So apparently, the NBA runs a Rookie Transition Program for newly drafted NBA players. Guess who the NBA is highlighting the other day–Golden State Warriors’ Jeremy Lin! The NBA had a camera crew following Jeremy in Times Square, hanging out with some friends and checking out what’s going on, including a brief appearance with the infamous naked cowboy. I guess it’s a good idea that the NBA has a transition program given how many professional athletes in general wind up broke after 5 to 10 years after retiring. But even Jeremy Lin was getting some photos taken and shaking some hands when they found out he was an NBA basketball player with a camera crew following him around. Check out the video yourself!
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If you’re like me, you can’t get enough coverage of Palo Alto native, Taiwanese American and Harvard 2010 college basketball graduate phenom Jeremy Lin signing with his favorite hometown favorite NBA team, the Golden State Warriors. It’s not only me, but the local news stations in the Bay Area, too. A reporter exclaims, “Forget Bieber Fever; it’s Lin Fever!”
Lin will be wearing the number #7. Lucky Lin – I like the sound of that! I’ve already had a high school friend asking me I’m going to get a Lin jersey (yes I will!) and another asking me if I’m related to him at all. I’ve never been into the NBA and have never gone to a game, since I’m mostly into college basketball (Go Duke Blue Devils!), but now I have a real interest in the Golden State Warriors.
You can catch the rest of the local “Lin Fever” news coverage after the break.
Shopping With GASP!
It might not take a 1 Hour special like Lebron James, but after raising mainstream attention through his play at the NBA Las Vegas summer league, Jeremy Lin finally has his chance to play for an NBA team, as he is on the verge of signing with the Golden State Warriors. Being from Palo Alto, Jeremy now can live his dream of playing for his favorite team, the Warriors, who play their home games at the Oracle Arena in Oakland, CA.
Both the Dallas Mavericks and the current reigning NBA Champions L.A. Lakers were reported to have been in contract discussions with Jeremy, but ultimately Jeremy may have signed not only for the chance to play in front of his family and friends but also the best contract offer that any other team was willing to give him. Apparently, Jeremy’s contract offer is a partially guaranteed two-year deal, with the 2nd year being a team option. Basically this means is if the Warriors choose to cut/waive Jeremy during his first season or even as soon as during training camp, Jeremy Lin will still earn some of that money that is guaranteed to him.
Another interesting twist in Jeremy’s future with the NBA is a fan who e-mailed Joe Lacob, the new owner of the Warriors, who apparently requested that he sign Jeremy Lin. The Warriors had also sent their recent backup PG, CJ Watson, in a trade to the Chicago Bulls. However Jeremy Lin’s signing doesn’t also come without questions, with some wondering if this was all a PR stunt.
Even though I mentioned in the past that I would have liked to see Jeremy sign with the Lakers due to their winning history and current roster, I can understand why Jeremy chose to sign with the Warriors. Based on the the Warriors” most recent NBA seasons and their current roster, I can’t say that Jeremy is going to get experience on a title contending team that will go deep into playing in the NBA playoffs. However, the chance to earn more playing time, play in their up-tempo offense and develop his game could be Jeremy’s best opportunity as an undrafted rookie.
The irony behind all of is this is that the Warriors once again take something from the Dallas Mavericks, who have had their fair share of history between current Warriors coach, Don Nelson, and owner of the Mavs, Mark Cuban. In 2007, the Warriors became a part of NBA history by becoming the first 8th seeded team to knock out a #1 seeded team, Mavs, in a 7 game series.
After being overlooked by not receiving any scholarship offers from a Division 1 school, and then going undrafted, but now about to get his chance to play in the NBA to showcase his skills with the best in the world, I guess the only thing left to say is, CONGRATULATIONS JEREMY LIN!
Update from Editors: It’s official! Jeremy Lin is now a Golden State Warrior. Congratulations, again!
Back in June, Harvard graduate and basketball player and Palo Alto, California native Jeremy Lin didn’t make the NBA during the draft. But he did get invited to play for the Dallas Mavericks during the NBA’s summer league. Well, Lin is starting to turn heads. In his 4th summer league game last week where the Dallas Mavericks took on the Washington Wizards, Lin went toe-to-toe with the #1 NBA draft pick this year, John Wall, and more than held his own. I’ve been seeing this video online posted everywhere – you can really hear the crowd supporting him after some pretty awesome attacks to the basket as well as the commentary lauding Lin’s performance. ESPN Dallas is reporting that due to Lin’s performance, he might be signed soon:
Lin is on the verge of signing an NBA contract, and it could be with the Mavericks, who view him as an intriguing developmental point guard and a strong candidate to run the club’s new D-League affiliate that begins play this fall in Frisco. “We’re in discussions as we speak,” Mavs president of basketball operations Donnie Nelson said Friday afternoon. “We are extremely interested in him as a young player.” Suddenly, the player deemed too flawed in most major areas to survive in the NBA is in contract discussions with three teams, according to league sources. The Los Angeles Lakers are believed to be one, with an Eastern Conference team the other.
(Note: Frisco is NOT San Francisco but Frisco, Texas located30 miles outside of Dallas.) ESPN radio has a terrific interview with Lin the day after his performance while another blogger has a great video interview with him right after the game. With his performance, you can imagine that Lin is getting a lot more press, like this NBA.com piece where I learned that the basketball player was no dumb jock at Harvard:
The most important accolades he left Harvard with were a 4.2 GPA and a degree in Economics. In his what seems like his non-existent spare time, Lin also was editor of the school newspaper and interned for a California senator.
On a 4.0 grade point scale, a 4.3 is an A+, which means Lin must have gotten a lot of straight A’s. That’s pretty crazy when you think about it, even if you take into account grade inflation. Maybe Lin will start a new stereotype: the Model Minority Athlete ?!? We’re already “blessed” with an Asian American Jersey Shore.
I decided to watch the 2010 NBA Draft this year hoping to see Jeremy Lin getting drafted, especially by the L.A. Lakers. When the #43 and #58 had passed and Lin’s name wasn’t announced, I still had hope because I knew Lin still could still play in the NBA Las Vegas Summer League (and he got invited to play for the Mavs).
After game 1, Jeremy Lin finished his first game with 12 points, 2 assists, 1 steal, and 1 block shot. I thought Jeremy had a good game and showed what I expected, which was fearlessly attacking the basket when he had the chance and trying to find the open teammate. He’s quicker than most people expect and plays aggressive defense. I do think he needs to show that he has a consistent jumpshot, but that can always be developed and improved upon. Jeremy’s performance even got some recognition on ESPN.
After working out with a number of teams, including his hometown Golden State Warriors, Harvard point guard Jeremy Lin was not taken in the NBA draft. No Ivy League player was taken, and Cornell standout Jeff Foote signed with the Maccabi Electra Tel Aviv club, which plays in Israeli and European leagues.
On the face of it, Jeremy Lin seems to be getting more respect and exposure. Time Magazine has an article on him called “Harvard’s Hoop Star is Asian. Why is that a problem?” The article talks about the double novelty of a pro-level player not just from Harvard but Asian-American. It also mentions how “racial profiling” stopped him from being recruited by any Division I colleges despite leading a team to a California State Championship and how Lin commonly encounters racial insults at games.
I find it interesting how the title changed. When John first forwarded the article, it was called “Harvard’s Hoop Star is Asian. Got a problem with that?” Now the title is changed. Was the original title too confrontational to be associated with the stereotypical view of an Asian-American?
More than “why is that a problem,” the question I want to know is why there is seems to be so little outrage against the constant racism against Lin. The article dances around that question, particularly how weakly it hints at the issues with the lack of Division I recruitment: “don’t doubt that a little racial profiling, intentionally or otherwise, contributed to his under-recruitment.” There seems to be a growing trend to deny or dismiss that any racism against Asian-Americans occurs, from the students in Philadelphia to Toby Keith’s escapade at the Nobel Prize ceremony.
So is Jeremy Lin really getting more respect? Despite garnering much praise (“He’s as good an all-around guard as I’ve seen,” says Tony Shaver, the head coach of William & Mary ), accumulating great stats, and playing well against teams like UConn and Boston College, a blog from ESPN points out that he was NOT nominated for the Bob Cousy award, an award given to the best point guards in college. The reason cited is that Lin wasn’t nominated by Harvard. The blogger adds that he thinks that Lin will be added. So is Jeremy Lin really getting more respect? If he actually does get added to the Cousy nominees, then I think we’ll know for sure.
My sons finished their very long basketball seasons last month, and I was surprised how some of my own views on sports, basketball, and Asian-Americans changed after what seemed to be an endless season. Here are six lessons that I learned:
Lesson 1: There are tall Asian-Americans out there
I find that the Asian-Americans are generally shorter.
I said that (so did Barack Obama), but after this season, I’d have to qualify that statement to “some groups of Asian-Americans are shorter.” Number One Son’s 6th grade basketball team had a non-league game scheduled against “School T”. Both teams were mostly Asian-American, but School T’s Indian and Chinese kids were taller than our Filipino kids. The real shock came when my sons’ schools’ 7th grade team played School T’s 7th grade team. While both teams were mostly Asian, their 7th graders towered over our 7th graders, with a Chinese forward and an Indian forward who were each close to 6 feet tall.
I have noticed that more and more tall Indian and Chinese kids are playing basketball. This discussion points out that some provinces in China are known for having tall people. Moreover, the Asian-American basketball league Dreamleague has 6 feet and over divisions. One thing, though, is that when there is a tall Chinese kid, he gets referred to as “Yao Ming.” “Yao Ming just got the rebound!” Annoying.
More lessons after the jump…
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“That team could use some black kids!”
This was the comment of Number Two Son, pointing to the mostly white team that his mostly black team beat in an NJB game.
That incident came to mind when I saw this article about the rarity of Asian-American college basketball players that Efren forwarded. Stereotypical notions about who can play basketball and who can’t already had sunk into Number Two Son. These prejudices affect Jeremy Lin, a starting point guard and leading scorer at Harvard, shown in the picture to the right.
The article points out that although basketball is popular with Asian American youth, there are few making it to the college level. “It’s a sport for white and black people. You don’t get respect for being an Asian American basketball player in the U.S.” said Lin. As a Northern California’s Division II player of the year who lead Palo Alto High School to a Division II State Championship, he expected some Division I scholarship offers but gotten exactly none. On the road, he gets taunts like “Go back to China!” and “Open your eyes!”
Stereotypes and blatant racism aren’t the only obstacle that Asian-American athletes face – family attitudes are another. Being in sports aren’t always encouraged, much less having kids aspire to be professional athletes. I have coached mostly Asian-American volleyball teams for a number years, and I have seen all kinds of reasons that Asian-American parents stop their kids from doing sports. These have ranged from “you are too weak to play” and “you might get hurt” to my least favorite one: “you need to concentrate on academics.” I lost a player this year to that last one (a really good one too), and ironically he was already getting good grades! At my sons’ school, kids with grade problems can’t play.
I think some of the problem is with the system of kids’ sports. Adults living vicariously through their kids have professionalized kids sports to the point where if you really want to be competitive in a sport you have to do it all year. In basketball, what usually happens is that in the off-season, the kids are expected to join club teams or compete on AAU teams. In Volleyball, kids are expected to join club teams in the off-season. A high-level traveling volleyball team can be extremely expensive in the range of thousands of dollars. That’s a high cost that I don’t many Asian-American parents wouldn’t pay – they’d have trouble seeing the value in that. I have trouble seeing the value in that myself. In far too many youth sports, the competitive aspect is overemphasized vs the exercise and participation and fun aspects. Kids figure they might as well go play video games if sports is a painful, non-fun experience.
Intermarriage, the article says, will help to produce bigger Asian Americans to counteract the stereotype that Asian Americans are short. I find that the Asian-Americans are generally shorter. When Number One Son sees a taller team (usually mostly white), he usually moans, “Oh no, we’re going to lose.” While my teams have often over come height disadvantages, they have lost to a number of teams because of height.
The article mentions that Asian-American players don’t get respect, but I think that is changing as more and more Asian-Americans get involved in sports. I would say that some of this is from parents who are looking to the future and wanting some kind of sports experience on their kids high school or college applications. I do know a number of kids going the club team route and making it on highly competitive teams. On Number Two Son’s team which is mostly African American, Number Two Son has managed to land the difficult point guard position, earning him respect.
Meanwhile, Jeremy Lin remains a lonely pioneer.
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