wore that well wherever he went."

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