Wayman Tisdale

After my previous snarky post about a bad-boy NBA player, I was saddened to read of the passing of one of the good guys, Wayman Tisdale.

Tisdale was an All-American at the University of Oklahoma, averaging 25.6 points per game and 10.1 rebounds per game in his three years. He played twelve seasons for three teams in the NBA, averaging 15.3 and 6.1. Like many others before and since, his size (6'9") allowed him to dominate in college, but made him just a little too small to have anything more than a good career in the NBA as a post player.

What makes Tisdale noteworthy is his character. You could consider him the antithesis of what most consider the typical NBA player. He was a dedicated Christian who got his college coach to move practice from Sunday morning to Sunday night so he could go to church (where his father was the pastor). I don't ever remember him getting in a fight, causing a scandal, or fathering children other than with his wife.

After retiring, he carved out a new career as a jazz bassist. Most ex-athletes seem to have nothing else to do when they quit. It seems they all either play golf, coach, or go into the broadcast booth. Not Wayman. A self-taught musician, he recorded eight albums, two of which topped the Billboard Jazz chart.

He suffered from bone cancer which cost him a leg, but not his smile. He died today at 44.

Here is a link to a terrific ESPN piece from last year:

http://sports.espn.go.com/nba/columns/story?page=tisdale-081203

Here is the link to his web site:

http://www.waymantisdale.com/