Jeremy Lin

Harvard senior Jeremy Lin is the starting point guard for the Harvard Crimson and featured in this ESPN article. I've read about him before, so I'm surprised I haven't already written a post about him. His parents are Taiwanese immigrants and he was born and raised in California. The Harvard background isn't what makes him special. Many Taiwanese American kids make it to Harvard and the Ivy League at large. (Heck, even I'm an Ivy League grad.) Jeremy stands out for his athletic achievement as a basketball player at a position at a level where a Taiwanese American of his background is entirely unexpected. Before his MVP level play at Harvard, he was the California high school basketball player of the year among a host of other awards and achievements. There's even talk he might make it onto an NBA squad.

According to the ESPN article, he just wants to be known as a basketball player. Well, like it or not, he's a role model, he's representing us, and we're all rooting for him. On Jan 29, Harvard will be playing at Columbia at 7:00 PM. Gotta be there.

31JAN10 update: I watched him play in person at Columbia on Friday. I paid $10 for a standing room only seat ticket, but was able to get a decent seat in the bleachers. Tepid game from Lin. He only had one memorable assist, one memorable drive and one memorable 3-pointer, and Harvard still won by 30. Many Asian Harvard alumni and family came to watch.

Eric