What a sad passing of a really great guy in spite of the fact he was a Sooner. I was still living in OKC when Tisdale (a native texan) first arrived on the scene at Norman. There was no bigger or brighter star in the whole state for the next three years, not even Reba.
Billy Tubbs, with his Nicholsonesque vocal patterns and swagger, had started to generate some excitement in the moribund OU basketball program two years prior to Tisdale's arrival, but it was Wayman that really put them on the map. He was one of the greatest college basketball players I ever saw.
Wayman Tisdale is at the top of a very short list of my favorite Sooners. He was drafted second overall in 1985 after Patrick Ewing. He had a better than average NBA career but never achieved stardom, always being over-shadowed by the likes of Malone, Barkley, and others. He played on some bad teams.
The guy was an awesome musician too. And that's not hyperbole. He was an amazing bass player. He was in the same league with Marcus Miller and Stanley Clarke and had an unlimited future as a jazz bassist. So sad.
I had a couple of close encounters with him, once in the 80s at the same USC vs OU football game where I got O.J. to autograph my ticket stub. Another time here in Austin a few years ago when he gave a concert at The One World Theater here in town. He was always smiling and engaging and seemed real genuine. Everyone that knew him says he was just a great person. Never heard anyone anytime say anything but good about the dude. He was just 44.
