The Lin Factor

                                              

How long does it take for one player to become a World Wide sensation, for Knicks PG Jeremy Lin it took less then a week. The young PG out of Harvard was seldom known by anyone before the Knicks February 2nd match up against the Nets. In that game Lin broke out for a career high in Points (25), Assists (7), and Minutes (35). His performance earned the trust of Mike D'Antoni and he was given the full-time PG gig. Over the next 4 games Lin scored (28, 23, 38 and 20) respectively. His biggest game came Friday against the Kobe Bryant and the Lakers when he scored a new career high 38 points, to go along with 7 Assists and 4 Rebounds. He entered February as a guy who was fighting to stay on the Knicks, and since has averaged 26.8 PPG, 8 APG, and 5.3 RPG over his past 5 Starts. This wasn't the first time Lin has fought adversity throughout his basketball career, and not just in the NBA.

Lin grew up in Los Angeles, California raised by his Parents Gie-Mind and Sherley. He grew up in Palo Alto, California where he played high school basketball. In his Senior season, Lin finished with an average of 15.1 Points, 7.1 Assists, 6.2 Rebounds and 5 Steals per game. He walked away with So Cal Division II Player of the Year and was named to the All State team. Despite Lins' numbers and nominations, very few schools showed any interest in him. Despite sending highlight tape to Stanford, UCLA, CAL and the Ivy League Schools, Lin only heard back from one team, and that was Harvard, who hasn't sent a player to the NBA since Ed Smith in 1954. Many speculated that Lin wasn't heavily recruited not because of his lack of speed, but because of racial bias (Lin is Asian-American) didn't get much attention.

As Lin began his college career he was determined to break the trend and be the first Harvard player to go to the NBA in 57 Years. Lin played all 4 years at Harvard earning Second team Ivy league Honors in his Sophomore season, followed by 1st team Honors in his Junior and Senior seasons. Lin led Harvard to a School Record with 21 Wins but they fell just short of a NCAA Tournament Bid. Lin finished the season averaging 16.4 PPG, 4.4 RPG, 4.5 APG, 2.4 SPG and 1 BPG. Jeremy Lin also became the first Ivy League player to score at least 1,500 points (1,483), collect 450 Rebounds (487), 400 Assists (406), and 200 Steals (225) in their career. Lin graduated with a 3.1 GPA and a Degree in Economics. 

When the 2010 NBA Draft rolled around, Jeremy Lin never had the chance to walk onto the podium. He was passed on by all 30 teams whether it be because of his lack of athleticism, lack of overall talent, playing against weaker competition or other reasons. After the Draft Lin was given several workouts before he eventually earned a spot on the Golden State Warriors. Lin made his first NBA Appearance on October 29th, 2010 against the Los Angeles Clippers. While Lin only recorded 1 steal in that game, he did what no Harvard player had done in more then 50 Years, play in an NBA game. Lin played in 28 more games that season only averaging 4.8 Points, 3 Assists, 2 Rebounds and 1 Steal per game. Despite the limited playing time Lin did enough to prove himself worthy of a shot next season for the Warriors. Lin worked hard in the off season and was ready to make the next step in his sophomore season. Unfortunately, that's when the NBA Lockout occurred, which meant a shorter season and less time to work with the team and get to know new Warriors coach Mark Jackson . Months after the Lockout ended the Warriors were in a Cap Crunch, if they wanted to make a run for FA C DeAndre Jordan they had to make the Cap Room, so Jeremy Lin was cut. The Warriors never got DeAnde Jordan and Lin was a Free Agent once again.

Lin was claimed off Waivers by the Houston Rockets. The Rockets already had Kyle Lowry and Goran Dragic at the spots, but felt Lin could be useful. Only days before the season was about to start however, Lin was again a Cap Casualty. Samuel Dalembert was a FA and the Rockets needed the extra money to get a deal done. Lin was waived and the Rockets signed Dalembert in his place. Lin was put back on Waivers and claimed by the New York Knicks to backup Mike Bibby and Toney Douglas. Lin made a return to the Golden State Warriors the next day and was welcomed by loud applause and cheers at Oracle Arena. He went on to go back and forth between the Knicks and their D-League affiliate the Erie BayHawks. After spending several weeks of going back and forth the Knicks were starting to think about cutting him, and only days later Lin made his mark on the NBA and the World. Jeremy Lin is not your average NBA player, nor is he your average Harvard graduate. He is a young man who went from star in High School then had to overcome being constantly overlooked because of his race. Now a week after scoring 25 Points in his first Start, he has become a fan favorite across the Globe, and that is what makes the NBA so great.