Tag: Wayman Tisdale

Sooners legend Blake Griffin officially announces retirement

Blake Griffin, a generational athlete and former Oklahoma Sooner announced his retirement after a 14-year NBA career.

An Oklahoma basketball legend called it a career on Tuesday. Sooners basketball legend Blake Griffin announced his retirement in a post he shared via social media on Tuesday morning.

Griffin ended his NBA career after 14 years. The bulk of his career came as a member of the Los Angeles Clippers after he was drafted in 2009 as the first overall pick. He also spent time with the Detroit Pistons, Brooklyn Nets, and Boston Celtics.

Griffin retired as a six-time NBA All-Star, three-time All-NBA Second Team, two-time All-NBA Third Team, and the NBA Rookie of the Year in 2009.

 

As a high schooler from Oklahoma City, Griffin won multiple state championships. He signed with the Sooners and went on to earn selections on the Big 12 All-Rookie Team and to the first-team All-Big 12 after posting 14.7 points and 9.1 rebounds and ranking ninth in scoring, fourth in rebounding, and third in field goal percentage in the Big 12 Conference.

Instead of bolting for the impending NBA Draft, he stayed for one more year. He cemented his status as an Oklahoma basketball legend. During his sophomore season, he became the first player in Big 12 history to record back-to-back games of at least 20 points and 20 rebounds. He dropped 40 points and 23 rebounds against Texas Tech, becoming the only player in Big 12 history and the third player in the history of the University of Oklahoma men’s basketball program to record at least 40 points and 20 rebounds in a game, joining [autotag]Wayman Tisdale[/autotag] and [autotag]Alvan Adams[/autotag].

He led Oklahoma to a regional final that saw them lose to eventual national champion UNC. That year, Griffin averaged 22.7 points, 14.4 rebounds, and 2.3 assists per game during the regular season and earned All-American first team honors. He also swept every major player of the year award. He’s the only Sooner to win the Naismith Award, Oscar Robertson Trophy, Adolph Rupp Trophy, John Wooden Award, and the Associated Press Player of the Year in the same season.

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Buddy Hield and Trae Young top 10 college guards of the last decade per Jon Rothstein

Buddy Hield and Trae Young had special careers in Norman which ended with them as top 10 guards of the last decade.

The Oklahoma Sooners have been spoiled with some special talent on the hardwood. Whether it was Alvin Adams, Stacey King, Wayman Tisdale, Mookie Blaylock, Ryan Minor or the newer era with guys like [autotag]Blake Griffin[/autotag], [autotag]Buddy Hield[/autotag] and [autotag]Trae Young[/autotag].

Hield and Young had two of the better individual seasons I’ve seen any college basketball player have. Hield’s senior season was remarkable to watch. He averaged 25 points, 5.7 rebounds on 50.1% from the field and 45.7% from 3. He’s the only player I’ve ever seen that when he shot a three it felt like it was going in every time. It’s what led to him winning several national awards.

Young’s season was special as well. I remember watching him play basketball at the YMCA in Norman when he was in junior high. You could tell then he’d be special but I never thought he’d be that special. In his lone season in Norman, he led the nation in points (27.4) and assists (8.7) per game which had never been done before.

More: Oklahoma men’s basketball all-time roster: Sooner Legends

Those special seasons helped land both on CBSSports’ Jon Rothstein’s top 10 list of best college guards in the last decade.

Now, it says it is in no particular order so who knows who is first and who is 10th. It’s also a great list with a lot of great guards. Still, you can’t convince me any of those guys are better than Hield. That’s how special that season was.

It helped get Oklahoma back into the Final Four and although that didn’t turn out how Sooner fans would have wanted, it was one fun ride.

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Oklahoma men’s basketball all-time roster: Sooner Legends

With March Madness here, we look at Oklahoma’s all-time basketball team led by Coach Billy Tubbs and players like Wayman Tisdale.

We are on the cusp of an exhilarating time of the year for most sports fans nationwide, as March Madness is very near. The electricity generated by conference tournaments and the following NCAA Tournaments is an experience no collegiate sport can replicate. Selection Sunday is Mar.12.

Porter Moser’s team has had an incredibly perplexing season. They beat multiple ranked teams and played tough in some other games. However, the Sooners look like the odd team out when deciding which Big 12 teams make it into the field of 68.

Oklahoma was a mainstay in the tournament during the 2010s, as they made it six times. Their most recent berth was in 2021. The Sooners’ most recent Final Four appearance was in 2016, spearheaded by Oklahoma basketball legend Buddy Hield. With a reasonably steady program despite no national championships, what would an all-time Sooners basketball team look like? Sooners Wire chose one head coach, two assistants, and ten players to make up the all-time roster.

Former OU Men’s Basketball coach Lon Kruger heading to the National Collegiate Basketball Hall of Fame

Former Sooners men’s basketball coach Lon Kruger to be inducted into the National Collegiate Basketball Hall of Fame.

The Oklahoma Sooners will have another coach enshrined in the Hall of Fame as former OU Men’s Basketball coach Lon Kruger was elected to the 2022 class of the National Collegiate Basketball Hall of Fame.

Kruger was a head coach for 35 seasons at the collegiate level amassing a 674-432 record for a career win percentage of .609, making the NCAA tournament 20 times. Kruger made it to the sweet 16 five times, the elite eight three times, and the final four twice.

He spent time at UT Pan-Am, Kansas State, Florida, Illinois, and UNLV prior to his 10 seasons with the Oklahoma Sooners.

In those 10 seasons in Norman, Kruger’s Sooners went 195-128 (.604), made the NCAA tournament seven times (tournament was cancelled in 2020), including a sweet 16 appearance in 2015 and a final four in 2016.

Kruger is the first men’s basketball coach from Oklahoma to be elected to the Hall of Fame and will join former player Wayman Tisdale as Sooners inductees.

During his tenure, the Sooners produced the 2016 National Player of the Year, Buddy Hield, and the 2018 Freshman of the Year, Trae Young. Oklahoma had six first-team All Big-12 selections during his 10-year run.

He was the 2019 winner of the John Wooden Legend’s of Coach award recognizing the lifetime achievement of coaches who exemplified Wooden’s high standard of excellence.

Lon Kruger will be inducted on Nov. 20 in Kansas City during the Collegiate Hall of Fame weekend.

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On this date in 1985, Wayman Tisdale hit a game-winner to send to Sooners to the Sweet 16

On this day in 1985, former Oklahoma star Wayman Tisdale sank a game-winner against Louisiana Tech.

On this day in 1985, former Oklahoma star Wayman Tisdale sank a game-winner against Louisiana Tech to push Karl Malone and the Bulldogs out of the NCAA tournament. 

With seconds remaining in the game, Tisdale lifted high into the air and shot the ball. It bounced all the rim several times before falling through and advancing the Sooners.

Tisdale’s bucket sent Oklahoma to the Sweet 16, and was the final victory of his illustrious career.

After the game was tied at 74 apiece after regulation, the game was sent into overtime, where the Sooners outscored the Bulldogs 12 to 10.

Tisdale finished with a game-high 23 points, followed by Oklahoma’s Darryl Kennedy with 21 and NBA legend Karl Malone with 20. 

The Sooners lost to Memphis in the Sweet 16. 

Tisdale finished the season averaging 25.2 ppg and 10.2 rpg. He was chosen second overall by the Indiana Pacers in the 1985 NBA Draft.