“Wayman [Tisdale] loves this place. He loves the University of Oklahoma. He loves people. That’s what I would tell our guys. Just try to emulate the pride that he has for what you represent. Also, have a passion for life that Wayman had.”

OU men’s basketball head coach Jeff Capel spoke those words as he remembered Wayman Tisdale, the former OU basketball All-American who died Friday morning after battling cancer.

Tisdale was only 44.

“Wayman, through this fight of his, was the most courageous person that I’ve ever seen,” Billy Tubbs, Tisdale’s former coach, said in a statement released by the OU athletic department. “He was so positive he almost made you feel he was okay when you knew he wasn’t.”

Tisdale dominated college basketball during his three-year run at OU, becoming the first player in NCAA history to earn the Associated Press first-team All-American honors in his freshman, sophomore and junior seasons. He also won the Big Eight Player of the Year Award during each of his three seasons with OU.

He led the Sooners to appearances in three NCAA tournaments including a run to the Elite Eight in 1985. OU’s trip to the tournament in 1983 during Tisdale’s freshman year was only the school’s second NCAA Tournament appearance since 1947. OU also captured Big Eight regular-season championships in 1984 and 1985.

During his three seasons as a Sooner, Tisdale scored 2,661 points and pulled down 1,048 rebounds along with 1,077 field goals, 507 free throws and 767 free throw attempts, all of which are school records that still stand today. He also holds an OU record for points scored during a game against Texas San-Antonio during his sophomore season where he scored 61 points.

Tisdale also played on the 1984 U.S. Olympic basketball team, winning a gold medal in Los Angeles.

“When you look at what he did,” Capel said, “Three years first-team All-American, what he did for this program, and what he did for Coach Tubbs. Look at the numbers he put up in three years. You look at the individual game numbers, the career numbers, everything. He’s one of the best college basketball players ever. One of the most dominant college basketball players ever, in my mind. “

Tisdale also overcame any notion that OU is a football school, becoming the first athlete in Sooners’ history to have his jersey retired, regardless of sport.

“I’ll never forget Wayman’s response, when we called and told him that were going to retire his jersey,” former OU men’s basketball head coach Kelvin Sampson said. “In typical Wayman fashion, he said ‘Really, me?’ That’s just an example of his modesty.”

However, Tisdale allowed OU to figuratively bring his number down from the Lloyd Noble Center catwalks, so that recent Sooner forward Blake Griffin could wear it. Griffin asked Tisdale if he could wear the number during his time wit the team.

“This is obviously a sad day,” Griffin said in a statement released by the OU athletic department. “Not just for Sooner fans but for anybody who knows Wayman, and who knows the kind of person he is. The joy he brings into people’s lives and the example he is to everybody. “

The Indiana Pacers drafted Tisdale with the No. 2 overall pick in the 1985 draft, after he bypassed his senior year of eligibility at Oklahoma. During his 12 years in the NBA, Tisdale played for Indiana, Phoenix and Sacramento where he averaged 15.3 points per game overall.

In 1995, Tisdale turned to a different career and recorded “Power Forward,” a contemporary jazz album for the Motown subsidiary MoJazz. “Power Forward” hit No. 4 on Billboard Magazine’s Top Contemporary Jazz albums list. Eight of Tisdale’s releases would reach the top 10 on that chart and three, “Face to Face,” “Way Up!” and “Rebound” would reach No. 1 on that list. “Way Up!” and “Rebound” also charted on the Billboard 200.

“I loved his music,” Capel said. “Even before I got here, I loved it. I had his CDs. My dad’s a big jazz fan, so that got me into it a little bit. I loved it. I have an autographed Wayman Tisdale CD up in my office. It’s probably one of the two autographs in my life that I’ve ever gotten.”

Last August, Tisdale’s leg was amputated in an effort to fight his cancer. His diagnosis came in 2007 after a fall in his Los Angeles home.

“In his two-year battle with cancer, Wayman demonstrated courage, faith and true strength of character,” Gov. Brad Henry said. “Even in the most challenging of times, he had a smile for people, and he had the rare ability to make everyone around him smile. He was one of the most inspirational people I have ever known.”

Tisdale is survived by his wife, Regina and four children.

A public memorial service is scheduled 11 a.m. Thursday at the BOK Center in Tulsa.