Post by jhb on May 28, 2021 12:14:19 GMT -5
Wayman Tisdale
PF
6'9"
240
21
Oklahoma
Scouts rave about Tisdale for his cool and calm demeanor and high character. He comes from the family of pastors who were beloved in their community and he's well known for participating in their services as a musician and many have said if not for a burgeoning basketball career he may be a professional jazz bassist. Oklahoma famously won Tisdale's recruitment because of their accommodation of him being able to do Sunday afternoon practices instead of Sunday morning practices so he could play in his father's services. In three years at Oklahoma, he also was a 3 time Consensus 1st-Team All-American and 3 time Conference Player of the Year in the Big 8. He led his Sooners to 84 victories in 3 seasons and carried the squad to top 6 finishes in points per game nationally every year he was there.
Tisdale famously fell in love with basketball when he got old and tall enough to dunk, and that joy for dunking is still evident in his play to this point. He's an emphatic dunker and loves to finish opportunities with the two-handed slam whenever possible. He does good work on the low block and has a varied arsenal of moves that he uses to give himself space to score, where he has a soft touch. He could stand to add some upper body strength so he could finish better with contact, but overall his low post game is very solid and should translate. He needs to gain more confidence when stepping out to shoot the jumper, and he could stand to work with a shot coach as he finished his college career only around 65% from the free throw line and that shows when he tries to shoot the jumper from the floor. Fortunately, he does such a good job in the face-up game of handling the ball and beating defenders off the dribble that even when they don't respect his jumper he can make offense happen with the dribble drive. Not a very willing passer. Very active on the offensive boards as he loves to hunt for put-back slams.
Defensively, he isn't a liability but isn't a huge asset either as he expends most of his effort focusing on providing scoring. He will play his assignment and doesn't make many mental mistake, he just isn't going to be a game-changer on that end. He has the leaping ability that he was able to get some blocks his first two years of college, but his block rate took a step back his junior year and scouts wonder if it will continue to slide at the next level as he doesn't have elite size and length. Average to good rebounder, but not great, on the defensive end.
Tisdale is only a three-year player and relatively young relative to his peers in this class, but his stat line across his three years in college was nearly identical and many scouts wonder if he loves basketball or music more and where his priorities truly are at. Those scouts have expressed their concerns about Tisdale's long-term potential.
