King's No. 33 Jersey Honored by OU

NORMAN, Okla. (AP) - Stacey King waited nearly two decades to watch his No. 33 jersey get hung in the rafters of the Lloyd Noble Center with some of Oklahoma's other all-time greats.

The timing seemed just right for him.

"My jersey being hung up here, some might say it's long overdue," King said. "I really don't care. I don't get into that. I had a great career here and a great career at the NBA level, winning championship rings. ... I'm just glad it got done while I'm here to celebrate it."

King was recognized in a halftime ceremony during Oklahoma's 63-61 victory against Texas Tech, with his jersey joining those of Wayman Tisdale, Alvan Adams and Mookie Blaylock as the only four to be honored by the Sooners.

"It's history. You can't deny what has been done here, even before me and before Wayman Tisdale. A lot of great players came in here before we all came in here," said King, who helped lead Oklahoma to the 1988 championship game.

Stacey King Halftime Tribute |

King's Postgame Press Conference

"A lot of people associate Oklahoma basketball with Wayman Tisdale, Alvan Adams and Stacey King, but there are a lot of great players that played here that sometimes don't get recognized as being great players. I'm just one of many bricks in the pavement."

King averaged 17.6 points and 7.2 rebounds in four seasons at Oklahoma before getting drafted by the Chicago Bulls. He won three NBA titles alongside Michael Jordan and Scottie Pippen, but reflects more favorably on his time with the Sooners.

"This has always been home for me, everywhere I've been. I've been in the big city of Chicago, won championship rings, but no experience has ever been better for me than playing at the University of Oklahoma," King told the crowd after being presented with a framed jersey by his three sons -- 16-year-old Erick, 15-year-old Garrett and 12-year-old Brandon.

"I've always told people that I enjoyed my four years at the University of Oklahoma. If I could have been on a seven-year plan, I would have stayed here seven years. For you little guys, disregard that. Get out of here in four."

King teared up after walking onto the court following introductions by his former coach, Billy Tubbs, and athletic director Joe Castiglione and his eyes got watery again when he spoke about his mother being too sick to attend and his sorrow that his father had passed away before the honor took place.

"This is a great honor for myself and my family," King said. "Nothing can ever take away the memories that I have at the University of Oklahoma, playing in my opinion -- and I'm biased because that was my team -- on one of the greatest teams in college basketball history."

King didn't want to get into the debate over whether he should have been honored long ago. He remains fifth on Oklahoma's career scoring list, seventh in rebounds and second in blocks.

"I knew my career here was pretty good. It wasn't the best here. Wayman put up numbers that I don't think anybody will ever reach, Alvan Adams was a great player here, Mookie Blaylock was a great player. You can go down the line," King said.

"I was just a player that happened to play on an awesome team with great teammates, and I played for a great coach who allowed me to be myself."

King said he expected to return for a reunion in March with other players from that national runner-up team from 1988 and would encourage others to come back too. He blamed former coach Kelvin Sampson for cutting some ties by letting Oklahoma high school players leave the state, and said he hopes current coach Jeff Capel continues to do a better job of connecting the past with the present.

"It's a different time here now," King said. "There were some bridges that were burned before, but now there's a lot of healing process going on now."

University of Oklahoma Athletics

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