Hall of Fame
The late Mr. Witasek, a native of Lankin, N.D., was the "greatest basketball player produced in North Dakota until the emergence of another UND great in the mid-1960's, Phil Jackson," was a printed statement made by the long-time sports editor of the Grand Forks Herald, C.D. Locklin. "Witasek ranks as the best state cager," the late Eugene (Fitz) Fitzgerald, sports editor of the Fargo Forum, wrote in one of his columns. Witasek was the first UND pro basketballer, playing at Milwaukee and Oshkosh, Wis., on teams that were in a league that was the forerunner of the National Basketball Assn. He had a brilliant career, playing forward at 6-foot-3, on UND conference championship teams, 1932-33 through 1934-35. He won all conference cage honors three times and served with distinction in World War II. It was said he would have been a great halfback had he given undivided attention to that sport. Possessed with great speed and agility, he was an uncanny shooter and great all around cager and ranks among the elite produced in the North Central Conference.
