Jeremy Lin Has Arrived

By Nick Ostiller

His jumper from the top of the key rattled home and Madison Square Garden crowd perked up. His lob pass to a teammate was on the money for an alley-oop dunk and the crowd cheered again. He weaved around the taller defenders, got bumped, but put in the layup despite the foul. He screamed, but could not be heard because the large crowd was chanting his name. When the buzzer sounded, Jeremy Lin was mobbed by his New York Knicks teammates after leading his team to victory with a career-high 25 points and seven assists.

Lin, a Palo Alto native, is the first American-born player of Chinese descent to play in the National Basketball Association. After leading Palo Alto High School to a state championship, Lin did not receive an athletic scholarship but made the team at Harvard. He was named to the All-Ivy League first team twice but did not get drafted by an NBA team following college. Lin eventually signed a deal with his hometown Golden State Warriors, which was his favorite team growing up. Although the Bay Area's large Asian-American population celebrated his arrival, Lin was primarily a bench-warmer and was cut after just one season. 

During this season, Lin had a similar role with New York. However, the star-studded Knicks had been underachieving and were in desperate need of a point guard that could reign in the aimless talent on the roster. Head Coach Mike D'Antoni had tried three other guards to no avail as the team had lost 11 of 13 games. 

But Lin was always there, at the end of the bench, patiently waiting for his chance. When D'Antoni called his name, Lin didn't back down and became an overnight sensation with his breakout game. Had the Knicks finally found a point guard? Skeptics questioned if his performance was a just a one-time wonder. 

D'Antoni was curious as well, and unconventionally proceeded to give Lin his first career start at point guard in the Knicks' next game. What would he do for an encore? Oh, just set another new career-high with 28 points and eight assists en route to leading the Knicks to another win. Lin had more points than any other player on the court and "Linsanity" was trending on Twitter in New York following the game. Although Lin has become the Big Apple's newest celebrity, he has refused to get his own place to live because his contract with the Knicks does not become guaranteed until Friday. It's about time for Lin to peruse the real estate market.

Nick Ostiller is a sophomore communication major and editor of the Sports section.