The Oklahoma Sooners may be more known for their dominance in college football than college basketball. Still, the Sooners have one of the best basketball programs in the country and have produced some electrifying players.
In the Sooners’ basketball history, they were a two-time national champion runner’s up, made the Final Four five times, and the Elite 8 nine times.
Along the way, the program has had some of the greatest players to ever play the game and today we honor them. Here are the top 10 Oklahoma Sooner basketball players of all time.
10. Harvey Grant, power forward
Most basketball fans remember Harvey Grant from his NBA play but he helped lead the Sooners to a Final Four appearance in 1988 and he was named third-team All-American that same year.
9. Eduardo Nájera, power forward
Eduardo Najera or Eddie as he likes to be called, was a third-team All-American for the Sooners back in the late 1990s who also a defensive specialist who was made the first-team All-Big 12 team, and its All-Defensive Team and All-Freshman team too. He also finished in the top ten in nine statistical categories in the school’s history.
8. Alvan Adams, power forward
Some young Sooner fans may not remember Alvan Adams but he played with the Sooners back in the mid-1970s. Adams was a third-team All-American, Big Eight Player of the Year, and three-time first-team All-Big Eight selection. Adams is one of only three players in the history of the University of Oklahoma men’s basketball program to score at least 40 points and get 20 rebounds in a game along with Wayman Tisdale. Adams is also only one of four players to have his number retired by the school.
7. Hollis Price, shooting guard
Some think that Hollis Price was one of the best players to come out of Norman since the great Wayman Tisdale and that is saying a lot. Price earned the Big 12 Player of the Year award and became a consensus first-team All-American. That season he averaged 18, nearly three rebounds and nearly three assists per game in leading the Sooners to the Elite 8. The year before in his junior season, he lead the Sooners to the Final Four averaging nearly 17 points a game.
6. Stacey King, power forward
Chicago Bulls great Stacey King but before that, he was a great as Sooner as well. King was an All-Amercian, Big 8 Player of the Year, and was Sporting News Player of the Year. King was a monster in the middle averaging 26 points and 10 rebounds per game. The legendary Billy Tubbs talked about King in an interview a few years ago. Tubbs knew King was going to be a star. “Stacey, from his freshman year to his senior year developed probably more than any player that I recall coaching,” Tubbs said just before his passed in 2020. “He made great strides as far as improvement from freshman to senior year.” King led his team to the Final Four in 1988.
5. Mookie Blaylock, point guard
Mookie Blaylock was another great Sooner who was known for his quick hands and his defense. Mookie was a second-time All-American in 1989 and was a first and second team All Big 8 selection who along with Stacey King helped lead the Sooners to the Final Four in 1988. As great of a college player as Blaylock was, he is probably more known for his off-the-court issues which is a shame that his issues have overshadowed what a great college career he had.
4. Buddy Hield, small forward
Buddy Hield is a name outside of Sooner Nation some may not remember but he played an important part in Sooner history. Hield is a two-time All-American, a two-time Big 12 Player of the Year winner, and a two-time first-team All-Big 12 selection. In his junior season, he averaged 17.4 points and 5.4 rebounds per game. The year before that, he averaged 16.5 points, 4.4 rebounds and 1.4 steals per game. But it was his senior season when Buddy Hield emerged as one of the best players in the country averaging over 25 points per game almost six rebounds per game and he led the nation that season in three-pointers made. That year, he also received the John Wooden Award for the best player in the country.
3. Trae Young, point guard
Trae Young‘s time as a Sooner had to be one of the most exciting times in Sooner history. In 2018, Young led the nation in scoring and assists. He also was Big 12 Freshman of the Year and was an All-American. Young was a scoring machine in a Sooner uniform. He finished his freshman regular season leading the country in several statistics: assists (271), points (848), points per game (27.4), assists per game (8.7), and assist percentage (48.6%). You wonder what would have Young done had he stayed one or two more years.
2. Blake Griffin, power forward
While he only played for the Sooners for two years, Blake Griffin was at times a man among boys. During his time in Norman, Griffin was National Player of the Year, an All-American, was Big 12 Player of the Year, and led the nation one year in rebounding. As a sophomore, Griffin averaged 22.7 points, 14.4 rebounds, and 2.3 assists per game during the regular season. Griffin recorded at least 20 points and 15 rebounds 15 times, which is a Big 12 record. He also set school and Big 12 single-season records for most rebounds (504), rebounding average (14.4), and double-doubles (30), and his free throw attempts (324) were the most by a Sooner in a single season. Griffin also is the only player in the school’s history to win the Naismith Award, Oscar Robertson Trophy, Adolph Rupp Trophy, and John Wooden Award. You can definitely make the argument that him being the best Sooner of all time.
1. Wayman Tisdale, power forward
In his later years, Wayman Tisdale was known as a great jazz musician but he may have been the greatest player to put on a Sooner uniform. Tisdale was a three-time All-American, three-time Big 8 Player of the Year, and three-time first-team All-Big 8 selection. He still holds the record at Oklahoma for the most points scored by any player through his freshman and sophomore seasons. The NCAA Freshman of the Year Award is named after him. Tisdale played 12 seasons in the NBA before retiring and working on his music career. Tisdale tragically died in 2009 after battling cancer.
