Wayman Lawrence Tisdale (June 9, 1964 – May 15, 2009)[1] was an American professional basketball player in the National Basketball Association (NBA) and a smooth jazz bass guitarist. A three-time All American at the University of Oklahoma,[2] he was elected to the National Collegiate Basketball Hall of Fame in 2009.[3]

Early life
Tisdale was born in Fort Worth, Texas.[2] His father, Louis Tisdale, was a well-known pastor in Tulsa, 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 to dunk.[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 heavily recruited 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 the University of Oklahoma, Sooners head coach Billy 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]

Basketball career

Tisdale and Charles Barkley lift Nancy Reagan to a basketball hoop during a 1988 game
Tisdale graduated from Booker T. Washington High School in Tulsa, Oklahoma, where he grew up. As a college player at the University of Oklahoma from 1982 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.[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 the 1984 U.S. Olympic basketball team coached by Indiana University's Bobby Knight, the last gold medal winning American basketball team with amateur players. The Indiana Pacers made Tisdale the second overall pick in the 1985 NBA draft.

As a 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 retired in 1997 to focus on his musical career.

Tisdale's jersey number (23) was retired by the University of Oklahoma in 1997.[8] When Blake 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]

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 his esophagus 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 guitarist Norman Brown.[19]

On May 21, 2009, 4,000 mourners attended Tisdale's memorial service at the BOK Center in Tulsa.[20] In June 2009, the University 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 album American 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, and Arthur Thompson. Keith had intended to play the song at Wayman's funeral but performed Willie Nelson's "Angel Flying Too Close to the Ground" instead because he wasn't emotionally ready to play "Cryin' for Me" (which opens with Wayman's outgoing voicemail message.)

According to a note in the album sleeve, the song "Bright" by guitarist Peter 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]