I loved playing basketball growing up but lacked any identifiable role models. I didn’t play basketball with Asian Americans because there were so few in my part of Texas 20 years ago. On the national scene, I knew of no Asian Americans playing college or professional basketball. Many years later I would read admiringly about Wataru Misaka, a Japanese American who became the first non-white NBA player. But he lasted only three games with the New York Knicks. And that was in 1947. In recent years, Chinese players such as Yao Ming, Yi Jianlin, and Wang Zhizhi have made an impact in the NBA. But since they didn’t grow up in the U.S. it’s hard for me to connect with them. For years I have been looking for an Asian American basketball player to follow and support. Now I’ve found him.

Jeremy Lin is a senior on the Harvard basketball team who is starting to raise eyebrows in college basketball. On Sunday, Lin scored 30 points in an almost-upset of 14th-ranked perennial powerhouse Connecticut. Famed UConn coach Jim Calhoun paid Lin a high compliment, saying the guard could play for any team in the elite Big East Conference (which includes not only UConn, but top teams such as Georgetown and Louisville). Tommy Amaker, Harvard’s coach, called Lin one of the best players in the country. In eight games this season, Lin is averaging 17.8 points, 5.6 rebounds, and 4.6 assists per game – strong statistics at any level, but especially in college. With Lin at the helm, Harvard is one of the favorites to win the Ivy League and could upset a top-ranked team, just as they did last season when they beat 17th-ranked Boston College. There’s even talk of Lin playing in a professional league somewhere, although not necessarily in the United States.

Lin’s story is not a picture-perfect one for Asian Americans, however. In a recent Boston Herald article, Lin and a teammate speak of the discrimination Lin has faced both on and off the court in a sport dominated by whites and blacks. In a road game last season, Lin recalled losing his cool the only time in his career after the crowd taunted him with racial epithets. A teammate who watched Lin lead his high school team to victory in the California state championship said race may have played a role in Lin not receiving a scholarship offer from any Division I college. But the article also talks of how Lin overcame his adversity and thrived because of it. Competitors would automatically discount him because of stereotypes about Asians and basketball. “That’s something that I’ve kind of embraced,” Lin told the Boston Herald. “I play with a chip on my shoulder because of that. At this point, I’ve embraced it and I enjoy it and I expect it.”

With 20 games left in Harvard’s season, I’m rooting for Jeremy Lin.

– L. Liu

Posted by liulawrence on Tuesday, December 8th, 2009 at 10:15 am.