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Just some background for those not familiar with "Lin-sanity": - He was a great college player at Harvard but wasn't drafted. - He was cut by 2 NBA teams befo

Just some background for those not familiar with "Lin-sanity": - He was a great college player at Harvard but wasn't drafted. - He was cut by 2 NBA teams before the Knicks picked him up. - He was probably the 4th point guard on the Knicks depth chart. - The Knicks have been terrible this year and are currently without their 2 best players (Amare Stoudamire and Carmello Anthony) - The Knicks have now won 4 straight games with Jeremy Lin playing big minutes (including 3 starts). - The 89 points he scored in his first three starts (including Friday) got him a historical distinction. They are the most scored by an NBA player in his first three starts since the NBA-ABA merger 1976-77. - Everyone loves him.

WillyF 15y ago
If you go by the WP48 stat, Amare is actually the Knicks' second worst player and Carmelo is their 8th best player. Tyson Chandler is by far their best player, and is currently the second best player behind LeBron. http://www.thenbageek.com/teams/nyk http://www.thenbageek.com/teams/nyk
- fanboy123 15y ago
  He's also currently ranked 2nd in PER right behind LeBron James who by most metrics is the most dominant player in the NBA. PER is a metric for player efficiency adjusted for pace and time played etc. Pretty nuts. http://insider.espn.go.com/nba/hollinger/statistics?&action=login&appRedirect=http%3a%2f%2finsider.espn.go.com%2fnba%2fhollinger%2fstatistics http://insider.espn.go.com/nba/hollinger/statistics?&act...
- MatthewPhillips 15y ago
  WP isn't really considered a credible metric in the basketball stat community. It overvalues rebounding; players such as Danny Fortson and Reggie Evans have been ranked in top 5 for WP.
pepdek 15y ago
I'd like to add the Knicks gave serious consideration to cutting him from the roster hours before his first start because his 30-day contract was set to expire in a few days.
- j-kidd 15y ago
  The moral of story here is that if you have an expiring contract, you better hope your next opponent would be the Nets ;)
- jwallaceparker 15y ago
  Where did you hear this? I follow the Knicks closely and never heard they were considering cutting him.
  - AndyNemmity 15y ago
    All over the place, during the telecasts... etc. They weren't going to cut him, so much as not renew his contract. His contract wasn't guaranteed, and he was living on his brother's couch. They were going to let him go and probably sign vet Mike James (currently in the D league)
  - weixiyen 15y ago
    This is true. RealGM knicks forums had a thread about this.
capkutay 15y ago
Not to mention, he led our basketball team to the state championship in high school, but got little to no recognition from college scouts. I would guess that most state championship winning starting point guards in high school would at least get 1 scholarship offer. Jeremy Lin got none. It just makes his success more shocking/amazing at this point.
- ssharp 15y ago
  This isn't necessarily true (most state championship winning starting point guards getting scholarships). How big was his high school? Upper division programs (large schools) get significantly more attention than smaller schools.
  - bps4484 15y ago
    From his wikipedia, "In his senior year in 2005–2006, Lin captained Palo Alto High School to a 32–1 record and upset nationally ranked Mater Dei, 51–47, for the California Interscholastic Federation (CIF) Division II state title." I assume division 2 is the second highest division in california. Given that, and he was the main player on that team, it is SHOCKING he didn't have multiple scholarship offers from major division 1 college teams.
    - rdouble 15y ago
      Division 1 NCAA scholarships are restricted to something like 70 per school across all sports. I'd be surprised if any 2nd tier high school players get div 1 athletic scholarships, even if they're good. The guys getting scholarships were scouted out in junior high school.
      - bps4484 15y ago
        "Division 1 NCAA scholarships are restricted to something like 70 per school across all sports." That's not true. I've never heard of an NCAA total scholarship limit, only limits based on specific sports. Even if there were a limit, it would be way more than 70 (college football alone is allowed 85). Also, basketball would get first priority on being fully funded because it's a high revenue sport. Here is a list of the scholarship limits by sport, http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Division_I_(NCAA)#Scholarship_limits_by_sport http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Division_I_(NCAA)#Scholarship_l.... Are you saying he's a 2nd tier high school players because he played for a division 2 high school team? If you are, I don't think you understand much about high school basketball. California is some of the best in the country. As mentioned above, their division 2 state title win was over a nationally ranked team. Division 2 just means your high school is smaller, it's not the same as being an NCAA division 2 team. "The guys getting scholarships were scouted out in junior high school." Although this happens (chris webber being the first example that comes to mind) it doesn't happen that often, and even if it does the player still has to prove things in high school because only verbal scholarships can be offered before a players junior year.
wisty 15y ago
That's insane. It's been suggested he was passed over because he's of Chinese decent. You'd think the teams would be climbing over themselves to get a good player with a Chinese name, because that's a way to get tens (or hundreds) of millions of Chinese fans. He's not the next Yao (since he's American born, for starters), but he'd still be worth a lot purely for the fans he'd draw. While "hundreds of millions" is often just hyperbolic thinking, Chinese are keener on the NBA than Americans. Unless the world cup (soccer) or Olympics is on, it's the only spectator sport worth speaking of. And Chinese love brand-name goods, and sports memorabilia, though many are forged. Plus, he's a good player.
- jwallaceparker 15y ago
  I'm a Knicks fan visiting China right now. Jeremy Lin's game against the Lakers was the lead story on the sports program on television last night. He could catch on here.
  - j-kidd 15y ago
    I am a Nets fan for 12 years and hate the Knicks. Today I followed NYK vs MIN just because of Jeremy Lin. Game tied, 24 seconds left, and he got the ball in his hand. I could have became a Knicks fan if he made that layup. This is insane. Nets spent billions to build a new arena. Knicks got Jeremy Lin.
    - omnivore 15y ago
      I'm a Jersey guy who was more sympathethic to the Nets too and I think I too might be a Lin convert to the Knicks.
      - j-kidd 15y ago
        Game-winning 3-pointer. That's it. I am now supporting any team he plays on.
- ssharp 15y ago
  I highly doubt any team passed over him because of his ethnicity. That's insanely counter-productive and something that doesn't happen in modern sports, especially the NBA. Yao Ming was a #1 draft pick. The NBA knows it's strong position in China.
bgaluszka 15y ago
> The Knicks have been terrible this year and are currently without their 2 best players (Amare Stoudamire and Carmello Anthony) ... and you could say Baron Davis, their point guard that JL is in place of.

WillyF 15y ago

If you go by the WP48 stat, Amare is actually the Knicks' second worst player and Carmelo is their 8th best player. Tyson Chandler is by far their best player, and is currently the second best player behind LeBron. http://www.thenbageek.com/teams/nyk http://www.thenbageek.com/teams/nyk

fanboy123 15y ago
He's also currently ranked 2nd in PER right behind LeBron James who by most metrics is the most dominant player in the NBA. PER is a metric for player efficiency adjusted for pace and time played etc. Pretty nuts. http://insider.espn.go.com/nba/hollinger/statistics?&action=login&appRedirect=http%3a%2f%2finsider.espn.go.com%2fnba%2fhollinger%2fstatistics http://insider.espn.go.com/nba/hollinger/statistics?&act...
MatthewPhillips 15y ago
WP isn't really considered a credible metric in the basketball stat community. It overvalues rebounding; players such as Danny Fortson and Reggie Evans have been ranked in top 5 for WP.

pepdek 15y ago

I'd like to add the Knicks gave serious consideration to cutting him from the roster hours before his first start because his 30-day contract was set to expire in a few days.

j-kidd 15y ago
The moral of story here is that if you have an expiring contract, you better hope your next opponent would be the Nets ;)
jwallaceparker 15y ago
Where did you hear this? I follow the Knicks closely and never heard they were considering cutting him.
- AndyNemmity 15y ago
  All over the place, during the telecasts... etc. They weren't going to cut him, so much as not renew his contract. His contract wasn't guaranteed, and he was living on his brother's couch. They were going to let him go and probably sign vet Mike James (currently in the D league)
- weixiyen 15y ago
  This is true. RealGM knicks forums had a thread about this.

capkutay 15y ago

Not to mention, he led our basketball team to the state championship in high school, but got little to no recognition from college scouts. I would guess that most state championship winning starting point guards in high school would at least get 1 scholarship offer. Jeremy Lin got none. It just makes his success more shocking/amazing at this point.

ssharp 15y ago
This isn't necessarily true (most state championship winning starting point guards getting scholarships). How big was his high school? Upper division programs (large schools) get significantly more attention than smaller schools.
- bps4484 15y ago
  From his wikipedia, "In his senior year in 2005–2006, Lin captained Palo Alto High School to a 32–1 record and upset nationally ranked Mater Dei, 51–47, for the California Interscholastic Federation (CIF) Division II state title." I assume division 2 is the second highest division in california. Given that, and he was the main player on that team, it is SHOCKING he didn't have multiple scholarship offers from major division 1 college teams.
  - rdouble 15y ago
    Division 1 NCAA scholarships are restricted to something like 70 per school across all sports. I'd be surprised if any 2nd tier high school players get div 1 athletic scholarships, even if they're good. The guys getting scholarships were scouted out in junior high school.
    - bps4484 15y ago
      "Division 1 NCAA scholarships are restricted to something like 70 per school across all sports." That's not true. I've never heard of an NCAA total scholarship limit, only limits based on specific sports. Even if there were a limit, it would be way more than 70 (college football alone is allowed 85). Also, basketball would get first priority on being fully funded because it's a high revenue sport. Here is a list of the scholarship limits by sport, http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Division_I_(NCAA)#Scholarship_limits_by_sport http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Division_I_(NCAA)#Scholarship_l.... Are you saying he's a 2nd tier high school players because he played for a division 2 high school team? If you are, I don't think you understand much about high school basketball. California is some of the best in the country. As mentioned above, their division 2 state title win was over a nationally ranked team. Division 2 just means your high school is smaller, it's not the same as being an NCAA division 2 team. "The guys getting scholarships were scouted out in junior high school." Although this happens (chris webber being the first example that comes to mind) it doesn't happen that often, and even if it does the player still has to prove things in high school because only verbal scholarships can be offered before a players junior year.

wisty 15y ago

That's insane. It's been suggested he was passed over because he's of Chinese decent. You'd think the teams would be climbing over themselves to get a good player with a Chinese name, because that's a way to get tens (or hundreds) of millions of Chinese fans. He's not the next Yao (since he's American born, for starters), but he'd still be worth a lot purely for the fans he'd draw. While "hundreds of millions" is often just hyperbolic thinking, Chinese are keener on the NBA than Americans. Unless the world cup (soccer) or Olympics is on, it's the only spectator sport worth speaking of. And Chinese love brand-name goods, and sports memorabilia, though many are forged. Plus, he's a good player.

jwallaceparker 15y ago
I'm a Knicks fan visiting China right now. Jeremy Lin's game against the Lakers was the lead story on the sports program on television last night. He could catch on here.
- j-kidd 15y ago
  I am a Nets fan for 12 years and hate the Knicks. Today I followed NYK vs MIN just because of Jeremy Lin. Game tied, 24 seconds left, and he got the ball in his hand. I could have became a Knicks fan if he made that layup. This is insane. Nets spent billions to build a new arena. Knicks got Jeremy Lin.
  - omnivore 15y ago
    I'm a Jersey guy who was more sympathethic to the Nets too and I think I too might be a Lin convert to the Knicks.
    - j-kidd 15y ago
      Game-winning 3-pointer. That's it. I am now supporting any team he plays on.
ssharp 15y ago
I highly doubt any team passed over him because of his ethnicity. That's insanely counter-productive and something that doesn't happen in modern sports, especially the NBA. Yao Ming was a #1 draft pick. The NBA knows it's strong position in China.

bgaluszka 15y ago

> The Knicks have been terrible this year and are currently without their 2 best players (Amare Stoudamire and Carmello Anthony) ... and you could say Baron Davis, their point guard that JL is in place of.