 Tisdale at a CD release party in 2006 | |
| Personal information | |
|---|---|
| Born | (1964-06-09)June 9, 1964 Fort Worth, Texas, U.S. |
| Died | May 15, 2009(2009-05-15) (aged 44) Tulsa, Oklahoma, U.S. |
| Listed height | 6 ft 9 in (2.06 m) |
| Listed weight | 260 lb (118 kg) |
| Career information | |
| High school | Booker T. Washington (Tulsa, Oklahoma) |
| College | Oklahoma (1982–1985) |
| NBA draft | 1985: 1st round, 2nd overall pick |
| Drafted by | Indiana Pacers |
| Playing career | 1985–1997 |
| Position | Power forward |
| Number | 23 |
| Career history | |
| 1985–1989 | Indiana Pacers |
| 1989–1994 | Sacramento Kings |
| 1994–1997 | Phoenix Suns |
| Career highlights | |
| |
| Career NBA statistics | |
| Points | 12,878 (15.3 ppg) |
| Rebounds | 5,117 (6.1 rpg) |
| Assists | 1,077 (1.3 apg) |
Stats at NBA.com  | |
| Stats atBasketball Reference | |
| Collegiate Basketball Hall of Fame | |
Wayman Lawrence Tisdale (June 9, 1964 – May 15, 2009)[1] was an American professionalbasketball player in theNational Basketball Association (NBA) and asmooth jazzbass guitarist. A three-timeAll American at theUniversity of Oklahoma,[2] he was elected to theNational Collegiate Basketball Hall of Fame in 2009.[3]
Tisdale was born inFort Worth, Texas.[2] His father, Louis Tisdale, was a well-known pastor inTulsa, Oklahoma, serving for 21 years as senior pastor of Friendship Church;[4] After his father died in 1997, the former Osage Expressway in Tulsa was named L.L. Tisdale Parkway in his honor.[5] Wayman's older brother Weldon served as the church's pastor 1997–2018.[6][7]
Growing up, Tisdale was not interested in basketball. When older brothers Weldon and William played pickup games he usually quit before they finished, retreating to the family's sandbox. However, Tisdale began taking to the sport in the eighth grade when he first learned todunk.[6]
He met his future wife Regina in April 1981 at church. They were juniors at different Tulsa high schools, and she did not know he was one of the most heavilyrecruited basketball players in the country.[6]
Tisdale called music his "first love." Throughout his youth, and continuing through his college basketball career, he played bass guitar at his father's church.
Music and church were so important to Tisdale that after recruiting him to theUniversity of Oklahoma,Sooners head coachBilly Tubbs changed the team's practice schedule. He moved the team's Sunday practice from the morning to the evening to allow Tisdale to play at morning services in his father's church in Tulsa.[6]
Tisdale graduated fromBooker T. Washington High School inTulsa, Oklahoma, where he grew up. As a college player at theUniversity of Oklahoma from 1982 to 1985, he was a three-timeBig Eight Conference Player of the Year and the first player in collegiate history to be named a first-team All American by theAssociated Press in his freshman, sophomore, and junior seasons.[8] He still holds the record at Oklahoma for the most points scored by any player through his freshman and sophomore seasons. He won a gold medal as a member of the1984 U.S. Olympic basketball team coached byIndiana University'sBobby Knight, the last gold medal-winning American basketball team with amateur players. TheIndiana Pacers made Tisdale the second overall pick in the1985 NBA draft.
As apower forward, Tisdale averaged over 15 points and six rebounds per game in a 12-season professional career with theIndiana Pacers,Sacramento Kings, andPhoenix Suns. His best season was in1989–90 with the Kings, when he averaged 22.3 points and 7.5 rebounds a game. Tisdale retired in 1997 to focus on his musical career.
Tisdale's jersey number (23) was retired by the University of Oklahoma in 1997.[8] WhenBlake Griffin was granted permission to wear it during his career at OU (2007–2009), he sought and received Tisdale's blessing before accepting it.
The outstanding freshman award in the NCAA is named the Wayman Tisdale Award.[9]
| GP | Games played | GS | Games started | MPG | Minutes per game |
| FG% | Field goal percentage | 3P% | 3-point field goal percentage | FT% | Free throw percentage |
| RPG | Rebounds per game | APG | Assists per game | SPG | Steals per game |
| BPG | Blocks per game | PPG | Points per game | Bold | Career high |
| Year | Team | GP | GS | MPG | FG% | 3P% | FT% | RPG | APG | SPG | BPG | PPG |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1985–86 | Indiana | 81 | 60 | 28.1 | .515 | .000 | .646 | 7.2 | 1.0 | .4 | .5 | 14.7 |
| 1986–87 | Indiana | 81 | 15 | 26.7 | .513 | .000 | .709 | 5.9 | 1.4 | .6 | .3 | 14.5 |
| 1987–88 | Indiana | 79 | 57 | 30.1 | .512 | .000 | .783 | 6.2 | 1.3 | .7 | .4 | 16.1 |
| 1988–89 | Indiana | 48 | 5 | 27.6 | .505 | .000 | .792 | 6.5 | 1.6 | .7 | .7 | 16.0 |
| 1988–89 | Sacramento | 31 | 30 | 35.7 | .523 | — | .744 | 9.6 | 1.7 | .6 | .6 | 19.8 |
| 1989–90 | Sacramento | 79 | 79 | 37.2 | .525 | .000 | .783 | 7.5 | 1.4 | .7 | .7 | 22.3 |
| 1990–91 | Sacramento | 33 | 31 | 33.8 | .483 | .000 | .800 | 7.7 | 2.0 | .7 | .8 | 20.0 |
| 1991–92 | Sacramento | 72 | 71 | 35.0 | .500 | .000 | .763 | 6.5 | 1.5 | .8 | 1.1 | 16.6 |
| 1992–93 | Sacramento | 76 | 75 | 30.0 | .509 | .000 | .758 | 6.6 | 1.4 | .7 | .6 | 16.6 |
| 1993–94 | Sacramento | 79 | 77 | 32.4 | .501 | — | .808 | 7.1 | 1.8 | .5 | .7 | 16.7 |
| 1994–95 | Phoenix | 65 | 13 | 19.6 | .484 | — | .770 | 3.8 | .7 | .4 | .4 | 10.0 |
| 1995–96 | Phoenix | 63 | 6 | 18.3 | .495 | — | .765 | 3.4 | .9 | .2 | .6 | 10.7 |
| 1996–97 | Phoenix | 53 | 15 | 14.7 | .426 | — | .625 | 2.3 | .4 | .2 | .4 | 6.5 |
| Career | 840 | 534 | 28.4 | .505 | .000 | .760 | 6.1 | 1.3 | .6 | .6 | 15.3 | |
| Year | Team | GP | GS | MPG | FG% | 3P% | FT% | RPG | APG | SPG | BPG | PPG |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1987 | Indiana | 4 | 0 | 27.0 | .613 | — | .565 | 4.0 | 2.3 | .3 | .0 | 12.8 |
| 1995 | Phoenix | 10 | 0 | 17.0 | .451 | .000 | .643 | 3.0 | 1.1 | .0 | .4 | 7.3 |
| 1996 | Phoenix | 4 | 0 | 16.8 | .333 | — | .500 | 1.0 | .5 | .3 | .3 | 5.3 |
| 1997 | Phoenix | 4 | 4 | 9.0 | .400 | — | — | 1.8 | .0 | .0 | .0 | 3.0 |
| Career | 22 | 4 | 17.3 | .456 | .000 | .590 | 2.6 | 1.0 | .1 | .2 | 7.1 | |
Tisdale launched his music career with his debut albumPower Forward in 1995 on the Motown Label. Primarily a bass player, he recorded eight albums, with the 2001 releaseFace to Face climbing to No. 1 on Billboard's contemporary jazz chart.[10] He was awarded the Legacy Tribute Award by the Oklahoma Jazz Hall of Fame in 2002. In an ESPN internet chat, Tisdale said his musical influences included the funk bands of the 1970s.[11] His most recent release (and his final album before his death),Rebound, was written and released after he was diagnosed with cancer.
In March 2007, Tisdale underwent treatment for cancer in his knee (osteosarcoma), which was discovered after he fell down a flight of stairs at his home inLos Angeles on February 8, and broke his leg.[12] In May, Tisdale announced on his website that he was recovering from a procedure to remove the cyst, and expected to recover 100%.[13] He and Regina agreed not to tell their four children about his diagnosis until the fall of that year, when the entire family was together (their oldest daughter lives inAtlanta and their second-oldest was attending college at the time). However, the first round of chemotherapy was unsuccessful, leading to a second round. As Tisdale recalled later, "The doctor had never given anyone chemo that was my size. They just calculated how much chemo to give me and said, 'We hope it doesn't mess up your kidneys. If it does, sorry."[6] He drew on some of the challenges he faced during his basketball career to battle the disease, specifically recalling, "I had some coaches that literally didn't want me to make it, and one in particular wasBobby Knight. At the time I frowned on that … I look at it today that had I not persevered through a lot of the stuff he put me through, I probably wouldn't be here today. I thank God for that dude because he pushed me."[6]
In August 2008, Tisdale had part of his right leg amputated because of the bone cancer.[12] On his web site, Tisdale said removing a portion of the leg would be the best way to ensure that the cancer would not return.[14] In a video message at halftime of a September 28 Sooners' football game, Tisdale affirmed he was doing well and that he was at peace following the operation.[15]
Shortly after the operation, he was fitted for a prosthesis. Scott Sabolich, the clinical director, said that in his 21-year career he had never created a prosthesis as large as the one he had to design for Tisdale. Sabolich noted that it typically takes a new amputee from three to six months to acclimate to a prosthesis, while it took Tisdale a month. He proved to be equally quick in learning to walk on his new limb; a physical therapist Tisdale worked with in Tulsa said that he was months ahead of a typical patient in that respect. Tisdale's experience led him to establish the Wayman Tisdale Foundation[16] to raise funds to help amputees with the prosthetic process, which is not always covered by health insurance.[6]
In April 2009, Tisdale accepted an award from theGreenwood Cultural Center in Tulsa, then set off on a 21-date national concert tour.[17]
Tisdale died on May 15, 2009, at St. John Medical Center in Tulsa, where his wife had taken him when he had trouble breathing. She later confirmed that he died after hisesophagus ruptured following radiation treatments for his cancer.[18] Tisdale's agent described his death as a "great shock" and noted that Tisdale had been planning to go into the recording studio the following week for a project with jazz guitaristNorman Brown.[19]
On May 21, 2009, 4,000 mourners attended Tisdale's memorial service at theBOK Center in Tulsa.[20] In June 2009, theUniversity of Oklahoma-Tulsa announced that its new specialty health clinic in north Tulsa would be named in Tisdale's honor.[21]
According to the liner notes,Toby Keith's 2009 albumAmerican Ride is "dedicated in memory of Wayman and Noel McFarland." The album includes the song "Cryin' for Me (Wayman's Song)," a tribute to Tisdale featuring Keith,Dave Koz,Marcus Miller, andArthur Thompson. Keith had intended to play the song at Tisdale's funeral but performedWillie Nelson's "Angel Flying Too Close to the Ground" instead because he was not emotionally ready to play "Cryin' for Me", which opens with Tisdale's outgoing voicemail message.
According to a note in the album sleeve, the song "Bright" by guitaristPeter White (Good Day, 2009) was dedicated "to the memory of Wayman Tisdale, whose spirit never failed to brighten our lives." White said: "The guy was always so happy, so positive, always had a smile, always made you feel great. Even before his death, I'd always called this song 'Bright,' because it sounded uplifting and happy and funny. Then I realized that it would be the perfect song to dedicate to Wayman, because that was the way he came across to the world."[22]
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