Tisdale ready to 'grow' with Thunder

By Gan Matthews, NEWS 9

OKLAHOMA CITY -- Wayman Tisdale dazzled the crowds on the hardwood.

As a three time All-American at OU, an Olympic gold medalist, and a star in the NBA, Tisdale remembers telling an audience in Tulsa about Oklahoma's NBA prospects.

"I mentioned, well, you never know," Tisdale said. "One day, we'll have an NBA and people in the audience actually laughed. They laughed at me."

He said he knew Oklahoma had the fans to support an NBA franchise.

Tisdale's excited about opening night, but he has a word of caution for Thunder fans.

"I think everybody has to learn is to be patient, especially in the early going," Tisdale said. "This is a team that you're going to have to grow with...The greatest thing about it is, we're going to grow together."

Like Tisdale, the fans will be present Wednesday at the creation.