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It’s sweeping the nation – Lin-sanity! People from all corners of the United States – and even from international nations – are shouting Jeremy Lin’s name from the rooftops and following his every move. Who is he, you wonder? He’s the first Chinese-American man to play in the National Basketball Association. Oh, but, he’s so much more than that. He’s the personification of determination, hard work, brains and stick-to-it-tiveness. He’s the sports figure all kids should want to emulate because, as a parent, wouldn’t you want your son to idolize a sports figure that works hard to achieve his goals and values education?
Jeremy Lin, who is of Chinese and Taiwanese descent but born and raised in America, played basketball for Palo Alto High, a team that went 63-3 while he was on it. As a senior, he led the team to a 32-1 record and the California Division II state championship title. But, despite this amazing success in high school, he didn’t receive any athletic scholarships to continue his basketball career, most particularly Stanford, the school in his own backyard. Recruiters didn’t consider him a Division I player; they thought he belonged in a Division III school. He was welcome to walk on but he wasn’t given any more attention than that. Undeterred, he took his brain power to Harvard University, graduating in four years with a degree in Economics and playing ball for the Crimson.
Despite a desire to continue his basketball career, he faced more adversity when he didn’t get drafted into the pros. The NBA general managers were looking for something different. In all likelihood, they were seeking the usual – AAU kids with that brash attitude and ability to shoot from every corner of the floor and then brag about it to the world. They were certainly not looking for a Chinese dude of average basketball height (6’-3”) and build who played for an Ivy League school.
So, Lin tried alternate routes. He put his head down and went about achieving his goal with a methodical, systematic approach. He went through predraft workouts, minicamps and played in the Summer League to gain attention. He finally got offers and signed with his hometown team, the Golden State Warriors. But, even though he was a fan favorite in the heavily-populated Asian community in San Francisco, he was waived. He was picked up by the Houston Rockets but waived almost immediately and then landed with the New York Knicks, for whom he has soared to stardom in the space of one week – an opportunity that occurred only because of injuries to the teammates who were playing ahead of him. So, even though he found himself languishing on the bench at the start of this strike-shortened season, his name was finally called by Coach Mike D’Antoni and he has made the very most of his opportunity, leading the Knicks to seven straight wins, the most notable being against the Los Angeles Lakers, when he outscored the Lakers’ big gun Kobe Bryant, 38-34.
In this incredible streak, Lin-sanity has swept the nation. People everywhere are awestruck by this little engine that could; people everywhere are embracing him grandly. In a sport that has never seen an American-born Chinese guy make a living on the court, he broke the barrier. He’s playing with the big boys and he’s playing with energy and enthusiasm while responding to this craziness with grace and maturity.
So, why didn’t anyone take Jeremy Lin seriously? It can’t be his height – there are players shorter than him. It can’t be his knowledge of the game – he went to Harvard, for goodness’ sake, so I’m guessing he understands the sport better than most.
Could it possibly be because he’s not the typical AAU player? Bingo! (For the record, I think that’s a blessing.) Have you seen these AAU kids? It’s a generalization, to be sure, but I’ve seen them up close as my son began his athletic career playing AAU-sanctioned club basketball. He hated it and told us why: the coaches are in it for their own glory and they coach their players to assume the same attitude. So, bottom line: AAU kids are selfish and entitled; they care only about their own statistics and future playing careers. Right in my own backyard, the USC Trojans were recently heavily sanctioned, in part because of an AAU basketball player whose “representative” demanded money from the school in order to get this kid to play for them…and the coach reportedly complied (although the coach,
