Jeremy Lin Takes One Last Shot

Beneath the hype of ESPN features and Around the Horn shout-outs, this is what celebrity looks like:

Wake up. Go to the gym. Train with former NBA head coach Bob Hill. Hit the weight room. Head back to the gym. Shoot roughly 500 jumpers. Repeat for six days. Even God rested on the seventh day, but this is gameday in the San Francisco Bay Area ProCity Summer League. Suit up for the South Bay Spartans.

Play ball.

“That’s all I did,” co-captain Jeremy Lin sheepishly says about his summer.

At first glance, it wouldn’t be obvious that Lin is a basketball star. The only Asian-American player in the Ivy League, Lin is tall but not towering, athletic but not overpowering. His talent comes from countless hours spent in the gym meticulously honing his craft.

“Jeremy is our hardest worker,” Harvard coach Tommy Amaker says matter-of-factly. “[He’s] a passionate, dedicated basketball player—it’s why he’s grown to become one of the better players in the country.”

For Lin, dedication and passion never take a vacation.

“The idea of working 12 months a year to get the team better is what he’s brought to the program,” observes co-captain Doug Miller. “A lot of people are buying into it.”

After a tough preseason practice, sophomore Andrew Van Nest confides, “[Lin] was hurt today—his ankle—and he still wanted to do everything. He fought the coaches to let him play…It’s that kind of leadership that makes someone else…work harder. “

The payoff from Lin’s hard work is obvious. Last season, he was the only player in the NCAA to finish in the top 10 in his league in every statistical category. Lin led the Crimson with 17.8 points, 5.5 rebounds and 4.3 assists per game. His play earned him special recognition from ESPN’s Fran Franschilla as one of the most versatile players in college basketball.

With his multifaceted game, what can you learn from Lin? Freshman guard Brandyn Curry laughs at the question.

“When I first got here I never guarded a player like that,” he says. “I’ve learned a lot just by watching him, talking and playing with him…small tips about how to get into the lane and see the floor, the defensive angles.”

“Last year, when I came for prefrosh weekend I remember we were playing pick-up,” freshman guard Christian Webster adds. “He took me aside and told me some things to do on the floor, and I was like, ‘Yeah, I’d never looked at it like that.’ That just shows why he’s such a good player.”

The national media has taken notice. Lin— who was first team All-Ivy a year ago—already has been recognized in ESPN, USA Today, and SLAM Magazine among other outlets. Ivy League basketball enthusiasts widely consider Lin to be one of the frontrunners for this season’s Player of the Year award.

Yet Lin dismisses the attention.

“We’re still trying to figure out why we have so much [media] exposure when we’re doing so badly in the Ivy League. It’s ironic,” he says. “We just want to win the Ivy League. That’s all that everyone is focused on.”

For Harvard to challenge Cornell—the reigning league champion—the Crimson will need Lin at his best.

Lin’s emphasis over the summer on better ball-handling and extending his range make it difficult to project his capabilities, but based on his statistics last season, Lin is in striking distance of the top five in points, assists, blocks, and steals in all of Harvard history.

“He’s certainly established himself as one of the best who’ve played here,” Amaker says. “The best way of solidifying any of those types of individual moments, awards, achievements would be if he can have our team do something that no Harvard team has ever done.”

“We all know what that is,” Amaker adds coyly.

The elusive Ivy League title.

“I don’t have any personal expectations,” Lin says, brushing off all the accolades awarded and awaiting him. “As a team, we’re expecting to win the whole Ivy League. We want to hang a banner, and that’s what we expect to do.”

—Staff writer Timothy J. Walsh can be reached at twalsh@fas.harvard.edu.