Linsanity Page #4

Group of schools full of

asian students on their campuses

That that would be something

that was unthinkable,

But it wasn't.

Blakeney:
I just told him,

it's a sign of respect.

Yeah, they're ignorant,

But at the end

of the day,

They're trying to get

in your head.

You're thinking

about what they saying

And not thinking

about the game.

Blakeney:
I think we were

just working out,

And kind of was like,

you know

"j, can I speak to you

for a moment?"

Jeremy:
He sat me down,

Like, right outside

the gym on the stairs,

And he was like...

"I don't know if anybody's

ever told you this,

But I think you can be

an NBA player. "

And he kind of looked

at me like, you know,

He just saw Santa Claus

or something.

You know, I was just like,

"you're crazy," you know.

I was like,

"dude, you are crazy. "

My mom, you know,

would be like,

"you can make it

to the NBA."

"all right. Um, okay, mom. "

Shirley:

Is this possible?

I thought maybe

he really...

Really have a chance.

When the question

was broached,

Is Jeremy Lin good enough

to make the NBA,

That's when I think a lot

of the interest started surging.

Man:
Can you tell me the

history of this blanket?

Oh, this blanket

is legendary.

Yeah?

It's all

about lion king.

We have nala right here,

Baby simba,

timon and pumbaa.

This is one of my favorite

blankets of all time.

What about the sesame street blanket?

No. My second favorite

is the Garfield,

And then sesame street.

[ laughs ] oh, man.

All right, fans.

Good evening,

and welcome to the 2010 draft

At Madison square garden

in new York city.

The first round, we weren't

expecting really much of anything.

Tonight marks

the realization of a dream

For the best young players

in the world.

We were just

all real nervous,

Just 'cause there were so

many odds to overcome for him.

And with the first pick,

the Washington wizards

Select john wall from

the university of Kentucky.

[ cheering and applause ]

I was hopeful,

but to be completely honest,

I was like, "let's just wait

and see what happens. "

The thing that I'm always

interested in is race

And the way discrimination,

you know, rears its ugly head.

I was really interested in seeing

if a team would take the plunge

And take this

asian-american player.

You know, it was funny.

Like, the team that I had

the highest chance

To get drafted by

was the Knicks,

'cause I crushed

that workout.

With the 39th pick

in the 2010 NBA draft...

I was like, "if I don't

get drafted here,

I probably

won't get drafted. "

The new York Knicks select...

I'm thinking like, "oh, if I

get drafted, what's gonna happen?

"I'm just gonna run around,

like, hugging everyone.

I'm gonna fly

to new York tomorrow. "

Landry fields

from Stanford university.

[ crowd booing and shouting ]

10 minutes

after the draft ended,

Donny nelson,

the general manager

Of the Dallas mavericks,

personally called Jeremy

And asked him to play

on his summer league team.

I think everyone who

goes undrafted, you know,

Feels like they have to prove

themselves, because they do.

And so, you know,

this is a chance

Where you get to play

against people

Who are drafted

every single night,

And you get to compete

with them in practice.

And this is the best

opportunity to, you know,

Prove to

all the other teams

That you deserved

to be drafted

And you deserved

to have that contract.

Joel Meyers:

Lin, surprise attack.

Oh, this is gonna

be interesting.

Sanders there,

Lin protected it home!

Wow! Nice play.

I hoped that Jeremy

would make it,

Because I had confidence

in his ability,

But I was skeptical

In terms of him getting

a real shot anywhere.

P.A. Announcer:

Jeremy Lin!

And then I watched him play

In the summer league

against john wall.

Meyers:
I think we got

a primetime match-up.

John wall, the number one

overall selection.

Wall, creative!

On the reverse.

How fast was that?

Sutter:
I talked to him

the day before

He was gonna play

against john wall,

And I told him,

"it's your one shot.

There's no doubt that you

can play against the guy. "

Meyers:
Lin.

Lin gettin' up there!

Chris Webber:
He's gonna

be an NBA crowd favorite.

Meyers:

Gotta work on the d.

Lin went right around

him on his strong side.

Torre:
The fact

that he could do that

Against the number-one player

in the NBA draft was tremendous.

Meyers:
Assessing,

constructive criticism.

Webber:
No way.

Man!

If you explode on him,

you'll have something.

You're gonna

get your opportunity.

Webber:
As he splits,

spins...

Oh, no, ref!

Don't you do that!

Meyers:

They're on their feet!

Oh, my god. This is

about to be a melee here.

Hold 'em back,

hold 'em back!

[ laughing ]

Oh, look it, the crowd

is going crazy!

Commentator:

He's opened some eyes,

And if Lin doesn't stick

with the Mavs,

There are teams out there

that are looking at him saying,

"boy, he beats

their system very nicely. "

Webber:
Whether he's in the

league this year or not...

Meyers:

He'll have some options.

Oh, he will

have some options.

Jeremy:

I'm just trying to play,

And if someone's interested,

you know,

I'd love to talk

about an opportunity.

Joe Lacob:
My son and he

both were point guards,

And they were

on different AAU teams,

And so I remember

watching them play

These AAU games

in these local gyms.

But I just happened to buy the

team at that time with my partners.

One of the first things

I told our GM was,

"look, I know this kid.

My son knows this kid.

He's really talented.

We ought to give him a shot. "

I think they thought

we were a little crazy,

But we did, and, you know,

when you're the owner,

You get to do things

like that.

[ rock music ]

Announcer:
The warriors' IQ

and basketball IQ

Just went up a few points.

They signed Harvard guard

Jeremy lin.

I called Jeremy

to tell him.

He didn't believe me.

He was like, "stop playing,

man. Are you serious?"

I said,

"man, it's for real.

"go down to the practice

facility tomorrow

And sign the contract.

It's good. "

And he was like,

"man! I'll call you back. "

I was like, "aah!"

you know.

I picked

my little brother up,

I'm like, "I'm signing

with golden state!"

And I ran

into the next room,

I picked

my other brother up.

"I'm signing

with golden state!"

I can't even

really describe it,

'cause we, like, grew up,

like, fantasizing about the NBA,

And, like, the fact that we

grew up rooting for the warriors

Made it even

that much crazier.

Lin has a chance

to make history

As the first asian-american

NBA player in the modern era.

When he got picked up

by warriors,

That moment,

we think,

"this is what

I want him to do. "

My dream was to play

in the NBA,

And now I get to do it

for the warriors,

The team

that I grew up watching.

It's more

than a dream come true.

[ cheering ]

Announcer:

We know what that's about.

Color analyst:
Jeremy lin.

Palo alto high school's own.

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