By JACKSON WANG
Sports Editor
Two weeks ago, nobody knew who Jeremy Lin was. Fast forward to today, Lin, aka Linsane, aka Linsanity, aka all he does is Lin Lin Lin, just became one of the most popular players in the NBA.
Four games later and four straight wins, he’s become the most popular Harvard student since Mark Zuckerburg.
A man that was living on his brother’s couch two weeks ago can now finally have his own place after being guaranteed a contract from the Knicks.
Jeremy Lin, the man who took advantage of every opportunity he’s gotten has become a rising star in the NBA. The Knicks don’t have to wait for the injured Baron Davis anymore, their savior has arrived.
He’s not only packing arenas because of his talent, but also because of race. Lin is the first American NBA player of Chinese or Taiwanese descent.
The Chinese community has been waiting for a new Chinese superstar to appear after the retirement of Yao Ming this summer.
While he was in high school, Lin led his team, Palo Alto, to the state title game where they defeated the nationally known Mater Dei. He was also named first team all state and northern California player of the year.
Even with those honors, no college basketball coach was willing to give him a scholarship. Harvard and Brown were the only two schools that offered him a spot on the team if he walked out.
Eventually Lin decided to take his talents to Harvard and the rest was history. Lin became the first Ivy League player to record at least 1,450 points (1,483), 450 rebounds (487), 400 assists (406) and 200 steals (225).
After completing his four years at Harvard, he went undrafted in the NBA Draft. The man who earned everything did it again to earn a spot on an NBA team.
At a NBA summer league, Lin showed off what he’s made of against John Wall. Wall, who was a former first round draft pick, was forced to earn everything being guarded by Lin. At the same time, Lin was showing up Wall putting up 13 points from 6-for-12 shooting.
Soon after, Lin signed a deal with the Golden State Warriors but saw very little action. Lin played one season with the Warriors before getting released on the first day of training camp after the lockout.
After a quick date with the Houston Rockets, the New York Knicks were up next taking a chance with Lin.
All Lin needed was one chance and with that one chance he got himself a guaranteed contract with the Knicks.
The man who nobody wanted to take a chance with is now the new sensation in the NBA. Even after having three impressive performances, people still doubted his skills.
All that was silence after playing Kobe Bryant and the Los Angeles Lakers last Friday. That’s when Lin lit up stats book with 38 points, 4 rebounds, 7 assists and 2 steals to turn haters into believers.
In a system where everybody shoots, Lin fits perfectly because of his ability to see the floor and find the open man. With Lin’s ability to shoot and take it to the basket, it makes him one of the most dangerous point guards since Derrick Rose came on the scene.
Lin is also doing this without the superstars. I guess well see what happens when Melo and Stoudemire comes back. Hopefully they can gel together and become a contender for the title. Let’s just hope they don’t become the three stooges.
Everything that’s happened to Lin has been earned. Lin has taken every opportunity that’s come his way and he’s certain doing his best with this one.
