Jeremy Lin: Badass of the Month

What if I was to tell you that one of the most electrifying players in college basketball today is a 6'3, 200 lb senior guard from Palo Alto, California?


You might nod slightly and say to yourself: "Oh, that's cool. He's on the small side but that's about how big Dwyane Wade is. If he can play, then he can play."



Fair enough. Now what if I told you that he doesn't play for any of the traditional basketball powerhouses such as UNC, Duke, UCLA, Kentucky, and UConn?


"Well, that's not that bad. A lot of NBA superstars were from small colleges. Just look at Scottie Pipp..."



He plays for Harvard.


*sudden pause*

"Oh. Well that's...um. I guess he's smart enough to know the fundamentals. I mean, if you look at the white dudes in the NBA, most of them are pretty good at distributing the ball, shooting three's, and..."



And he looks like this:








*longer pause*

"Uhh..."

*nervous coughing*

"Well..."

*more silence*


You may finally bring yourself to say multiple variations of:


"What the fuck???" and "There's no way!"



Or you just might sit there in stunned silence saying nothing at all.






It's all good. Jeremy's used to the doubters and non-believers. But like all successful people, he tunes them out and does his thing. And his "thing" happens to involve averaging 18 points (52% FG and 35% from downtown), 5.3 rebounds, 4.3 assists, 2.7 steals, and 1.4 blocks per game so far this season. A 6'3 college guard of any ethnic background who fills up the boxscore like this is pretty damn rare, ladies and gentlemen.

As of now, the main knock against him is the weak-sauce Ivy League conference he plays in...something I as a Penn student would know about first-hand. The only practical measuring stick for his level of talent is therefore his play against highly-regarded non-conference opponents. Last season, Lin created a blip on the radar when he crafted a ridiculous stat line of 27 points, 8 assists, 6 steals, 3 rebounds and 2 blocks during an 82-70 Crimson victory over Boston College, a team which just days earlier had upset eventual champion North Carolina. This season, he has returned in full force. In this season's rematch with BC, he scored 25 points in another win. However, it was his 30 points, 9 rebounds, 3 assists, 3 steals and 2 blocks during a 6-point loss to then-#13 UConn which really slapped America awake.




Today, Mr. Lin has spawned a cult following among sports fans as well as a good deal of draft buzz. He has also been deemed worthy of his own obligatory "rags to riches" article. As a fellow Asian-American, I definitely want to see J.Lin succeed and get his shot at playing in the NBA. His story is one with which many of us can identify. Immigrant parents who want the best for their kids? Check. A childhood which was more about isosceles triangles than the triangle offense? Check. Racists and/or ignorant people trying to bring us down every step of the way? Big check.


So as 2009 comes to a close, I salute Jeremy Lin and his awesome accomplishments. Hopefully we will get to see much more of him in the near future.




Get that popcorn ready, America.