Official Jeremy Lin Thread.

[nicedudewithnicedreams]

Originally Posted by FullMetal

Originally Posted by nicedudewithnicedreams

The #$+ in this thread is embarrassing.

Yao Ming doesn't represent Asian Americans because? He's from China? I would think parents of people like JLin would appreciate a Yao Ming coming from China and making it in the US, right?

And the jokes about speaking English? Come on brah, embrace the international game and the players that might not know fluent English at first.

I don't even need to bring up the hate on KLJ like that. Just wow.

I understand the personal connection that some people might have with JLin, but dayum, no need to spew garbage about Asian history. Now I understand why people say Asians have no unity with each other. They stay being selfish and hating on each other.

SMH.

@ your ignorance. An Asian who was born and raised in China is obviously different from an Asian who was born and raised in America. Other Asian-Americans can relate better to the latter. And $#+*% with your racial generalizations.

You think I don't know that Yao Ming was born in China and JLin wasn't. I was referring to JLin's parents who weren't born in the US, but immigrated here and lived the American dream at the end of the day. So lets not give an %%% to your ancestors that weren't born in the US? Cause those kinds of naturalized Asian Americans don't mean as much as Asian Americans born here...

What racial generalizations? Racial generalizations that are proven true with that Asian history talk in the other page?

Originally Posted by itz rOLLi

I don't have anything against Yao Ming, especially not because he's from China. I'm saying he doesn't represent Asian Americans that were born here. Simple as that. I called him a circus spectacle because he's in the NBA because of his incredible height. Anybody that tall, that can move is going to get a serious look.

And of course Yao don't represent the Asian Americans here. Dude is 7-6!

 

I hope you were joking about that last part tho... He might have gotten a look cuz of his height, but it sure ain't the only reason why he's been in the league this long.

 

[itz rolli]

Originally Posted by nicedudewithnicedreams

Originally Posted by FullMetal

Originally Posted by nicedudewithnicedreams

The #$+ in this thread is embarrassing.

Yao Ming doesn't represent Asian Americans because? He's from China? I would think parents of people like JLin would appreciate a Yao Ming coming from China and making it in the US, right?

@ your ignorance. An Asian who was born and raised in China is obviously different from an Asian who was born and raised in America. Other Asian-Americans can relate better to the latter. And $#+*% with your racial generalizations.

And of course Yao don't represent the Asian Americans here. Dude is 7-6!

 

the hell are you even trying to say?

also, i really dont care too much about the subject as my posts would suggest. im just tryin to reach 10k posts, it's really taking me forever.

 

[itz rolli]

Originally Posted by nicedudewithnicedreams

Originally Posted by FullMetal

Originally Posted by nicedudewithnicedreams

The #$+ in this thread is embarrassing.

Yao Ming doesn't represent Asian Americans because? He's from China? I would think parents of people like JLin would appreciate a Yao Ming coming from China and making it in the US, right?

@ your ignorance. An Asian who was born and raised in China is obviously different from an Asian who was born and raised in America. Other Asian-Americans can relate better to the latter. And $#+*% with your racial generalizations.

And of course Yao don't represent the Asian Americans here. Dude is 7-6!

 

the hell are you even trying to say?

also, i really dont care too much about the subject as my posts would suggest. im just tryin to reach 10k posts, it's really taking me forever.

 

[pharelfor3]

so can dude play for China's bball team or does taiwan have their own????

 

[pharelfor3]

so can dude play for China's bball team or does taiwan have their own????

 

[nicedudewithnicedreams]

Originally Posted by itz rOLLi

Originally Posted by nicedudewithnicedreams

Originally Posted by FullMetal

Originally Posted by nicedudewithnicedreams

The #$+ in this thread is embarrassing.

Yao Ming doesn't represent Asian Americans because? He's from China? I would think parents of people like JLin would appreciate a Yao Ming coming from China and making it in the US, right?

@ your ignorance. An Asian who was born and raised in China is obviously different from an Asian who was born and raised in America. Other Asian-Americans can relate better to the latter. And $#+*% with your racial generalizations.

And of course Yao don't represent the Asian Americans here. Dude is 7-6!

 

the hell are you even trying to say?

Asian Americans are not 7-6. Yao is 7-6. Of course he don't rep the Asian Americans here. It was a joke, brah. Kind of like the China vs Taiwan talk a page back.

 

[nicedudewithnicedreams]

Originally Posted by itz rOLLi

Originally Posted by nicedudewithnicedreams

Originally Posted by FullMetal

Originally Posted by nicedudewithnicedreams

The #$+ in this thread is embarrassing.

Yao Ming doesn't represent Asian Americans because? He's from China? I would think parents of people like JLin would appreciate a Yao Ming coming from China and making it in the US, right?

@ your ignorance. An Asian who was born and raised in China is obviously different from an Asian who was born and raised in America. Other Asian-Americans can relate better to the latter. And $#+*% with your racial generalizations.

And of course Yao don't represent the Asian Americans here. Dude is 7-6!

 

the hell are you even trying to say?

Asian Americans are not 7-6. Yao is 7-6. Of course he don't rep the Asian Americans here. It was a joke, brah. Kind of like the China vs Taiwan talk a page back.

 

[nicedudewithnicedreams]

Originally Posted by PharelFor3

so can dude play for China's bball team or does taiwan have their own????

Sun Yue already got the starting PG locked up for 2012 tho.

And no, he's not eligible for China and I'm not sure if he is a dual citizen with Taiwan. Team USA tho!

 

[nicedudewithnicedreams]

Originally Posted by PharelFor3

so can dude play for China's bball team or does taiwan have their own????

Sun Yue already got the starting PG locked up for 2012 tho.

And no, he's not eligible for China and I'm not sure if he is a dual citizen with Taiwan. Team USA tho!

 

[itz rolli]

Taiwan is represented in the Olympics as Chinese Taipei, and have their own bball team.

 

[itz rolli]

Taiwan is represented in the Olympics as Chinese Taipei, and have their own bball team.

 

[everysingletime]

I don't think it's possible to understand why we're excited unless you're Asian American. 

Even Asians from overseas wouldn't understand. 

at his getting more hits than the USA Basketball thread though. 

 

[everysingletime]

I don't think it's possible to understand why we're excited unless you're Asian American. 

Even Asians from overseas wouldn't understand. 

at his getting more hits than the USA Basketball thread though. 

 

[dyyhard]

look Jeremy Lin was born in a us hospital, went to elementary, went trick-or-treating, jr high, high school. played aau, went to div 1 college, speaks English as the first language, went to Warrior games growing up....he's American, he can vote, run for President if he aspired to. You can say most of the same with John Wall, Shaq, Kobe, Gary Payton, etc..... This doesn't apply to Yao Ming, Yi Jianlian, Sun Yue, Yuta Tabuse - yeah they're Asian but most people here can't relate to them on a personal level. 

Even on a basketball level, he has more flair and skill set(minus Yao) than those guys just mentioned. It's a big deal to the Asian American community. Imagine having to root for and have Dikembe Mutombo or DJ Mbenga (no offense) represent your race, then comes along Avery Johnson or John Starks (not comparing them as players to JL, just using them as an example of US born, undrafted players).

 

[dyyhard]

look Jeremy Lin was born in a us hospital, went to elementary, went trick-or-treating, jr high, high school. played aau, went to div 1 college, speaks English as the first language, went to Warrior games growing up....he's American, he can vote, run for President if he aspired to. You can say most of the same with John Wall, Shaq, Kobe, Gary Payton, etc..... This doesn't apply to Yao Ming, Yi Jianlian, Sun Yue, Yuta Tabuse - yeah they're Asian but most people here can't relate to them on a personal level. 

Even on a basketball level, he has more flair and skill set(minus Yao) than those guys just mentioned. It's a big deal to the Asian American community. Imagine having to root for and have Dikembe Mutombo or DJ Mbenga (no offense) represent your race, then comes along Avery Johnson or John Starks (not comparing them as players to JL, just using them as an example of US born, undrafted players).

 

[acidicality]

This is an old article, but I think it'll help you guys understand why Jeremy's became so big with so many people.

[h1]Asian Americans remain rare in men's college basketball[/h1]

Bryan Chu, Special to The Chronicle
San Francisco Chronicle December 15, 2008 08:03 PM CopyrightSan Francisco Chronicle. All rights reserved. This material may not bepublished, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.

Tuesday, December 16, 2008

Read more: http://www.sfgate.com/cgi-bin/article.cgi?f=/c/a/2008/12/16/SPD213J9RD.DTL#ixzz0uOfHQXgk


(12-15) 21:03 PST --Jeremy Lin has seen it and heard it.

Too short. Too skinny. Picked last. Asian.

Those tags stick to Lin wherever he goes, even as the starting point guard for Harvard's basketball team.

"It's a sport for white and black people," Lin said. "You don't getrespect for being an Asian American basketball player in the U.S."

Although the game is brimming in popularity among Asian Americanyouth - there are Asian leagues, club teams like the San Jose Ninjasand San Jose Zebras, and packed courts outside schools, churches andtemples - Lin practically is alone.

Of 4,814 Division I men's basketball players in 2006-07, there were19 Asian Americans (including Pacific Islanders and ethnically mixed),according to the most recent NCAA Student-Athlete Race and EthnicityReport. That's 0.4 percent.

Players, coaches and sociologists cite stereotypes and culturalfactors as reasons that percentage might not rise very much in theforeseeable future. At the same time, there are players and coachesmaking inroads to mainstream, high-profile basketball, and there's afeeling of pioneer spirit among them.

"Especially now that there are lots of Asian Americans growing upand playing, I have to try to hold my own in college," Lin said. "It'sdefinitely motivational and it gives me a chip on my shoulder."

Lin, who leads the Crimson (4-4) in points, steals and assists andis second in rebounds, is one of the best Asian American basketballplayers to come from the Bay Area.

After Palo Alto High won the Division II state title in 2006, Lin'ssenior season, he was named first-team All-State and NorthernCalifornia Division II Player of the Year. He was The Chronicle's MetroPlayer of the Year. Considering those honors and his senior stats -15.1 points, 7.1 assists, 6.2 rebounds and five steals - Lin thoughthe'd get at least a few Division I scholarship offers.

He got none.

"I'm not saying top-5 state automatically gets you offers," Linsaid, "but I do think (my ethnicity) did affect the way coachesrecruited me. I think if I were a different race, I would've beentreated differently."

At Harvard, the 6-foot-3 junior has faced harsh conditions on the road.

"I hear everything: 'Go back to China. Orchestra is on the otherside of campus. Open up your eyes,' " Lin said. "They're yelling at mebefore, during and after. I'm an easy target because I'm Asian.Sometimes it makes me uncomfortable, but it's part of the game."

Kelvin Kim, who transferred from UCLA and now is the starting pointguard for UC San Diego, sees it in his everyday encounters withclassmates.

"No one expects me to be a basketball player," said Kim, who is from Lake Forest (Orange County).

Kirk Kim went to Salesian High in Richmond and walked on at Cal inthe late '90s. He said, "Automatically, playing - especially in theinner city - you get no respect being Asian."
[h3]Thin coaching ranks[/h3]
Coaches face similar hurdles.

Seattle Pacific's Jeff Hironaka is considered the only current AsianAmerican Division II head coach. He has 28 years of coaching experienceand an 121-59 record in six-plus seasons as the Falcons' head coach. Asan assistant, he helped them to at least a share of six conferencechampionships and a national semifinal appearance in 2000.

Hironaka has interviewed in vain for Division I jobs.

"I was told they needed to hire an African American, and anotherschool said they needed to hire a Caucasian," Hironaka said. "I'm notone or the other, so then I'm out.

"I understand assistant coaches you have to recruit - most (players)are Caucasian - so they ask, 'What can you help us do? Recruit Asians?'"

Hironaka continued: "You don't want to call it discrimination, butit's a discrimination kind of scenario. Sometimes you have to acceptthe reality of it. It's a tough barrier to crack."

Rex Walters, now in his first season as head coach at USF, isconsidered the only Asian American Division I men's basketball headcoach. On his staff is assistant coach Danny Yoshikawa, a JapaneseAmerican who was conference player of the year at UC Davis in 1996.

"We've slowly, steadily grown," said Yoshikawa of Asian Americansbreaking into the game. "I would've never seen two (Asian Americans) atUSF. I just think that those kinds of things just take place over time.

"It's more getting to the point where people are going to hire guys- maybe it's because they're getting over the stigmas - because theyare doing a good job."

One case in point is the Miami Heat's Erik Spoelstra. Spoelstra, whoplayed at the University of Portland, this year became the firstFilipino American head coach in the NBA.

Though Lin and Kelvin Kim are starting in college, getting to theNBA is a longshot for almost everyone. Given the tiny pool of AsianAmericans in the college game, the chance of a player making it to thetop is small indeed.

Walters was a rare exception.

A standout at Kansas, Walters, who is hapa (his mother, Yoko, isJapanese and his father, Monte, is Caucasian), was taken 16th in the1993 NBA draft, one of the first Asian Americans to make it to thepros. He spent eight seasons in the league.
[h3]Walters not optimistic[/h3]
Now, from his point of view as a recruiter, Walters thinks youthtrends are reducing the crop of potential Asian American players.

"I wanted to be a basketball player and I invested all my time intothat," Walters said. "It's a totally different thinking now. You seekids spending time playing PlayStation 3 and that's time lost in thegym.

"When I was growing up, there were lots of good Asian Americanbasketball players. I haven't seen those same types (whilerecruiting)."

Some other recent examples of Asian Americans in basketball: BlakeWallace is a junior forward at USF; Bobby Nash, a swingman at Hawaiilast season, signed with the Shiga Lakestars of Basketball Japan; andDerrick Low, the former Washington State guard, signed with the SydneySpirit in Australia's National Basketball League.

Wallace and Nash are both 6-6, two examples that contradict staturestereotypes. And one prominent coach sees the mixing of all races as afactor in the future of Asian American players.

"Society has come to be interracial marriages, and because of that,you're seeing (Asian Americans) that are bigger and stronger," saidDarren Matsubara, basketball consultant for adidas basketball and coachfor the EBO/2K Sports AAU team. "There are going to be more playerscoming up now."

However, the number of Asian Americans on prominent teams remains disproportionately low.

In the NCAA's eight-year ethnic-background survey, the smallesttotal of Asian Americans in Division I men's basketball was 10(2003-04) and the largest was 27 (2005-06).
[h3]Family priorities[/h3]
"I do think it's startling," said Jere Takahashi, a sociologist inAsian American Studies at Cal. "At the same time, I found talking tostudent-athletes ... (that) families don't emphasize sports; they putemphasis on academics.

"Whether coming from an immigrant family or a family of three orfour generations, (schoolwork) becomes the interest of parents."

Professor Henry Yu, who taught Asian American studies at UCLA for 14years and is now at the University of British Columbia, said peopleoften categorize Asians as being too short as the reason why therearen't more players in the game. That's not the case.

Yu offers two factors why the odds are against Asian Americans.

The first is Asian American families putting pressure on young malesto earn a paycheck, which is very difficult to do as an athlete.

"There's a reason why the Asian athletes are coming from overseas,"Yu said. "If you're growing up in North America, there are familyvalues and pressures to become a good husband. There's a sense offamily ideology, and dreaming to be a professional athlete is not agood idea. It's frowned upon."

The second factor is the difficulty for Asian Americans to breakinto established sports networks like into the AAU web, collegeprograms and the coaching scene.

"Those networks are very strong and often are racial," Yu said. "That's why it's so hard for blacks to get into coaching.

"That force has slowed down African Americans and Latinos up until30 years ago. Hispanic players are now the largest minority playingbaseball. It took a lot for the dam to break, but I don't see itbreaking for Asian Americans."

Matsubara, who played at Cal State Northridge, says players are fighting themselves.

"It really starts with the mind," Matsubara said. "Most Asianbasketball players are defeated before they start. There's thestereotype that Asians don't play ball. Then you have people in thecommunity being negative toward you ... so then you begin to think,'Why pursue this?'

"In Asian basketball, if an individual can understand and accept going outside the box, then you'll start to see more players."

Yet Matsubara said in the 15 years he has been scouting players thatit seems Asian Americans "have been discouraged and given up."

Lin and Kelvin Kim are in the position of being role models.

"(People) come up to me and let me know how much they look up to meand they ask me for advice," Kim said. "It makes me feel motivated thatthey're looking up to me, and the fact that I can be, like, that lightto them basketball-wise, it motivates me to want to do that and be assuccessful as possible.

"I've had people from Korea hit me up on Facebook who were trying to play basketball, and people from Canada."

When it comes to role models, Lin and Kelvin Kim do look up to theNBA players from China, the Rockets' Yao Ming and the Nets' YiJianlian. Lin and Kim each wants to leave his own mark.

"I'm on my own mission, and there aren't many people who can relateto me," Lin said. "(My parents) try to tell me to plan ahead and theytell me basketball isn't going to feed you for the rest of your life.

"But I feel like I have something to prove to everyone out there. Ina sense, I'm trying to represent Asian Americans on the basketballcourt and I'm trying to be the best player and reach my potential."

[h3]By the numbers [/h3]
Number of Asian Americans in NCAA men's college basketball, according to the NCAA:
[table][tr][td]Year[/td][td]DI[/td][td]DII[/td][td]DIII[/td][/tr][tr][td]1999-00[/td][td]15[/td][td]17[/td][td]45[/td][/tr][tr][td]2000-01[/td][td]12[/td][td]18[/td][td]54[/td][/tr][tr][td]2001-02[/td][td]11[/td][td]19[/td][td]48[/td][/tr][tr][td]2002-03[/td][td]11[/td][td]20[/td][td]54[/td][/tr][tr][td]2003-04[/td][td]10[/td][td]27[/td][td]53[/td][/tr][tr][td]2004-05[/td][td]20[/td][td]31[/td][td]46[/td][/tr][tr][td]2005-06[/td][td]27[/td][td]27[/td][td]61[/td][/tr][tr][td]2006-07[/td][td]19[/td][td]35[/td][td]38[/td][/tr][/table]
Meanwhile:



From 1999 to 2007, the number of AsianAmerican Division I women's basketball players has gone up in sixyears. In 2005-06, there were 76, the most ever recorded.

Bryan Chu, a former Chronicle staff writer, is on staff at the San Antonio Express-News. E-mail comments on this article to [email protected].

This article appeared on page C - 1 of the San Francisco Chronicle

Read more: http://www.sfgate.com/cgi-bin/article.cgi?f=/c/a/2008/12/16/SPD213J9RD.DTL#ixzz0uOfMKkcj

 

[acidicality]

This is an old article, but I think it'll help you guys understand why Jeremy's became so big with so many people.

[h1]Asian Americans remain rare in men's college basketball[/h1]

Bryan Chu, Special to The Chronicle
San Francisco Chronicle December 15, 2008 08:03 PM CopyrightSan Francisco Chronicle. All rights reserved. This material may not bepublished, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.

Tuesday, December 16, 2008

Read more: http://www.sfgate.com/cgi-bin/article.cgi?f=/c/a/2008/12/16/SPD213J9RD.DTL#ixzz0uOfHQXgk


(12-15) 21:03 PST --Jeremy Lin has seen it and heard it.

Too short. Too skinny. Picked last. Asian.

Those tags stick to Lin wherever he goes, even as the starting point guard for Harvard's basketball team.

"It's a sport for white and black people," Lin said. "You don't getrespect for being an Asian American basketball player in the U.S."

Although the game is brimming in popularity among Asian Americanyouth - there are Asian leagues, club teams like the San Jose Ninjasand San Jose Zebras, and packed courts outside schools, churches andtemples - Lin practically is alone.

Of 4,814 Division I men's basketball players in 2006-07, there were19 Asian Americans (including Pacific Islanders and ethnically mixed),according to the most recent NCAA Student-Athlete Race and EthnicityReport. That's 0.4 percent.

Players, coaches and sociologists cite stereotypes and culturalfactors as reasons that percentage might not rise very much in theforeseeable future. At the same time, there are players and coachesmaking inroads to mainstream, high-profile basketball, and there's afeeling of pioneer spirit among them.

"Especially now that there are lots of Asian Americans growing upand playing, I have to try to hold my own in college," Lin said. "It'sdefinitely motivational and it gives me a chip on my shoulder."

Lin, who leads the Crimson (4-4) in points, steals and assists andis second in rebounds, is one of the best Asian American basketballplayers to come from the Bay Area.

After Palo Alto High won the Division II state title in 2006, Lin'ssenior season, he was named first-team All-State and NorthernCalifornia Division II Player of the Year. He was The Chronicle's MetroPlayer of the Year. Considering those honors and his senior stats -15.1 points, 7.1 assists, 6.2 rebounds and five steals - Lin thoughthe'd get at least a few Division I scholarship offers.

He got none.

"I'm not saying top-5 state automatically gets you offers," Linsaid, "but I do think (my ethnicity) did affect the way coachesrecruited me. I think if I were a different race, I would've beentreated differently."

At Harvard, the 6-foot-3 junior has faced harsh conditions on the road.

"I hear everything: 'Go back to China. Orchestra is on the otherside of campus. Open up your eyes,' " Lin said. "They're yelling at mebefore, during and after. I'm an easy target because I'm Asian.Sometimes it makes me uncomfortable, but it's part of the game."

Kelvin Kim, who transferred from UCLA and now is the starting pointguard for UC San Diego, sees it in his everyday encounters withclassmates.

"No one expects me to be a basketball player," said Kim, who is from Lake Forest (Orange County).

Kirk Kim went to Salesian High in Richmond and walked on at Cal inthe late '90s. He said, "Automatically, playing - especially in theinner city - you get no respect being Asian."
[h3]Thin coaching ranks[/h3]
Coaches face similar hurdles.

Seattle Pacific's Jeff Hironaka is considered the only current AsianAmerican Division II head coach. He has 28 years of coaching experienceand an 121-59 record in six-plus seasons as the Falcons' head coach. Asan assistant, he helped them to at least a share of six conferencechampionships and a national semifinal appearance in 2000.

Hironaka has interviewed in vain for Division I jobs.

"I was told they needed to hire an African American, and anotherschool said they needed to hire a Caucasian," Hironaka said. "I'm notone or the other, so then I'm out.

"I understand assistant coaches you have to recruit - most (players)are Caucasian - so they ask, 'What can you help us do? Recruit Asians?'"

Hironaka continued: "You don't want to call it discrimination, butit's a discrimination kind of scenario. Sometimes you have to acceptthe reality of it. It's a tough barrier to crack."

Rex Walters, now in his first season as head coach at USF, isconsidered the only Asian American Division I men's basketball headcoach. On his staff is assistant coach Danny Yoshikawa, a JapaneseAmerican who was conference player of the year at UC Davis in 1996.

"We've slowly, steadily grown," said Yoshikawa of Asian Americansbreaking into the game. "I would've never seen two (Asian Americans) atUSF. I just think that those kinds of things just take place over time.

"It's more getting to the point where people are going to hire guys- maybe it's because they're getting over the stigmas - because theyare doing a good job."

One case in point is the Miami Heat's Erik Spoelstra. Spoelstra, whoplayed at the University of Portland, this year became the firstFilipino American head coach in the NBA.

Though Lin and Kelvin Kim are starting in college, getting to theNBA is a longshot for almost everyone. Given the tiny pool of AsianAmericans in the college game, the chance of a player making it to thetop is small indeed.

Walters was a rare exception.

A standout at Kansas, Walters, who is hapa (his mother, Yoko, isJapanese and his father, Monte, is Caucasian), was taken 16th in the1993 NBA draft, one of the first Asian Americans to make it to thepros. He spent eight seasons in the league.
[h3]Walters not optimistic[/h3]
Now, from his point of view as a recruiter, Walters thinks youthtrends are reducing the crop of potential Asian American players.

"I wanted to be a basketball player and I invested all my time intothat," Walters said. "It's a totally different thinking now. You seekids spending time playing PlayStation 3 and that's time lost in thegym.

"When I was growing up, there were lots of good Asian Americanbasketball players. I haven't seen those same types (whilerecruiting)."

Some other recent examples of Asian Americans in basketball: BlakeWallace is a junior forward at USF; Bobby Nash, a swingman at Hawaiilast season, signed with the Shiga Lakestars of Basketball Japan; andDerrick Low, the former Washington State guard, signed with the SydneySpirit in Australia's National Basketball League.

Wallace and Nash are both 6-6, two examples that contradict staturestereotypes. And one prominent coach sees the mixing of all races as afactor in the future of Asian American players.

"Society has come to be interracial marriages, and because of that,you're seeing (Asian Americans) that are bigger and stronger," saidDarren Matsubara, basketball consultant for adidas basketball and coachfor the EBO/2K Sports AAU team. "There are going to be more playerscoming up now."

However, the number of Asian Americans on prominent teams remains disproportionately low.

In the NCAA's eight-year ethnic-background survey, the smallesttotal of Asian Americans in Division I men's basketball was 10(2003-04) and the largest was 27 (2005-06).
[h3]Family priorities[/h3]
"I do think it's startling," said Jere Takahashi, a sociologist inAsian American Studies at Cal. "At the same time, I found talking tostudent-athletes ... (that) families don't emphasize sports; they putemphasis on academics.

"Whether coming from an immigrant family or a family of three orfour generations, (schoolwork) becomes the interest of parents."

Professor Henry Yu, who taught Asian American studies at UCLA for 14years and is now at the University of British Columbia, said peopleoften categorize Asians as being too short as the reason why therearen't more players in the game. That's not the case.

Yu offers two factors why the odds are against Asian Americans.

The first is Asian American families putting pressure on young malesto earn a paycheck, which is very difficult to do as an athlete.

"There's a reason why the Asian athletes are coming from overseas,"Yu said. "If you're growing up in North America, there are familyvalues and pressures to become a good husband. There's a sense offamily ideology, and dreaming to be a professional athlete is not agood idea. It's frowned upon."

The second factor is the difficulty for Asian Americans to breakinto established sports networks like into the AAU web, collegeprograms and the coaching scene.

"Those networks are very strong and often are racial," Yu said. "That's why it's so hard for blacks to get into coaching.

"That force has slowed down African Americans and Latinos up until30 years ago. Hispanic players are now the largest minority playingbaseball. It took a lot for the dam to break, but I don't see itbreaking for Asian Americans."

Matsubara, who played at Cal State Northridge, says players are fighting themselves.

"It really starts with the mind," Matsubara said. "Most Asianbasketball players are defeated before they start. There's thestereotype that Asians don't play ball. Then you have people in thecommunity being negative toward you ... so then you begin to think,'Why pursue this?'

"In Asian basketball, if an individual can understand and accept going outside the box, then you'll start to see more players."

Yet Matsubara said in the 15 years he has been scouting players thatit seems Asian Americans "have been discouraged and given up."

Lin and Kelvin Kim are in the position of being role models.

"(People) come up to me and let me know how much they look up to meand they ask me for advice," Kim said. "It makes me feel motivated thatthey're looking up to me, and the fact that I can be, like, that lightto them basketball-wise, it motivates me to want to do that and be assuccessful as possible.

"I've had people from Korea hit me up on Facebook who were trying to play basketball, and people from Canada."

When it comes to role models, Lin and Kelvin Kim do look up to theNBA players from China, the Rockets' Yao Ming and the Nets' YiJianlian. Lin and Kim each wants to leave his own mark.

"I'm on my own mission, and there aren't many people who can relateto me," Lin said. "(My parents) try to tell me to plan ahead and theytell me basketball isn't going to feed you for the rest of your life.

"But I feel like I have something to prove to everyone out there. Ina sense, I'm trying to represent Asian Americans on the basketballcourt and I'm trying to be the best player and reach my potential."

[h3]By the numbers [/h3]
Number of Asian Americans in NCAA men's college basketball, according to the NCAA:
[table][tr][td]Year[/td][td]DI[/td][td]DII[/td][td]DIII[/td][/tr][tr][td]1999-00[/td][td]15[/td][td]17[/td][td]45[/td][/tr][tr][td]2000-01[/td][td]12[/td][td]18[/td][td]54[/td][/tr][tr][td]2001-02[/td][td]11[/td][td]19[/td][td]48[/td][/tr][tr][td]2002-03[/td][td]11[/td][td]20[/td][td]54[/td][/tr][tr][td]2003-04[/td][td]10[/td][td]27[/td][td]53[/td][/tr][tr][td]2004-05[/td][td]20[/td][td]31[/td][td]46[/td][/tr][tr][td]2005-06[/td][td]27[/td][td]27[/td][td]61[/td][/tr][tr][td]2006-07[/td][td]19[/td][td]35[/td][td]38[/td][/tr][/table]
Meanwhile:



From 1999 to 2007, the number of AsianAmerican Division I women's basketball players has gone up in sixyears. In 2005-06, there were 76, the most ever recorded.

Bryan Chu, a former Chronicle staff writer, is on staff at the San Antonio Express-News. E-mail comments on this article to [email protected].

This article appeared on page C - 1 of the San Francisco Chronicle

Read more: http://www.sfgate.com/cgi-bin/article.cgi?f=/c/a/2008/12/16/SPD213J9RD.DTL#ixzz0uOfMKkcj

 

[tsamshox]

Originally Posted by dyyhard

look Jeremy Lin was born in a us hospital, went to elementary, went trick-or-treating, jr high, high school. played aau, went to div 1 college, speaks English as the first language, went to Warrior games growing up....he's American, he can vote, run for President if he aspired to. You can say most of the same with John Wall, Shaq, Kobe, Gary Payton, etc..... This doesn't apply to Yao Ming, Yi Jianlian, Sun Yue, Yuta Tabuse - yeah they're Asian but most people here can't relate to them on a personal level. 

Even on a basketball level, he has more flair and skill set(minus Yao) than those guys just mentioned. It's a big deal to the Asian American community. Imagine having to root for and have Dikembe Mutombo or DJ Mbenga (no offense) represent your race, then comes along Avery Johnson or John Starks (not comparing them as players to JL, just using them as an example of US born, undrafted players).

This guy gets it....

 

[tsamshox]

Originally Posted by dyyhard

look Jeremy Lin was born in a us hospital, went to elementary, went trick-or-treating, jr high, high school. played aau, went to div 1 college, speaks English as the first language, went to Warrior games growing up....he's American, he can vote, run for President if he aspired to. You can say most of the same with John Wall, Shaq, Kobe, Gary Payton, etc..... This doesn't apply to Yao Ming, Yi Jianlian, Sun Yue, Yuta Tabuse - yeah they're Asian but most people here can't relate to them on a personal level. 

Even on a basketball level, he has more flair and skill set(minus Yao) than those guys just mentioned. It's a big deal to the Asian American community. Imagine having to root for and have Dikembe Mutombo or DJ Mbenga (no offense) represent your race, then comes along Avery Johnson or John Starks (not comparing them as players to JL, just using them as an example of US born, undrafted players).

This guy gets it....

 

[fivestarfob]

i think its like the manny pac hype, flips will ride him hard

 

[fivestarfob]

i think its like the manny pac hype, flips will ride him hard

 

[2seatport]

Ultimate sign that you're on your way up is lames you never met posting multiple times in a message board thread whining about how underservedly popular you are


Think we would all be

if we found ourselves in that situation

this isnt star wars kid we're talking about here, dude just signed an NB f*ckin A contract

Jeremy Lin wins

 

[2seatport]

Ultimate sign that you're on your way up is lames you never met posting multiple times in a message board thread whining about how underservedly popular you are


Think we would all be

if we found ourselves in that situation

this isnt star wars kid we're talking about here, dude just signed an NB f*ckin A contract

Jeremy Lin wins

 

[dirtylicious]

Originally Posted by Kiddin Like Jason

What's there to hate? I just don't believe in rooting for someone just because of their race/nationality. That's almost as bad as hating someone for those reasons, in a roundabout way.

elaborate?

 

[dirtylicious]

Originally Posted by Kiddin Like Jason

What's there to hate? I just don't believe in rooting for someone just because of their race/nationality. That's almost as bad as hating someone for those reasons, in a roundabout way.

elaborate?