Jeremy Lin

Jeremy Lin, a pro NBA basketball player for the New York Knicks, is my hero.  Why, you may ask, is a basketball player your hero?   It's not because of his amazing skills (though they are extremely impressive), or his widespread popularity.  It's because he is a role model.  He had a dream to be a basketball player, had faith in his abilities, and persevered even when he was knocked down in his game that led toward that dream.  He's a pioneer in basketball; being one of the first American players in the NBA to be of Taiwanese or Chinese descent.

Jeremy Lin was born on August 23, 1988 in Los Angeles, California. He was raised Christian in Palo Alto, California by parents who emigrated from Taiwan. He learned to play basketball at a local YMCA, and began playing competitively for NJB as a child. Jeremy continued his basketball career as the captain on Palo Alto High School's team despite criticism from his mother's friends, and ended his high school career with a bang: a record of 32-1, and the All-State and Northern California Division II player of the year.

Jeremy graduated with a 4.2 GPA, and was accepted into some impressive schools: Stanford, UCLA, UC Berkley, Harvard, and Brown.  Unfortunately, only the latter two guaranteed him a spot on their teams.  Many of the schools doubted him, and only offered him walk-on spots on their teams.  Even Harvard's assistant coach initially believed he was a Division III player. Yet, Jeremy persevered.  The next game the Harvard coach watched, he was extremely impressed by Lin's incredible athletic prowess, and recruited him for the team.  At Harvard, he was known as a well-rounded player, and finished his career as a the first player at Harvard to have over 1,450 points (1,483), 450 rebounds (487), 400 assists (406) and 200 steals (225).  His academics also excelled, graduating with a 3.1 GPA in economics in 2010.

In the 2010 NBA draft, Jeremy was not chosen for any teams.  The NBA had not drafted an Ivy League player since 15 years prior.  He instead joined the NBA summer league.  There, he transcended, and received offers from the Mavericks, the Lakers, and Golden State Warriors.  His favorite team growing up, the hometown Warriors, was the offer he accepted.  The Bay Area's large Asian-American community cheered Jeremy on, inspired by his achievement of being one of the first Taiwanese/Chinese-Americans in the NBA.  Even though he got as far as the NBA, he was a back-up point guard.  He worked hard to move up and follow his dream.  He was the first to practice, and the last to leave.  Even while recovering from a patellar ligament injury during 2011 off-season, he trained hard; improving his shooting and strength.  During the pre-season, he was claimed by the Houston Rockets, and then waived again.  Finally, the New York Knicks claimed Jeremy from the waivers.

Though he didn't have much playing time as a back-up for the Knicks at the beginning of the season, he continued to train hard; arriving early, leaving late, practicing footwork, and watching game film.  He was then demoted to the D-league Erie BayHawks, and proved to be an excellent player.  The Knicks claimed Jeremy back 6 days after he was cut.  He still barely had playing time, but after the Knicks were desperate and allowed him to play in his game against the Celtics, he led them to a turnaround.  His coaches dismissed it as luck that he was allowed to play, but I think it's destiny.  He continuously proved himself to be a valuable player on the court, shocking basketball fans and professional players alike.  Linsanity was born.