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Lin story dubbed 'perfect storm'
Source: Agencies |
February 18, 2012, Saturday
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JEREMY Lin's first NBA coach was practically gushing as he listed the qualities that have made the former Harvard guard a star in New York.
The same qualities, by the way, that would still have him sitting on the Golden State Warriors' bench.
And that couldn't even get him drafted in the NBA.
And that got him cut twice and demoted to the minor leagues four times.
In fact, former Warriors coach Keith Smart isn't the only guy who didn't see what he had with Lin.
"No one could have predicted this guy being this big," Smart said.
Almost no one, anyway. Even Knicks coach Mike D'Antoni had so many questions about Lin's defense and shooting that he only gave him a chance when the team was desperate.
Now Lin's control of the offense draws comparisons to Phoenix star Steve Nash.
But before picking on all the NBA people who missed on Lin, start with those hundreds of coaches who wouldn't even give him a scholarship to play in college.
"I couldn't even get some D-III schools to look at me," he said.
How can that be? How did so many teams on so many levels pass on a guy who scored more points in his first five NBA starts than any player since the 1976 merger with the ABA?
"This is hard to predict," D'Antoni said. "It's like winning the lottery. You buy a ticket, you hope, but there's no guarantee it's going to happen."
It sure didn't in Golden State or the Houston Rockets, where the teams liked Lin but had too many guards in front of him.
And it wouldn't have happened in New York if Baron Davis had gotten over his back woes sooner, or if Iman Shumpert didn't hurt his knee in the season opener, or if any of the three point guards D'Antoni tried first had been able to run his offense properly.
It took all those circumstances to get Lin to New York, then onto the court, which is why Smart and Minnesota director of basketball operations Rob Babcock both called it a "perfect storm."
"This one is just an absolutely amazing one," Babcock said.
"There's always players that slip through the cracks and we certainly miss on a lot of guys. But I think missing is kind of a little bit of a misnomer there.
"It's not that we miss so much as it's the guy hasn't had the opportunity or been in the right situation that fits his skill level, the right coach that fits his style and temperament, and the player hasn't quite developed the confidence to go out and do what he is capable of doing."
The same qualities, by the way, that would still have him sitting on the Golden State Warriors' bench.
And that couldn't even get him drafted in the NBA.
And that got him cut twice and demoted to the minor leagues four times.
In fact, former Warriors coach Keith Smart isn't the only guy who didn't see what he had with Lin.
"No one could have predicted this guy being this big," Smart said.
Almost no one, anyway. Even Knicks coach Mike D'Antoni had so many questions about Lin's defense and shooting that he only gave him a chance when the team was desperate.
Now Lin's control of the offense draws comparisons to Phoenix star Steve Nash.
But before picking on all the NBA people who missed on Lin, start with those hundreds of coaches who wouldn't even give him a scholarship to play in college.
"I couldn't even get some D-III schools to look at me," he said.
How can that be? How did so many teams on so many levels pass on a guy who scored more points in his first five NBA starts than any player since the 1976 merger with the ABA?
"This is hard to predict," D'Antoni said. "It's like winning the lottery. You buy a ticket, you hope, but there's no guarantee it's going to happen."
It sure didn't in Golden State or the Houston Rockets, where the teams liked Lin but had too many guards in front of him.
And it wouldn't have happened in New York if Baron Davis had gotten over his back woes sooner, or if Iman Shumpert didn't hurt his knee in the season opener, or if any of the three point guards D'Antoni tried first had been able to run his offense properly.
It took all those circumstances to get Lin to New York, then onto the court, which is why Smart and Minnesota director of basketball operations Rob Babcock both called it a "perfect storm."
"This one is just an absolutely amazing one," Babcock said.
"There's always players that slip through the cracks and we certainly miss on a lot of guys. But I think missing is kind of a little bit of a misnomer there.
"It's not that we miss so much as it's the guy hasn't had the opportunity or been in the right situation that fits his skill level, the right coach that fits his style and temperament, and the player hasn't quite developed the confidence to go out and do what he is capable of doing."
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