Power Forward: Wayman Tisdale
Before there was Stacey King and Harvey Grant there was Wayman Tisdale. Tisdale was a three-time consensus All-American in his three years at Oklahoma, but despite his dominance in the interior, his first two trips to the tournament ended with disappointments. In 1983, the Sooners were ousted in the second round, and in 1984, despite 34 points and 11 rebounds from Tisdale, Dayton knocked Oklahoma out in Round 1.
Then, in 1985, Tisdale finally broke through and carried Oklahoma to the Regional Final as a No. 1 seed. He averaged 26.7 points in Oklahoma’s three wins but was held to just 11 and 12 rebounds in the Regional Final loss to Memphis.
That 1985 tournament run was the furthest that the Sooners had gone in the NCAA Tournament since making the National Championship game under head coach Bruce Drake in 1947. Tisdale established Oklahoma basketball on the national stage and redefined front-court play in Norman.