Mt. Rushmore of Oklahoma basketball players would have six heads

In thinking about a Mount Rushmore of Oklahoma Sooners basketball players, six names come to mind to make the carving.  To limit the stone faces to four would not due justice to the University or the worthy six.  Included in names are two women.  Plus, the fact that if I would have included coaches, the face of this Rushmore would expand to at least eight.  But with just ball players, I will go with six and any order of rankings would be justified in my opinion. These are true benchmarks for the men’s and women’s basketball programs of the University of Oklahoma.

Alvin Adams starts my list as the Putnam City High School star, an Academic All-American honoree in both the 1973-74 and 1974-75 seasons at OU.  Adams was a three time All-Big Eight selection, earning league POY accolades after his junior year in 1975.  Leaving OU after his 2nd All-American year as a junior, he had become the all-time leading scorer with 1,787 points and rebounder with 938 boards.  He entered the NBA as the fourth overall pick in the 1975 draft by the Phoenix Suns, where he played his entire 13 year NBA career with.  Adams was a crowd favorite at OU with his Alvin’s Army leading the way at home games.  Alvin Adams was the man that caused OU to build the new venue, the Lloyd Noble Center and OU basketball grew into a nice college program after being a doormat of the Big 12 for some seasons. 

Wayman Tisdale can be said to be the most charismatic Sooner athlete of all time.  His enfectous smile, personality, and will to enjoy the moment, is matched by his talent, not only in basketball, but in his music, and his love of life. I will say now it was my extreme pleasure to get to watch the man play in person, and he is one of only two athletes that can say I wish I could bring back and watch his abilities again.  Tisdale played three seasons for OU, but his stay in Norman were filled with exciting times on the court for the Sooners.  A three time All-American, the 6’9 forward out of BT Washington High School in Tulsa was the best power forward in college from 1982 through 1985.  A first team All-American as a freshman, Tisdale averaged 25.6ppg and over ten rebounds in his career in Soonerland.  On December 28, 1983, I was in attendance at the All-College Holiday Tournament in Oklahoma City when Tisdale went for 61 points against the Univ. of Texas San Antonio.  Tisdale was magnificent that  night and I rank that game as one of the greatest one game performances that I have attended.

In 1984 he became a member of the then-amateur U.S. Olympic basketball team, which won the gold medal. Tisdale was the first Oklahoma Sooner basketball player to have his jersey number, 23, retired.  He was the 2nd overall pick by the Indiana Pacers in the 1985 NBA draft and played many years in the Association as a starting first line player.  Wayman Tisdale was and in my opinion, will always be the fact of Oklahoma Sooner basketball.  Quite possibly, the most loved athlete in Sooner history.

Stacy Dales is the most significant woman’s basketball player in regard to “making” the woman’s program at OU. Sure, and yes, I do credit Sherri Coale, the current and great Hall-of-Fame coach for jump starting a program that was on the verge of extinction before her hire  But it was Dales the player that put the Sooner into the national view, the fans in the seats, and the women’s program into viability.  Dales, a Canadian from Ontario,  was a first team All-American in 2001 and 2002. She was named the 2001 and 2002 Big 12 Conference Player of the Year and is the Big 12 all-time career assist leader (764). In 2002, she was the all-sports Academic All-American of the Year. During her senior year she led the Sooners to the NCAA Championship game where they lost to Connecticut.  With her accomplishments, individual and team, she is the most successful player in OU history, men and women included.

Blake Griffin was a beast, but a gentle one during his time for the Sooners. He would thunder down a vicious dunk on minute and take a elbow the head the next and not get angry and reciprocate the blow the next.  Blake was a cool, athletic, wonderboy for his two years in Norman, and his credentials are above reproach. He was a statistical fantasy master.  The National-Player-of-the-Year in 2008-09, Griffin ranks first at OU in career field goal percentage (.618), second in rebounds per game (11.8), third in double-doubles (40), sixth in points per game (18.8), ninth in rebounds (805) and 17th in points (1,278) … Sports two-year NCAA Tournament per-game averages of 22.3 points, 11.8 rebounds and 2.3 assists, and a school-record .778 field goal mark … Joined Wayman Tisdale and Alvan Adams as the only Sooners to reach 1,000 career points during their true sophomore season.  Blake was drafted by the Los Angeles Clippers in the 2009 draft as the first player selected.

Courtney Paris was the standout female player for the Oklahoma Sooners post Stacy Dales. She, like Blake Griffin in the men’s program, was a stat maker  of the highest order at OU, plus the fact she also led the Sooners to the Final Four in her career.  The Californian from San Jose holds career averages of 21.4 points and 15.3 rebounds per game. She holds the NCAA record for most consecutive double-doubles at 112.  Paris is the only player in NCAA history, male or female, to have 700 points, 500 rebounds, and 100 blocks in a season. In 2005–06, Paris set the women’s NCAA record for rebounds in a single season, with 539.  As the first four time All-American in women’s basketball history, she on February 8, 2009, broke the record for most career NCAA Division I rebounds.  In the Sooners’ victory in the semifinals of the Oklahoma City Regional in the 2009 NCAA Tournament against Pitt on March 29, she became the first player in U.S. college basketball history—regardless of sex, governing body, or division—with 2,500 points and 2,000 rebounds in her career.  After her career in Norman (2005-09) she has been a player in the WNBA, currently a starting center (6’4).

Buddy Hield is the most current big time star of the Oklahoma Sooners men’s basketball team.  Hield, just finished his senior year leading the Sooners to the Final Four.  Most have selected him as the best college player for 2015-16 and is a consensus first team All-American and a two time Big 12 player-of-the-year.  With an off court personality of the like that haven’t been seen since Wayman Tisdale, Hield is the darling of the college basketball world currently.  Loved not only at Oklahoma, the 6’4 guard from the Bahamas, averaged 25.0 ppg as a senior in his 37 games. He is now the all time scorer in Big 12 history with 2291 points and his list of awards in 2016 is un-matched.  He is currently the odds on favorite to bring home the Wooden Award, given to the best college basketball player of the year. He has already won various POY awards this spring.   I have included his award list for 2016 below.

In the comments section if you would like to rank your Mt. Rushmore of OU basketball players it  would be welcomed.