{"id":2235,"date":"2016-04-05T20:57:58","date_gmt":"2016-04-06T01:57:58","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/fredsportsextra.com\/?p=2235"},"modified":"2017-07-08T14:57:37","modified_gmt":"2017-07-08T19:57:37","slug":"mt-rushmore-of-oklahoma-basketball-players-would-have-six-heads","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/fredsportsextra.com\/?p=2235","title":{"rendered":"Mt. Rushmore of Oklahoma basketball players would have six heads"},"content":{"rendered":"
\"9585078_G\"<\/a>In thinking about a Mount Rushmore of Oklahoma Sooners basketball players, six\u00a0names come to mind to make the carving.\u00a0 To limit the stone faces\u00a0to four would not due justice to the University or the worthy six.\u00a0 Included\u00a0in names are two women.\u00a0 Plus, the fact that if I would have included coaches, the face of this Rushmore would expand to at least eight.\u00a0 But with just ball players, I will go with six\u00a0and\u00a0any order of rankings would be justified in my opinion. These\u00a0are true benchmarks for the\u00a0men’s and women’s basketball programs\u00a0of the University of Oklahoma.<\/span><\/h5>\n

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\"10-Adams-Oklahoma-shot\"<\/a>
Alvan Adams was recruited to play college basketball at the University of Oklahoma for John MacLeod. After one season (1972-73), MacLeod left to become coach of the Phoenix Suns. Phoenix Suns Archives<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

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Alvin Adams starts my list as the\u00a0Putnam City High School star, an Academic All-American honoree in both the 1973-74 and 1974-75 seasons at OU.\u00a0\u00a0Adams was a three time All-Big\u00a0Eight selection, earning league POY accolades after his junior year\u00a0in 1975.\u00a0 Leaving OU after his 2nd\u00a0All-American year as a junior,\u00a0he had become the all-time leading scorer with 1,787 points and rebounder with 938 boards.\u00a0 He entered the NBA as\u00a0the fourth overall pick in the 1975 draft by the Phoenix Suns, where he played his entire 13 year NBA career with.\u00a0 Adams was a crowd favorite\u00a0at OU with his Alvin’s Army leading the way at home games.\u00a0 Alvin\u00a0Adams was the man that caused OU to build the new venue, the Lloyd Noble Center and OU basketball grew\u00a0into a nice college program\u00a0after being a doormat of the Big 12 for some seasons.\u00a0<\/span><\/h4>\n

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\"r960-20e6bdc8dbf259b53de9ee6a136f0e02\"<\/a>
Former OU basketball player Wayman Tisdale. Oklahoma center Wayman Tisdale, 23, . Photo taken 1985, Photo published 6\/16\/1985 in The Daily Oklahoman.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

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\u00a0 <\/span><\/p>\n

Wayman Tisdale can be said to be the most charismatic Sooner athlete of all time.\u00a0 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.\u00a0 Tisdale played\u00a0three seasons for OU, but his stay in Norman were filled with exciting times on the court for the Sooners.\u00a0 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.\u00a0 A first team All-American as a freshman, Tisdale averaged 25.6ppg and over ten rebounds in his career in Soonerland.\u00a0 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.\u00a0 Tisdale was magnificent that\u00a0 night and I rank that game as one of the greatest one game performances that I have attended.<\/span><\/h4>\n

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.\u00a0 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.\u00a0 Wayman Tisdale was and in my opinion, will always be the fact of Oklahoma Sooner basketball.\u00a0 Quite possibly, the most loved athlete in Sooner history.<\/span><\/h4>\n

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\"dales-dribble\"<\/a>
Stacy Dales-Univ. of Oklahoma http:\/\/www.soonersports.com\/fls\/31000\/microsites\/15wbb_dales\/longform.html<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

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Stacy Dales is the most significant woman’s basketball player in regard to “making” the woman’s\u00a0program 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\u00a0 But it was Dales the player that put the Sooner into the national\u00a0view, the\u00a0fans in the seats, and the women’s program into viability.\u00a0 Dales,\u00a0a Canadian from Ontario, \u00a0was a first team\u00a0<\/span>All-American<\/a>\u00a0<\/span>in 2001 and 2002. She was named the 2001 and 2002\u00a0<\/span>Big 12 Conference<\/a>\u00a0<\/span>Player of the Year and is the Big 12 all-time career assist leader (764). In 2002, she was the all-sports\u00a0<\/span>Academic All-American<\/a>\u00a0<\/span>of the Year. During her senior year she led the Sooners to the NCAA Championship game where they lost to Connecticut.\u00a0 With her accomplishments, individual and team, she is the most successful player in OU history, men and women included.<\/span><\/h4>\n

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\"033109+Blake+Griffin+P1\"<\/a>
Blake Griffin-OU Sooners Photo: http:\/\/www.nbcmiami.com\/news\/sports\/NATLOUs-Blake-Griffin-Leads-AP-All-America-Team.html<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

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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.\u00a0 Blake was a cool, athletic, wonderboy for his\u00a0two years in Norman, and his credentials are above reproach.\u00a0He was a statistical fantasy master.\u00a0 The National-Player-of-the-Year\u00a0in 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.\u00a0 Blake was drafted by the Los Angeles Clippers in the 2009 draft as the first player selected.<\/span><\/h4>\n

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\"18817042_SA\"<\/a>
Courtney Paris, OU All-American Photo: AP<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

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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\u00a0 of the highest order at OU, plus the fact she also led the Sooners to the Final Four in her career.\u00a0 The Californian from San Jose holds career averages of 21.4 points and 15.3 rebounds per game. She holds the\u00a0<\/span>NCAA<\/a>\u00a0record for most consecutive double-doubles at 112.\u00a0 Paris is the only player in\u00a0<\/span>NCAA<\/a>\u00a0<\/span>history, male or female, to have 700 points, 500 rebounds, and 100 blocks in a season. In 2005\u201306, Paris set the women’s NCAA record for\u00a0<\/span>rebounds<\/a>\u00a0<\/span>in a single season, with 539.\u00a0 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. \u00a0<\/span>In the Sooners’ victory in the semifinals of the Oklahoma City Regional in the\u00a0<\/span>2009 NCAA Tournament<\/a> against\u00a0<\/span>Pitt<\/a>\u00a0<\/span>on March 29, she became the first player in U.S. college basketball history\u2014regardless of sex, governing body, or division\u2014with 2,500 points and 2,000 rebounds in her career.\u00a0 After her career in Norman (2005-09) she has been a player in the WNBA, currently a starting center (6’4).<\/span><\/h4>\n

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\"9585078_G\"<\/a>
Buddy Hield-OU Sooners Photo: http:\/\/www.newson6.com\/story\/30891961\/ou-buddy-hields-outstanding-performance-vs-no-1-kansas<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

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Buddy Hield is the most current big time star of the Oklahoma Sooners men’s basketball team.\u00a0 Hield, just finished his senior year leading the Sooners to the Final Four.\u00a0 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.\u00a0 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.\u00a0 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.\u00a0 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.\u00a0\u00a0 I have included his award list for 2016 below.<\/span><\/h4>\n

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In the comments section if you would like to rank your Mt. Rushmore of OU basketball players it \u00a0would be welcomed.<\/span><\/h4>\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n
Naismith College Player of the Year<\/span><\/u><\/a><\/strong>\u00a0<\/span>– 2016<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
Consensus All-American First Team<\/span><\/u><\/a><\/strong>\u00a0<\/span>– 2016<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
NABC All-American First Team<\/span><\/u><\/a><\/strong>\u00a0<\/span>– 2016<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
NABC All-American Third Team<\/span><\/u><\/a><\/strong>\u00a0<\/span>– 2015<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
NABC All-District (8) First Team<\/span><\/u><\/a><\/strong>\u00a0<\/span>– 2014, 2015, 2016<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
AP All-American First Team<\/span><\/u><\/a><\/strong>\u00a0<\/span>– 2016<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
AP All-American Third Team<\/span><\/u><\/a><\/strong>\u00a0<\/span>– 2015<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
Oscar Robertson Trophy (USBWA Player of the Year)<\/span><\/u><\/a><\/strong>\u00a0<\/span>– 2016<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
USBWA All-American First Team<\/span><\/u><\/a><\/strong>\u00a0<\/span>– 2016<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
Sporting News Player of the Year<\/span><\/u><\/a><\/strong>\u00a0<\/span>– 2016<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
Sporting News All-American First Team<\/span><\/u><\/a><\/strong>\u00a0<\/span>– 2016<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
Big 12 Player of the Year<\/span><\/u><\/a><\/strong>\u00a0<\/span>– 2015, 2016<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
All-Big 12 First Team<\/span><\/u><\/a><\/strong>\u00a0<\/span>– 2015, 2016<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
All-Big 12 Second Team<\/span><\/u><\/a><\/strong>\u00a0<\/span>– 2014<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
Big 12 Championship All-Tournament Team<\/span><\/u><\/a><\/strong>\u00a0<\/span>– 2015, 2016<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
Diamond Head Classic MVP<\/span><\/u><\/a><\/strong>\u00a0<\/span>– 2016<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
Diamond Head Classic All-Tournament Team<\/span><\/u><\/a><\/strong>\u00a0<\/span>– 2016<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<\/tbody>\n<\/table>\n
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In thinking about a Mount Rushmore of Oklahoma Sooners basketball players, six\u00a0names come to mind…<\/p>\n

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<\/div>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":2243,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[11,157],"tags":[640,17,641,510,487,639,16,638,509],"class_list":["post-2235","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-college-sports","category-from-the-past","tag-alvin-adams","tag-big-12","tag-big-8","tag-blake-griffin","tag-buddy-hield","tag-courtney-paris","tag-oklahoma-sooners","tag-stacy-dales","tag-wayman-tisdale"],"a3_pvc":{"activated":true,"total_views":300,"today_views":0},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/fredsportsextra.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2235","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/fredsportsextra.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/fredsportsextra.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/fredsportsextra.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/fredsportsextra.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=2235"}],"version-history":[{"count":13,"href":"https:\/\/fredsportsextra.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2235\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":2255,"href":"https:\/\/fredsportsextra.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2235\/revisions\/2255"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/fredsportsextra.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/media\/2243"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/fredsportsextra.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=2235"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/fredsportsextra.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=2235"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/fredsportsextra.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=2235"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}