NBA teams should look at this kid - Harvard's Jeremy Lin

[Newguy]

So, I don't know if many of you know who this kid is, but he's been getting some recent press.  His name is Jeremy Lin and is the starting point guard for Harvard basketball.  He's originally from the Bay area and was 1st Team All-State for all of California during high school and was the Northern California Division II Player of the Year.  Unfortunately, no D-1 school recruited him, so he went to play for Harvard (no scholarship). 

Now as a senior, he's tearing it up!  He scored 30 points and had 9 rebounds against the mighty UConn Huskies a couple of weeks ago and scored 25 points in his next game while beating Boston College!  Not only is he playing well this year, but last year, he scored 27 points in an upset against BC too.

"Last season Lin was the only player in the nation to rank among the top 10 players in his conference in points, rebounds, assists, steals, blocks, field goal percentage, free throw percentage and 3-point percentage."

Here are some links about Jeremy Lin. 

http://sports.espn.go.com/ncb/player/gamelog?playerId=32762

http://sports.espn.go.com/ncb/columns/story?columnist=oneil_dana&id=4730385

http://www.hyphenmagazine.com/blog/2009/12/basketball-extraordinaire-jere.html

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QQ2mng5e95w

This kid really needs some love from NBA scouts.  He's legit 6'3" and 200 lbs now, so he definitely has NBA size.   I'm not saying he should be drafted in the 1st round, but he could and should be drafted in the 2nd round. 

Lastly, if J.J. Barea from Northeastern can make the NBA and be productive, Jeremy Lin should be able to play with the top dogs.

[PierceMVP08]

Thanks a lot for the info on this kid.  It really is a sad yet inspiring story at the same time.  I cannot believe that the state player of the year in Calfornia got NO SCHOLARSHIP OFFERS!  Are you serious!?  Racial discrimination definitely played a role here.  I've always wondered why Asians aren't more represented in pro sports, or at least college.  During my time as a student in Boston College I quickly learned that basketball is HUGE among Asian Americans and they can seriously ball.  They tend to be quick, handle the ball well, and shoot the lights out.  I'm assuming size can be a deterrant when scouting an Asian player, but Jeremy Lin has the size to play his position at the college level. 

Unfortunately it seems that that type of discrimination happens a lot in sports.  White players are immediately stereotyped as unathletic and either spot up shooters or lumbering big men.  As a Latino myself, I can't seem to comprehend why there isn't a larger representation of Latinos in the sports world.  Being the largest minority group in the country, you would think the numbers would start to be reflected in at least the college game.  Only baseball has a large Latino representation but those players tend to be foreign born.  MLS does have larger representation of Latino players; maybe that's due to the perception of Soccer being a big Latino sport.

Anyways, I'm rambling.  But back to Lin.  I seriously hope he makes has a great season and turns some heads.  If he makes it to the NBA that would be an amazing story.  Hopefully he can break down some barriers for future generations.  I'll be keeping up with him.

[Amonkey]

Thanks a lot for the info on this kid.  It really is a sad yet inspiring story at the same time.  I cannot believe that the state player of the year in Calfornia got NO SCHOLARSHIP OFFERS!  Are you serious!?  Racial discrimination definitely played a role here.  I've always wondered why Asians aren't more represented in pro sports, or at least college.  During my time as a student in Boston College I quickly learned that basketball is HUGE among Asian Americans and they can seriously ball.  They tend to be quick, handle the ball well, and shoot the lights out.  I'm assuming size can be a deterrant when scouting an Asian player, but Jeremy Lin has the size to play his position at the college level. 

Unfortunately it seems that that type of discrimination happens a lot in sports.  White players are immediately stereotyped as unathletic and either spot up shooters or lumbering big men.  As a Latino myself, I can't seem to comprehend why there isn't a larger representation of Latinos in the sports world.  Being the largest minority group in the country, you would think the numbers would start to be reflected in at least the college game.  Only baseball has a large Latino representation but those players tend to be foreign born.  MLS does have larger representation of Latino players; maybe that's due to the perception of Soccer being a big Latino sport.

Anyways, I'm rambling.  But back to Lin.  I seriously hope he makes has a great season and turns some heads.  If he makes it to the NBA that would be an amazing story.  Hopefully he can break down some barriers for future generations.  I'll be keeping up with him.

You make a good point.  How can the best player in California, not Maine or Winsconsin, but California, not get a scholarship.  Of course, I guess he ended up embracing the stereotype and went to HARVARD!  Haha!  But I completely agree with you.  There def seems like these guys are underating this kid.  Thanks for the video.

[Brickowski]

Lin probably has a better chance of owning an NBA team than playing for one.

[Evantime34]

This kid is the real thing. Two years in a row leading the Crimson against a solid BC team. I'd give him a look in the second round.

[PosImpos]

I think it's true that whether fairly or unfairly he's probably perceived as not physical or athletic enough to be a NBA prospect.

[Brickowski]

Look at Alex Barnett from Dartmouth, last year's Ivy player of the year.  He's 6-6, athletic, and currently averaging about 7 ppg in France.

The Ivy league isn't what it once was, when Princeton, Penn and even Columbia were sending guys to the pros on a regular basis.

So I wish Jeremy Lin well, but he has little or no chance.

[clover]

So what's with the Crimson wearing black?

[Newguy]

Look at Alex Barnett from Dartmouth, last year's Ivy player of the year.  He's 6-6, athletic, and currently averaging about 7 ppg in France.

The Ivy league isn't what it once was, when Princeton, Penn and even Columbia were sending guys to the pros on a regular basis.

So I wish Jeremy Lin well, but he has little or no chance.

It's true that the Ivy League isn't as competitive as other conferences, but Lin seems to play up to his competition.  He scored 27 points against BC last year, 25 against them this year and 30 points against UConn (with a couple nice dunks!).  It's probably true that he has the ball in his hands most of the time resulting in more opportunities to shoot, but on the flip side, that means opposing teams are probably trying to key on him defensively.  If he's able to put up those numbers against those teams' defensive schemes, I'm pretty sure he could hold his own against other NBA prospects.  All I'm saying is that he should be given a chance. 

[Brickowski]

He will be given a chance.  He'll probably be invited to several rookie camps or workouts along with other undrafted players.

I'm a little surprised that Ivy basketball isn't better.  Sure, there are no athletic scholarships, but if a kid is poor and gets accepted, he gets a full scholarship whether he's an athlete or not.  And if a kid is good enough to make it academically at Stanford or Duke, he or she can probably handle one of the Ivies.

Certainly the Ivy league competes on a national level in sports other than football and basketball (e.g hockey, baseball, lacrosse, soccer, swimming, skiing, tennis).  I understand why Ivy league football is different (Div. 1AA and all of that), but I do not understand why Ivy basketball does not attract better players.

[Amonkey]

Look at Alex Barnett from Dartmouth, last year's Ivy player of the year.  He's 6-6, athletic, and currently averaging about 7 ppg in France.

The Ivy league isn't what it once was, when Princeton, Penn and even Columbia were sending guys to the pros on a regular basis.

So I wish Jeremy Lin well, but he has little or no chance.

Considering that Brandon Jennings was averaging 5ppg in Italy, those stats are not necessarily horrible.

[Brickowski]

Look at Alex Barnett from Dartmouth, last year's Ivy player of the year.  He's 6-6, athletic, and currently averaging about 7 ppg in France.

The Ivy league isn't what it once was, when Princeton, Penn and even Columbia were sending guys to the pros on a regular basis.

So I wish Jeremy Lin well, but he has little or no chance.

Considering that Brandon Jennings was averaging 5ppg in Italy, those stats are not necessarily horrible.

Don't compare apples to oranges.  Jennings was right out of HS.  Barnett was a 4-year college player.  Plus, the Italian leagues are stronger.

[Junkyard Dawg]

two words: ryan fitzpatrick

for that reason, and that reason alone, i would say jeremy lin has a shot with a pro team.  who knows, maybe buffalo will draft him as their qb next year?

[Amonkey]

Look at Alex Barnett from Dartmouth, last year's Ivy player of the year.  He's 6-6, athletic, and currently averaging about 7 ppg in France.

The Ivy league isn't what it once was, when Princeton, Penn and even Columbia were sending guys to the pros on a regular basis.

So I wish Jeremy

 Lin well, but he has little or no chance.

Considering that Brandon Jennings was averaging 5ppg in Italy, those stats are not necessarily horrible.

Don't compare apples to oranges.  Jennings was right out of HS.  Barnett was a 4-year college player.  Plus, the Italian leagues are stronger.

There are many fruits that we have to compare over here since I have never seen this kid play.  Granted this kid played 4 year college, but considering that Jennings was a great player in high school, this kid should get some consideration since he was California High School player of the year.

[Roy Hobbs]

I cannot believe that the state player of the year in Calfornia got NO SCHOLARSHIP OFFERS!

How can the best player in California, not Maine or Winsconsin, but California, not get a scholarship. 

To be clear:  He wasn't California Player of the Year.  He was Northern California Division II Player of the Year.  I have no idea what the top California division is, but this kid may have been the best player in a lower league.