Watura "Wat" Misaka's name might not register on even the greatest sport buff's radar, but he certainly holds a prestigious place in the history of the National Basketball Association as the first person of color to be drafted into the NBA. Husband and wife producer team Bruce and Christine Johnson are doing their part to shed some much-deserved spotlight on Misaka with their documentary, "Transcending: The Wat Misaka Story."

"Sports really do transcend...this is a great story of this person who triumphed and broke down barriers with such grace. I think it also teaches us to look at what problems still exist and how we can transcend them," said Christine.

Presented by the Sacramento Asian Sports Foundation (SASF), the documentary will be screened for the general public on Friday, May 8 at 7 p.m. Both Misaka and the Johnsons will be attending the screening. This is the third time the documentary has been shown in Sacramento but the first major screening of it in town.

"Transcending" tells Misaka's story of overcoming racial hostility through the use of clips of him on the court as well as interviews with his friends, family, and big names such as New York sportscaster Spencer Ross and Knicks historian Dennis D'Agostino.

The documentary, filmed in late 2008, has already been well-received in the film world. At the Honolulu International Film Festival the film won the "Gold Kahuna Award for Excellence in Filmmaking" and the Johnsons were invited to President Obama's alma mater to share the film with over 275 of America's future leaders. The film also received official selections for the Rhode Island International Film Festival and the Roving Eye Documentary Film Festival this year.

Born in Ogden, Utah and a star player for the University of Utah in the late 40s, Misaka was the first-round draft pick for the New York Knicks in 1947. A "Nisei" American, born to parents who emigrated from Japan, Misaka's draft defied the political climate after the end of World War 2. With many Japanese still in internment camps around the country, Misaka broke down racial barriers and became a crowd pleaser for the Knicks.

After seeing Misaka's picture in the head office of San Francisco's Japanese Cultural and Community Center of Northern California, Bruce and Christine began asking questions and realized they had stumbled upon a great story. After Misaka agreed to speak with them, the idea for the documentary came about naturally.

Sorting through footage of Misaka on the court, Bruce found himself amazed by the 5'7" Misaka's ability to handle himself on the court with the other players, who were 6-feet or taller.

While he was a favorite of the audiences at Madison Square Garden, there were many racial insults directed toward him at away games. However, if you ask Misaka about any type of controversy surrounding his race, he will most likely either brush it off or say he didn't sense any.

"The way that Wat looks at it is if there were any racial taunts, he didn't pay attention. His ability to sort of look at life that way really speaks to his character and shows why he was as successful as he was," said Bruce.

Christine attributes this to a common ideal among the Japanese meaning acceptance with resignation or "it cannot be helped." She explained that a lot of Japanese-Americans were brought up this way and believes that Misaka is a picture of that.

His amazing athletic ability also adds to the mystery of his release from the Knicks in 1948 by president Ned Irish after only playing three games. Misaka was never given an explanation by coach Joe Lapchick and while Bruce can only speculate, he has some theories about Misaka being let go from the team.

"Here are the facts: when [Misaka] was released they paid him his whole season, which was unheard of unless written into the contract. The one game he started for the Knicks was the last game he played for them and was the only game he played out of town. The only time he ran into trouble was when he played out of town," said Bruce.

Bruce also points out that shortly after his release, the Harlem Globetrotters--one of the top basketball teams at the time--invited Misaka to join the team. While he declined and instead chose to return to the University of Utah, this attests to his athleticism and raises even more questions about the reasons for his dismissal.

"He never found out why and that's sort of the heartbreak of it, to not be given a reason and never really know. We try to leave that question open for the audience to speculate about," explained Christine.

To fund the documentary, the Johnsons were given two grants from the California Civil Liberties Public Education Program, and with any continued funding raised they will keep on spreading Misaka's story. They have shown the documentary at about 20 community festivals across the country and are trying to reach as many colleges and universities as possible.

"We love to talk to the audience afterwards and find that so many people are anxious to talk about how Wat turned the other cheek and about what his coping mechanisms were," said Christine.

While Misaka doesn't consider himself a role model, Christine is very proud of the way he's been welcomed while traveling to the screenings. "Seeing people in the audience respond to him as a role model [is heartwarming] and even more heart warming is to see him understand that he is a role model and his story is inspiring," said Christine.

The Johnson's efforts at giving Misaka long-due acclaim is slowly but surely paying off: in February at the NBA All-Star Weekend Misaka was welcomed into the NBA Legends of Basketball Association. They will continue to share his story at over 15 screenings planned for 2009 so far.

Ticket information can be found at watmisaka.com. The Sacramento Asian Sports Foundation is located at 9040 High Tech Court in Elk Grove. Doors open Friday at 6:30 p.m.