During his time at Booker T. Washington changed the time of the team’s Sunday High School, Tisdale played three seasons practice so Tisdale wouldn’t miss a service. on the varsity basketball team and became Tisdale has been considered the a highly sought-after basketball player. best player in Oklahoma history, setting Colleges all over the United States wanted scoring and rebounding records at OU, to recruit him. He was considered an elite leading the Sooners to back-to-back Big player nationally and he had led his high Eight championships, and an NCAA Elite school team to the Class 5A basketball Eight tournament. In just three seasons title as a junior in 1981. He averaged he scored 2,661 points, the team’s most 18.8 points and 14 rebounds per game. career points record. He still holds the Just before graduation in 1982 Tisdale record for most career rebounds at announced to the media, with Regina and 1,048, field goals at 1,077, free throws his high school coach at his side, that he at 507, and free throw attempts at 767. would play basketball at the University He set the school’s single-game scoring of Oklahoma with his brother William. record with 61 points and the single- OU beat out The University of Tulsa and game field goal record of 24 in the Georgetown in the competition for December 28, 1983, game against Wayman Tisdale on the court for Tulsa’s the future Olympic gold medalist and Texas-San Antonio his sophomore year. Booker T. Washington High School. NBA star. Coach Tubbs told ESPN in 2009, “I don’t Photograph by Doug Hoke. Courtesy Oklahoma Historical Society. A young Wayman Tisdale in suspenders and Wayman Tisdale and his brother William, left, during a high school game on March 12, 1981. his signature smile. Courtesy Oklahoma Hall Photograph by Jim Argo. Courtesy Oklahoma Historical Society. of Fame Archives. He was the first college player in know of any athlete at Oklahoma or any Perkins, and Chris Mullin. Tisdale led the history to earn first-team All American place else who was more loved by the team in rebounding, with 51 rebounds as a freshman, and he earned it two fans who knew him than Wayman Tisdale. in eight games, tied as the fifth most in more times in his sophomore and junior He was obviously a great, great player, but a single Olympic Games in U.S. team seasons. Tisdale dominated the Big Eight Wayman as a person overshadowed that. history. The 1984 team would be the last Conference while at OU, he was Big He just lit up a room and was so positive.” men’s amateur team to win an Olympic Eight Player of the Year averaging 26.5 Tisdale won gold at the 1983 Pan basketball gold medal. Their record was points and 10.1 rebounds. While playing American Games and was then chosen 8-0 and each win was by more than 19 for OU, he never lost his passion for music. for a star-studded U.S. Olympic Team points. Bobby Knight, coach of the 1984 On weekends Tisdale would drive from at the 1984 Summer Olympics in Los Olympic team, said of Tisdale, “Of any of Norman to Tulsa to play in the band at his Angeles, California. The team included the kids I coached, he was one of the most father’s church. Coach Billy Tubbs even Michael Jordan, Patrick Ewing, Sam enthusiastic for playing basketball and 51 35