Legendary basketball player and guitar great Wayman Tisdale died today at about 8 a.m. in Tulsa. After three years at Oklahoma, the 6-foot-9 Tulsa native spent 12 seasons in the NBA with the Indiana Pacers, Sacramento Kings and Phoenix Suns, then became an award-winning jazz musician, with several of his albums making the top 10 on the Billboard charts.
Tisdale first learned he had cancerous cyst below his right knee after he broke his leg in a fall at his home in Los Angeles on Feb. 8, 2007. He said then he was fortunate to have discovered the cancer at an early stage. "Nothing can change me," Tisdale told The Associated Press last June. "You go through things. You don't change because things come in your life. You get better because things come in your life."
His leg was amputated last August and a prosthetic leg that he wore was crimson, one of the colors of his beloved Oklahoma Sooners. He made a handful of public appearances in recent weeks, including on April 7 at an Oklahoma City Thunder game, at which he received the team's Community Hero Award.
Also within the past month, Tisdale was honored in a ceremony at the Greenwood Cultural Center in his hometown and presented with the Legacy Award. During the ceremony, he spoke about his fight with cancer, saying "In my mind, I've beaten it." Last month, Tisdale also learned he had been chosen for induction into the National Collegiate Basketball Hall of Fame.
Enjoy the smooth sounds of Tisdale.
Enjoy the smooth sounds of Tisdale.
5 comments:
Awww, may he R.I.P.
That is sad news. I wrote about his passing as well at African American Books Examiner and that he died of bone cancer, which occurs slightly more often in African Americans.
Hello there!!
How sad...
Gone too soon....
I was shocked when I first heard this. I didn't even know he was ill. Now I'll have to go out and purchase his music. I used to listen on the radio (Jazz station in Memphis), but I've never purchased anything by him. Nice tribute.
Wayne Tisdale sounded like a generous sharing person. How sad that he died before his time.
Sharon Raphael
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