Ivy Leaguer in NBA

Even Spike Lee was wearing a Harvard Lin jersey at Madison Square Garden over the weekend as the Knicks faced off against the Mavs. Lin did not disappoint (photo credit: Hans Reitzema).

Ivy Leaguer Jeremy Lin is no fluke. He still has the Knicks winning. He’s still scoring. He’s still stealing the ball. And he’s still finding his teammates for assists. Last night, he dismantled the Atlanta Hawks with 17 points, 9 assists, 2 steals, and 2 rebounds. He had 21 points in a loss to the Nets before the Hawks game and on February 19th, he had his finest game as a pro against the defending NBA Champion Dallas Mavericks. Against the Mavs, Lin scored 28 points and dished out an astonishing 14 assists to go along with 4 rebounds and a ridiculous 5 steals. 5 steals! This Harvard athlete sure does have staying power.

On the biggest stage in sports, competing in front of the toughest crowd there is, Jeremy Lin didn’t go away after a week in the spotlight. His numbers didn’t slip. His minutes haven’t decreased. He’s distributing the ball, incorporating Carmelo Anthony, Amar’e Stoudemire, Tyson Chandler, and now J.R. Smith into the potent New York offense. Melo seems to understand that things have changed since he stepped off the hardwood prior to sitting out with an injury. He’s come back to a completely different team…one in which Lin is very much the key asset.

While Lin won’t be competing in the Olympics and he was left off the All-Star Team (he started shocking the world too late into the season to make the All-Star Team), he will be incorporated into All-Star Weekend this coming weekend. The Harvard standout who scored a perfect 800 on the math portion of the SAT is a fantasy basketball must-have. And he’s the delight of Harvard’s PR team. After all, he’s a Harvard PR machine!