Wayman Tisdale has spent the past several years fighting bone cancer. He broke his leg twice within one year after a 20-year college and pro basketball career in which he'd never suffered worse than a sprained ankle. When doctors discovered cancerous cells in his leg and a mass program of chemotherapy didn't work, Tisdale's leg was amputated.But the battle continued, and according to Tisdale's friend Spencer Tillman of CBS Sports, the Sooner legend succumbed this morning. He was 44.
At Oklahoma, he was an absolute beast, making three All-American teams in three collegiate seasons before being drafted by the Indiana Pacers No. 2 overall in 1985. In an 11-year pro career with the Pacers, Kings and Suns, he averaged 15 points and 6 rebounds. More than that, he was known as one of the kindest, most beautiful humans in pro sports. (Seriously, a bad word has never been uttered about the guy.) Since his retirement, Wayman had gone back to his love of music, putting out eight critically acclaimed jazz albums. Four of them hit the Top 10 on Billboard's contemporary jazz list.
