Wayman Tisdale 1964 – 2009
Written by DJ Special Blend from Chicago on May 16, 2009
Former NBA player and Jazz Musician Wayman Tisdale lost his battle with cancer recently.
Tisdale graduated from Booker T. Washington High School in Tulsa, Oklahoma, where he grew up. As a college player at Oklahoma from 1983 to 1985, he was a three-time Big Eight Conference Player of the Year and the first player in collegiate history to be named a first-team All American by the Associated Press in his freshman, sophomore, and junior seasons.[4] 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 the 1984 U.S. Olympic basketball team coached by Indiana University‘s Bobby Knight, and the Indiana Pacers made Tisdale the second overall pick in the 1985 NBA Draft.
As a center and power forward, Tisdale averaged over 15 points and six rebounds per game in a 12-season professional career with the Indiana Pacers, Sacramento Kings and Phoenix Suns. His best season was in 1989–90 with the Kings, when he averaged 22.3 points and 7.5 rebounds a game. Tisdale and Mitch “The Rock” Richmond combined to form one of the most dynamic duos in the NBA. In 1997, Tisdale retired to focus on his musical career.
Tisdale launched his music career with Power Forward in 1995 on the Motown Label. Primarily a bass player, he recorded eight albums, with the 2001 release Face to Face climbing to No. 1 on Billboard’s contemporary jazz chart. In 2002, he was awarded the Legacy Tribute Award by the Oklahoma Jazz Hall of Fame. In an ESPN internet chat, Tisdale said his musical influences include funk bands of the 1970s.[6] His most recent release, Rebound, was written and released after he had been diagnosed with cancer.
