NBA, We Reminisce / Feb 15, 2012 / 12:39 pm

We Reminisce: Jeremy Lin’s First Appearance in Dime Magazine

By

Jeremy Lin Game Winning Three Toronto Raptors

***

While a degree from Harvard gives you instant respect in the real world, playing ball for the school doesn’t have quite the same pull.

“Actually, we don’t even have a folder in our database for Harvard players,” admits one NBA Western Conference scout when asked about Lin’s pro prospects.

And with good reason. The Crimson are in the midst of a Chicago Cubs-esque, 62-year drought from the NCAA Tournament. Try to think of the last Harvard player in the NBA. If you were about to say Chris Dudley, you were close, but that was Yale. The last Crimson player to play in the League was Ed Smith in 1953.

But with Lin on the team, that could all change soon. Tommy Amaker, who took Seton Hall to the Sweet 16 in 2000, is entering his second season as the Crimson’s head coach. He knows he has a special player in Lin.

“Jeremy is a player who can play at any level of college basketball,” says Amaker, who has coached two All-American guards (Andre Barrett and Shaheen Holloway) at Seton Hall. “The youngsters that I’ve had a chance to coach, there is no one I would rank higher than Jeremy Lin.”

Lin’s success has also impacted a demographic that spans far beyond the confines of New England. “I’ll get encouraging e-mails from other Asian-Americans and they’re rooting for me,” says Lin. “It’s obviously very touching to see that other people are following what’s going on with the Harvard basketball team. I’m religious, so I believe everything that happens is from God. So I make sure I have a good work ethic everyday and I don’t take any days off.”

Several pro prospects websites have started to take notice of Lin.

“Jeremy Lin is an interesting player,” says Aran Smith, president of the NBA prospect website, NBAdraft.net. “He certainly has solid foot speed with the ability to get by players off the dribble and an excellent jump shot. Playing in the NBA might be too optimistic but I believe he can play professionally overseas.”

It’s still too early to speculate where Lin takes things from here. Maybe an NCAA Tournament berth. Maybe professional basketball, maybe not. Who knows? But at least one thing is certain. He’s not a volleyball player.

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  • DC

    Nice piece. Just Lin Baby. Will be stuck at work. How am I supposed to watch Linrage?

  • http://www.zwani.com/graphics/funny_pictures/images/88funny-pictures128.jpg JAY

    I got this copy. Good read.
    That was about the time I discontinued my DIME subscription due to the amount of shoes in the magazine.

    I’ve never understood the mind of a sneaker fiend. All i need is 1 pair for training, 1 pair for ball, 1 everyday pair, and a couple pairs of dress shoes. I don’t understand a closet full of kicks. If you have more pairs of shoes than pairs of underwear, then YOU got a problem.

  • http://www.zwani.com/graphics/funny_pictures/images/88funny-pictures128.jpg JAY

    HustLIN’, HustLIN, YO!

    Maybe Lin should use that song as his anthem… at least the chorus.

    HustLIN’ – Kardinal Offishall.

  • http://www.livingcheapla.com hakasan

    nice piece…

    just want to point out that hindsight is 20-20…
    who would have guessed drafting jordan 3rd overall was a mistake… ben wallace/jose calderon/darrell armstrong/bruce bowen/avery johnson/brad miller/john stark all went undrafted and have/had very good nba careers…

    i think it’s awesome that lin is doing great in the L right now, but… i don’t think it’s crazy that a high schooler avg 16/8/8 with 5 steals with no particular freakish physical attributes did not get a D1 scholarship… there have been POYs every year out of the Ivy League, and how does Lin’s 18/6/5 and 3 steals distinguish him from anyone else? also… maybe the reason he didn’t get PT at GSW is because he’s playing behind Monta Ellis and Stephen Curry… arguably the best guard tandem in the L for the past few season…

    arguably, it was actually better for Lin to play at harvard where he was the star and received all the attention to nurture his game as opposed to not being a focus on a tournament bound school interested in getting the most out of their freakish freshmen…

    so… what i’m trying to say is that it is great to see Lin balling at such a high level, but i really don’t see how it is considered a fatal mistake for people who didn’t give him a chance before…

    linsanity!

  • leech

    @hakasan
    You don’t find it surprising that the leader of a California state champion HS team didn’t get a single D1 scholarship offer? Not saying he needed to be recruited by Kentucky/Duke/Kansas/UNC or other powerhouses, as 15/7/6/5 is not jaw-dropping, but Cali has some good HS bball talent and JLin’s squad took on all comers. A 6’2/6’3 combo guard that is athletic enough to grab 5 steals a game would typically be worth a look at one of the 344 D1 programs, wouldn’t you think? He may still have chosen to play at Harvard instead of taking a scholarship at, say, Creighton or St. Mary’s, but how does he not get a single D1 offer?

    As a comparison, here are Steve Blake’s senior year stats in HS: 8.8 points and 7.3 assists at Oak Hill (he played for Miami Senior HS as a junior, alongside Udonis Haslem, but I couldn’t find stats). He got recruited heavily and ended up playing for Maryland in a very tough ACC conference. No jaw-dropping stats, but he got credit for his team’s success. If Blake was an Asian American, would he have gotten the same recognition? Jeremy Lin’s experience suggests that the answer is “No.”

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