Former Oklahoma Sooner and NBA star Wayman Tisdale passed away this morning at the age of 44.
Tisdale was one of the college games biggest stars in the mid 80's at Oklahoma and was a member of the most talented Olympic team ever (before the the introduction of pro players) winning the gold medal in 1984.
Tisdale played for the Pacers,Kings and Suns and despite having some excellent season,was never the dominant force that he was for OU in his college days.
Indiana tapped Tisdale with the second overall pick in the 1985 draft over such players as Karl Malone,Chris Mullin and Joe Dumars.
The 6'9 power forward only averaged below double digits in points in his abbreviated last season in Phoenix and was a key role player for the Suns in their near misses in the 90's for the NBA crown.
But for all the successes that Tisdale had in the pro game,it is his time as number 23 in the crimson and cream of Oklahoma that he is most remembered for on the hardwood.
Tisdale averaged 25 points and 10 rebounds a game for the Sooners over his three year career in Norman and won the then Big Eight player of the year award in each of his three seasons.
Tisdale was the first player in ANY sport to have his jersey retired at Oklahoma in a honor that he can never be surpassed in,but he allowed current player of the year Blake Griffin to wear the jersey during his college career in an effort to help the Sooner program add an elite player..
Tisdale finished his college career in two of the most exciting games that you can watch in the 1985 Midwest Regional with his game winning shot over Malone and Louisiana Tech that seemed to hit every part of the iron before falling in and a loss in the regional final to Keith Lee and Memphis State.
Tisdale turned to music after his career,releasing eight jazz albums including "Way up",which hit number one in 2006.
In Febuary 2007,Tisdale was discovered to have cancer that resulted in the amputation of his leg last year and he had several interviews where he claimed to have beaten the disease.
Our condolences to the Tisdale family....
Colby Rasmus crushed a Jeff Karstens pitch in the second inning for a two run homer and the Cardinals had all the runs that they needed in a 5-1 win.
A Robinzon Diaz single in the fourth scored Adam LaRoche for the only Pirate run....
Back with more tomorrow that was planned for today,but the passing of Wayman Tisdale pushed things back a bit.
Photo Credit
Tisdale:Fleer/Upper Deck
Tisdale:
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