Pretend you’re Mike D’Antoni, head coach of the New York Knicks, and you’re down by three with five seconds to go. Who’s taking the shot? You got Melo, (Camelo Anthony), who is probably the best offensive player on your team. You got J.R. Smith who is your best three point shooter. Or you got Jeremy Lin, an absolute nobody, a second year player out of Harvard who barely made the team and lives on his friend’s couch in an apartment in New York.
You pick Jeremy Lin. Duh!
At the beginning of the season, Jeremy Lin was the LAST person you would want to make a play that decided the outcome of the game, but the kid has improved, and has grown tremendously and has turned out to be quite a star in the NBA with his abrupt yet stellar playing style on the court.
Jeremy Lin began his claim to fame at Harvard. Harvard head coach Tommy Amakar characterized Lin as, “the physically weakest guy on the team.” In his senior year (2009–10) Lin averaged 16.4 points, 4.4 rebounds, 4.5 assists, 2.4 steals and was named a unanimous selection for All-Ivy League First Team. He gained national attention for his performance against the 12th ranked Connecticut Huskies, against whom he scored a career-high 30 points and grabbed 9 rebounds on the road. Connecticut head coach Jim Calhoun said after the game, “I’ve seen a lot of teams come through here, and he could play for any of them. He’s got great, great composure on the court. He knows how to play.”
After graduating from Harvard, Lin went undrafted in the 2010 NBA Draft. NBA scouts said Lin is “a smart passer with a flawed jump shot and a thin frame, who might not have the strength and athleticism to defend, create his own shot or finish at the rim in the NBA.”
In December of 2011 the New York Knicks claimed Lin off waivers. Lin would play only 55 minutes through the first 23 games of the season, but on February 4, Lin proved himself when he outplayed the All-Star guard of the New Jersey Nets, Deron Williams, and had 25 points, 5 rebounds, and 7 assists, all career highs, in a 99–92 victory over the Nets. On February 10, Lin scored a new career-high 38 points and had 7 assists, leading the Knicks in their 92–85 victory over the Los Angeles Lakers. He outscored the Lakers guard Kobe Bryant, who had 34 points. “Players playing that well don’t usually come out of nowhere,” said Kobe after the game. “It seems like they come out of nowhere, but if you can go back and take a look, his skill level was probably there from the beginning. It probably just went unnoticed.”
The “Linsanity” really began on February 14 when with less than a second remaining, Lin scored a game-winning three-pointer against the Toronto Raptors.
Lin was then named Eastern Conference Player of the Week after averaging 27.3 points, 8.3 assists and 2.0 steals in those four starts with the Knicks going undefeated.
Lin became the first NBA player to score at least 20 points and have seven assists in each of his first five starts.
Now honestly, if Jeremy Lin was not Asian-American I do not believe he would be getting as much publicity as he has been. This is a fresh, new commodity that we (as sports fans) are not used to seeing. An Asian-American excelling in the NBA. I love it. I’m a HUGE Jeremy Lin fan and will always stick by him. I believe he’s a franchise player, who will have a very successful career and 15 years from now, an induction as the first player with Asian descent in the NBA Hall of Fame.
