Utah's Wat Misaka tracks 'Linsanity' with interest

SALT LAKE CITY — He's an Asian-American basketball player who in some ways shocked the world; a humble, likable, grateful point guard who is taking this "Linsanity" business in stride.

So what is Wat Misaka doing these days?

Caught in the swell of publicity surrounding New York Knicks guard Jeremy Lin, Misaka is once again a topic. The reason is the 88-year-old Bountiful resident also played for the Knicks and was the first Asian-American to appear in what is now the NBA.

The short story is this: Misaka was 5-foot-7, 150 pounds, and lasted just three games in professional basketball. Lin is eight inches taller and 50 pounds heavier and coming off a buzzer-beating 3-pointer on Tuesday. Lin is showing up on big screens from Taipei to Toledo. Misaka played in an era before television was generally available. He was a member of the 1944 University of Utah team that won the NCAA championship and was drafted 60th by New York.

Misaka was also one of pro basketball's first minorities.

"My involvement has been overplayed, I'm quite certain about that," Misaka said on Wednesday.

To understand why Misaka is in the news is to know what has happened in the last two weeks. Lin has taken the NBA by force. An undrafted guard from Harvard, he played for Golden State last year but appeared in only 29 games, averaging a meager 2.6 points. He was cut by two teams before this season. Then came the Feb. 4 Knicks-New Jersey game, in which Lin scored an unanticipated 25 points. The Jazz helped advance Lin's career two nights later by allowing him to notch 28.

Who? Did whaaat?

But the madness mushroomed when he scored 38 against the Lakers. In his last six games he has averaged 27 points and 8.5 assists. On Tuesday he pushed the Knicks past Toronto, thanks to his long shot with a half-second remaining.

It's a story too quirky to ignore. Lin is the first Harvard NBA player since 1954. Meanwhile, news outlets across Asia and America are panting to cover the story. A White House spokesman said President Barack Obama is "fully up to speed" on Lin's exploits. Stories say Lin went from sleeping on his brother's couch to the 20th floor of the Trump Tower in White Plains, almost overnight.

Meanwhile, headline writers worldwide are quietly giving thanks. There's no telling where the puns will end: "Linsanity!" "Lincredible!" "Linspirational!" "Lincomprehensible!"