David Locke Jazz PXP Man

JEREMY LIN TO ICHIRO-- SAME STORY DIFFERENT SPORT

Is it really possible that everyone missed this badly on Jeremy Lin? After watching his last two games it is hard to believe anything else. 

What stands out about Lin is that he has been overlooked every step of the way. He grew up in Palo Alto, CA on the footsteps of Stanford University and despite being the California State Player of the Year Stanford didn’t recruit him. Stanford wasn’t alone, Lin was the California State Player of the Year and he didn’t get a college scholarship offer.

California, not Idaho, not South Dakota, the California State Player of the year and not a single scholarship offer.

The only explanation must be that he is 5’7 or something. Nope he is 6’3 200 and he didn’t get a scholarship offer. He averaged 15 points, 7 rebounds, 6 assists and 5 steals and his team won the State Title.

He then proceeds to take his talents to Harvard where he was very good, 1st team Ivy League and goes undrafted. This is not unusual, plenty of 1st team Ivy League players have gone undrafted. No California State Player’s of the Year go without scholarships.

Today Lin looks as though he is a legitimate NBA point guard. He still has issues that have to be resolved and he will slow down when scouting reports figure him out, but the point of this story is he was undeniably overlooked and ignored for a some reason.

Lin’s rise to prominence brings me back to when Ichiro came to Seattle as the first ever Asian position player in major league baseball. The jingoism was unreal. 

People questioned if he would be able to endure 162 games, could he get around on American pitching, would he be strong enough to hit and without saying it everything came back to the “frail Japanese man” can’t play with Americans. In retrospect, it is one of the most embarrassing things I have been a part of as a media member.
2,612 hits later in 11 seasons I think Ichiro is going to be ok. In fact, he is going to be in Cooperstown when he is done. 

I don’t think Jeremy Lin is an all-star ,but I do think there is a parallel to how Ichiro was doubted and Lin was overlooked. Scouts fall victim to stereotypes. Players are supposed to look the part and by being Asian Lin doesn’t look the part. When Lin didn’t look the part everyone stopped looking for talent.