Paul Nelson still dreams of playing in the NBA.
At the moment, however, the former Yale starting center suits up for CS Dinamo Bucuresti in Bucharest, Romania, where he plays in a “temporary gym” that “can only fit a few hundred” because the team’s arena is being renovated. In his first year in Eastern Europe, Nelson noticed that the NBA barely penetrated Romanian media – until Jeremy Lin.
“I had never seen NBA highlights on any station until this whole Linsanity-thing began.” Nelson said by Facebook chat. “I can turn on a sports channel that almost exclusively plays soccer, and see Jeremy Lin highlights.”
Nelson, who played against Lin’s Harvard team eight times (winning five) between 2006-10 and knows “the scouting report on him like the back of my hand,” is not the only Ivy League alumnus watching his former rival from afar.
Jack Eggleston, a former Second Team All-Ivy forward for Penn, plays in front of sparse crowds for Bayer Giants Leverkusen in Germany’s third division. Eggleston also says Lin’s story has received unparalleled attention from German media. “They’re always wanting to know what Dirk’s doing,” said Eggleston via Skype, referring to Dallas Mavericks forward Dirk Nowitzki. “They talk about the Heat a fair amount, but this has been far and away the biggest thing and the most significant issue, I’d say, so far this year.”
While the media maelstrom surrounding Lin is understandable in New York, where Lin revived the stagnant Knicks, and in China and Taiwan, where he’s already become a sort of folk icon, there’s no clear-cut explanation why it has erupted in the far reaches of Europe.
Nelson said he believes that people just love to root for the underdog. “Jeremy Lin is like Rudy, if Rudy ended up starting at ND (Notre Dame), going to the NFL, and making a Pro Bowl.” Nelson also cited Lin’s ethnicity and Ivy League pedigree as components of a story that is literally unprecedented, with Lin being the first Asian-American ever and the first Harvard graduate since 1954 to play in the NBA.
Although former Brown point guard Steve Gruber claims not to be surprised by Lin’s ascendancy— “His style of play is well-suited for the NBA,” said the current Marquette Law student in an email—eight other former Lin opponents are as shocked as anyone that he has traded Harvard’s halls for Manhattan’s skyscrapers, igniting Madison Square Garden more than he ever did the 2,195-seat Lavietes Pavilion.
It’s not as if they ever doubted Lin’s talent. In fact, they all lauded his ability to drive to the basket and finish, as well as his comfort with the pick and roll, and they said that their college defenses were geared specifically to stop him. They’re simply amazed at how things have evolved, considering everything Lin had to overcome.
“If anyone pretty much tells you they’re not surprised, I wouldn’t believe them,” said Darren Smith, a former Penn guard who is currently looking for a job from his parents’ house in Elizabeth, New Jersey, and spoke by phone.
But these former Ivy Leaguers’ emotions may be more complex than those of the general public, or even Lin’s former teammates. They expressed profound pride that one of their own has made the NBA, calling Lin a source of inspiration, hope and validation. But some of their feelings are also tinged with a hint of envy, and there’s a little niggling thought in their minds that says, given the opportunity, that could be me.
Less than two years ago, Eggleston, Nelson, and Smith were not that different from Lin, against whom they competed regularly, and often quite successfully. They all had hoop dreams that didn’t necessarily square with accepted reality, their futures seemingly dependent more on their in-class schooling than on-court skills.
Now, Lin’s former opponents chalk up his effectiveness to many different factors, including Knicks coach Mike D’Antoni’s offensive system, the NBA’s better court spacing, and Lin’s fearlessness. “It was a perfect match of opportunity and coach and the situation being great and he just stepped in and filled the void masterfully,” said Eggleston. They also repeatedly stressed that Lin has drastically improved his jump shot, his body strength, and his ball control with the left hand.
“I couldn’t be more thrilled, to be honest,” said former Columbia guard Patrick Foley, who works for Google in New York City. “We know what came out of effort and how grueling it is to be an Ivy League athlete, having to actually go to class. It’s sort of like a brotherhood.”
Niko Scott echoed his former Columbia backcourt-mate’s sentiments: “It definitely feels good to root for him being that we come from the same place.” Scott was playing this season for Globalcaja Quintanar, a professional team in central Spain, before a shoulder injury forced him to return home to New York last month and get surgery. He expects to be fully healthy by summer, with the hope that Lin’s emergence might benefit him. “I can definitely do things that he does and maybe that’ll mean that I’ll gain more opportunities in the basketball world,” Scott said.
For all those like Scott, Eggleston, and Nelson, who are trying to establish basketball careers, there are even more, like Foley and Smith, who now only break out their high tops for urban league games and pick-up runs.
Injuries stalled Foley after he graduated in 2010, but he is now unofficially “averaging like 35 or so” in the New York Urban Professionals League with his company team. He admits that Lin is more athletically gifted than he was, but Lin’s success has made him reevaluate what could have been. “It’s definitely got my juices flowing thinking how far I could’ve gone at the very least,” said Foley.
With no future in basketball, Foley has to settle for the respect he receives when people find out that he played Lin pretty evenly. “It’s been nice to lend a little legitimacy, maybe add a little rosy glow, on what was once my career,” Foley said.
This Friday night Harvard’s basketball team is visiting Columbia, and there are rumors that Lin will be at Levien Gymnasium. Foley plans to come watch as well, potentially sharing the bleachers with the Knicks’ star. Although their post-college paths could hardly have diverged more, for one night they might be on the same level again, separated by little more than crimson and light blue.