405. Bob Gretz interviewed Wat Masaka, a 5'7 Japanese/American who took his team to the NIT and NCAA National titles in the same year - 1944.

<p>Bob Gretz joins the YJHTL podcast once again sharing his fasciating stories as a sports writer and top-notch  journalist. Bob talks about his interviewed with Wat Maska he did in 1988. </p> <p class="css-at9mc1 evys1bk0">Wat Misaka, the son of Japanese immigrants, was a 5-foot-7 guard who starred for the University of Utah on teams that won two national tournament championships at Madison Square Garden in New York in the same year. Then joined the Knicks there in 1947. Wat was the first person of color to play in modern professional basketball in 1947. </p> <p class="css-at9mc1 evys1bk0">Bob explains how Wat's sense of humor helped him through his struggles as a Japanese American during WW 2. This is a great, fascinating and inspiring podcast.</p> <p class="css-at9mc1 evys1bk0"> </p>