
Kam Williams describes, “Jeremy Lin was born in Los Angeles, California on August 23, 1988 to Taiwanese immigrant parents. Encouraged by his father, he developed a love of basketball at an early age. Raised in a Christian family, Jeremy’s faith guided and supported him as he chased his hoop dream of playing basketball in the NBA. Known for his relentless work off court and on, the young phenom led his Palo Alto high school team to a state title against nationally-ranked Mater Dei, an overwhelming favorite.
The Bean Series
You Are A Coffee Bean...Being Brewed to Perfection (Part 1)
Risk, Weeds and Mistakes Make Us Better (Part 2)
We Are Like The Sumatran Coffee Bean (Part 3)
Despite his All-State level play, however, no Division 1 college recruited Jeremy. So, he enrolled at Harvard University, which does not offer athletic scholarships. Undrafted by the NBA out of college, he nevertheless impressed scouts in the summer league going up against the No. 1 draft pick. He was eventually signed—but later cut—by the Golden State Warriors. A brief stint in Houston ended unceremoniously on Christmas Day, 2011. Jeremy was subsequently picked up by the New York Knicks. In early 2012, on the verge of being cut again, he rose to prominence as a starter, unlikely team leader and improbable NBA sensation. “Linsanity” was born! He’s been the Houston Rockets’ starting point guard since landing a three-year, $25 million deal.”
He faced racial “taunts” as a kid and lived a life of being underestimated on the court. He had no chance of playing in the NBA though he would sign and be dropped by three NBA teams. Had his dream in hand, lost it. Had his dream in hand, lost it. Jeremy had his dream in hand with a third team “sort of” because he only played a whopping seven minutes in the preseason. He was picked up by a fourth, the New York Knickerbockers in 2012 with the knowledge that he would be playing backup to every other player on the team. Nonetheless, he has his dream back in hand. Kam Williams on EurWeb asked this question to Jeremy in an interview in October 2013, “What was your best career decision?” Lin answered, “My best career decision was probably not giving up when I wanted to. God as well as my family were there for me during my toughest times.” So, I really shouldn’t say his rise was “out of nowhere” since he went through so much but I will.
From out of nowhere Jeremy Lin rose to stardom. He was un-recruited out of high school, undrafted out of Harvard and unnoticed when he finally got his shot in the NBA. He got his shot in similar fashion as Tom Brady. The starter in front of him, Drew Bledsoe, was injured. Except for Jeremy it took a trifecta of life events to enable him to get on the court. Amar’e Stoudemire was with his family after the death of his brother. Carmello Anthony was out due to a groin injury and Tyson Chandler was on the bench in foul trouble. Jeremy came off the bench to score 28 points with 8 assists and lead the Knicks to victory over the Utah Jazz. I should add here that he also made 8 turnovers. We all make mistakes and turn the ball over. The game ended with the crowd shouting about Jeremy, “MVP! MVP!”
Was this really a meteoric rise or just another coffee bean going through its unorthodox process, drying and being readied for brewing perfection?