Sports
Linsanity on the Hill: Cl’nsanity
By Patrick English '15, Sports Contributor
February 23, 2012
For the last two weeks, Linsanity has changed the world of sports media. Bill Simmons said it best: “Basketball isn’t supposed to have surprises like this…. People don’t come out of nowhere in the NBA.” We are fortunate enough to be connected to this madness, as Lin has made his way to the Hill numerous times to watch his younger brother play.
Before Linsanity, Lin had been bouncing around the league, playing for three teams in two years in addition to several stints in the NBA’s Development League; he even tried to play in China and Italy during the NBA lockout. As the first Asian-American to play in the NBA, Lin always drew loud cheers in his rare appearances in NBA games.
Even before he began getting significant minutes, Scott Howard-Cooper of NBA.com described the situation as, “The unique angle of an Asian-American rising to rare basketball prominence.” He was always the last point guard on NBA rosters, waived first by his hometown Golden State Warriors when they went after current Los Angeles Clippers’ center DeAndre Jordan and then by the Houston Rockets to make room for center Samuel Dalembert.
Coach Mike D’Antoni of the New York Knicks was the first to give Lin a real chance. Thanks in large part to the temporary loss of star players Amare Stoudemire and Carmelo Anthony, he came off the bench in a game against the New Jersey Nets.
“He got lucky because we were playing so bad,” said D’Antoni. With the setback of Baron Davis’ injury, the Knicks were ready to dump Lin for a better point guard. However, he soon proved everyone wrong and shocked the world with a 25-point, seven assist and five rebound night. Since that performance, Lin has started at point guard for the Knicks. He has averaged 24.6 points and 9.2 assists per game and has led the Knicks to eight wins in 10 games. He is the only player to score 20 points and lead his team to victory in each of his first five starts since the ABA-NBA merger in 1976.
Hamilton was lucky enough to get its own taste of Linsanity when Jeremy Lin came to campus to watch his younger brother play against Bates on Feb. 12. Several news outlets covered Lin’s trip to the Hill. Spectator Sports Editor Kendall Weir ’12 even exchanged a few words with Lin; they talked about how the Lin brothers had found success in basketball.
“Our dad really likes basketball, so he introduced us. We played together since we were little kids,” said Lin. They also find time to talk despite their busy schedules: “I watch [Joseph’s] games, he watches mine, and if we have time, we talk about them and catch up.” The elder Lin also had his own Linsight, if you will, to Hamilton’s play, noting that, “The team is playing pretty well—with lots of energy. Hopefully, they pull it out in the second half,” at halftime.
The Continentals did pull it out, with a 72-62 win over Bates in which Joseph Lin ’15 had four points and two assists.
Star player Carmelo Anthony returned to the Knicks on Monday, and it will be interesting to see how he fits into the new system that came about when Lin took over. New York has two games against top teams from the East, the Atlanta Hawks and the Miami Heat, before the All-Star Break. Lin will play on Team Shaq in the Rising Stars Game on Saturday night in Orlando. The game will feature the best first and second year players in the NBA on teams drafted by Charles Barkley and Shaquille O’Neal. As he has said in several interviews, Lin is living a dream right now; the basketball world has truly never seen anybody like him.