Former NBA Player Wayman Tisdale Dies at 44

Wayman Tisdale, a three-time all-American at Oklahoma who played 12 seasons in the NBA, died after a two-year battle with cancer. He was 44.

Tisdale died yesterday morning at St. John Medical Center in Tulsa, hospital spokeswoman Joy McGill said.

After three years at Oklahoma, Tisdale played in the NBA with the Indiana Pacers, Sacramento Kings and Phoenix Suns. The 6-foot-9 forward, with a soft left-handed touch on the court and a wide smile off it, averaged 15.3 points for his career. He was on the U.S. team that won the gold medal in the 1984 Olympics.

After basketball, he became an award-winning jazz musician.

“Wayman Tisdale is one of the best people I have ever had the privilege of knowing,” Oklahoma Coach Jeff Capel said in a statement. “He had an incredible gift of making the people who came in contact with him feel incredibly special.”

Tisdale learned he had a cancerous cyst below his right knee after breaking 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 early. His leg was amputated last August. . . .

The Philadelphia 76ers interviewed former Wizards coach Eddie Jordan for their head coaching job. Jordan met with team president Ed Stefanski yesterday. It was Philadelphia’s first interview with a candidate since Tony DiLeo stepped down as coach on Monday and returned to his job as a vice president and assistant general manager. Jordan, who was fired by the Wizards in November, also interviewed with Sacramento this week.

Here are a few, compiled by the Oklahoma sports information office :

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