Wataru Misaka enrolled at the University of Utah and joined their Utes basketball team. The young team finished with an 18–3 record in the 1943–44 season. They were invited to both the NCAA Tournament and the NIT Tournament. The team chose the latter because it was more prestigious at the time, and meant a trip to New York City. The team lost to Kentucky in the first round, but was given a chance to play in the NCAA tournament due to Arkansas's withdrawal because of a team accident. The team took advantage of this and won the tournament, beating Dartmouth 42–40 in overtime. Two nights later, Misaka and his team played the NIT champions, St. John's, in an exhibition match at Madison Square Garden, where his team won 43–36.[16]
Misaka was later drafted for World War II and rose to the rank of staff sergeant. After two years, he returned to the University of Utah and rejoined the team. The team won their second national championship in four years. Because of their success, Utah was invited to the NIT championship tournament in New York. The team slid by the first two rounds before beating Adolph Rupp's Kentucky powerhouse 49–45 to capture the 1947 NIT championship title. Misaka played the whole game, holding Ralph Beard, the national player of the year, to just one point.[9]
Professional basketball career
He was selected by the New York Knicks in the 1947 BAA Draft. He debuted as the first non-Caucasian player in the BAA (later known as the NBA) in 1947, the same year that Jackie Robinson broke the baseball color line.[17][18] The first African American did not play in the NBA until 1950.[17] There were no press conferences or interviews to commemorate Misaka's first game.[19] "It wasn't a big thing," he said. "Nobody cared."[19]
Misaka played in three games and scored seven points in the 1947–48 season before being cut from the team. He believed he was cut because the Knicks had too many guards.[20][21][7] Misaka said he did not feel any discrimination from teammates or opposing players during his time with the Knicks,[22] but he did not mingle with everyone.[18] During training camp, he was only close with future Hall-of-Famer Carl Braun.
Interesting stuff.
I like how they chose the NIT, lost, but then played in the NCAA as well when another team couldn't make it. Won the NCAA, then beat the NIT champs in an exhibition right after.
Things used to be more informal, more improvised.
Misaka served in Hiroshima and Nagasaki as an interpreter after the war-ending mass killings. Then returned to win another college championship. Wat was 5'9". Just died at 95. First non-white to play professional hoops in the US.
Btw, segregation was primarily but not solely targeted at blacks and really meant Whites Only, so Japanese were routinely barred from restaurants and other public places. More tolerated because seen as less threatening and fewer in numbers (and closer to white), but still discriminated against. It's not like German immigrants in Milwaukee or Cincinnati were rounded up and deported (though many did get harassed).
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