Over the past two weeks, America has gone Linsane in the Membrane. New York Knicks guard Jeremy Lin’s meteoric rise to stardom has taken the sports world by storm, as his inspirational story from relative unknown to savior of the Knicks has captivated audiences worldwide. However, if you haven’t heard all of the details of the story, you may have a few questions, and I’m here to answer them for you.
How the hell did this happen?
Lin’s path to NBA stardom was a strange one. Lin starred for Palo Alto High School (CA), leading his team to an upset over nationally ranked Mater Dei for the state championship his senior year, leading to him being named Northern California Division II Player of the Year. His exploits went unnoticed by Division I schools, however, as he wasn’t recruited by a single team. Lin dreamed of playing for his hometown team Stanford, but they were unwilling to offer him a scholarship, instead asking him to walk on. He responded by sending his resume and tapes to the 8 Ivy League schools, and after initially being dismissed as a Division III player by a Harvard coach, eventually was guaranteed a spot on the team there. Lin went on to star at Harvard, having several memorable performances, including scoring 30 points at UCONN and leading his team to an upset of national ranked Boston College his junior season. Despite making the Ivy League First Team unanimously in consecutive seasons, Lin was dismissed again, (Noticing a theme here?) going unselected in the NBA Draft. Lin went on to be signed by the Golden State Warriors, and after spending an unremarkable season in Oakland he was cut. Lin spent time in the Houston Rockets organization earlier this season, and after being cut again, he finally arrived on the Knicks. Incredibly, Lin was on the verge of being cut again. It was only when Baron Davis suffered another injury setback and Carmelo Anthony pressed Coach Mike D’Antoni to get Lin in the game, did the coach decide to give Lin a chance. And he has definitely taken advantage of it. Continue reading
