Lin played final college game vs. ASU
by Steve Behr Sports Editor
The big craze in American sports is how New York Knicks guard Jeremy Lin has taken the NBA by storm.
Lin, who was not drafted out of Harvard, bounced from the NBA Developmental League into the Golden State Warriors' training camp before being released. He was picked up by the Knicks, and at the start of February led the Knicks from a potentially horrible season into playoff contention.
Most of the country knows that. It even has a name in the New York area — “Linsanity.”
What they may not know is that Lin's final collegiate game was played against Appalachian State at the Holmes Center.
Harvard lost 91-71 to Appalachian State in the first round of the http://Collegeinsider.com Tournament, which was played on March 17, 2010. Harvard went into the game with a 21-7 record, while Appalachian State was 22-12.
Lin scored 12 points in that game, which wasn't even a team-high. Harvard took an early lead, but the Mountaineers stormed back to win the game.
Buzz Peterson was the coach of Appalachian State at the time. Now at UNC-Wilmington, Peterson remembered assigning defensive specialist Kellen Brand to stop Lin. Jeremi Booth also guarded Lin.
“It was an interesting draw with Harvard,” Peterson said. “We had a decent RPI, which was why we got a home game. I thought it was an attractive draw for Harvard. I know getting a win was big and getting a win over Marshall was big.”
Peterson said the scouting report on Lin was that he was good at creating his own shots, particularly off the dribble. He was also a good passer.
“I remember he could create his own shot off the dribble, so we were nervous about that,” Peterson said. “He was a good shooter and one of those kids you wanted to make sure didn't get any good looks.”
Brand and Booth, for the most part, did their jobs to limit Lin's scoring potential. Lin made four out of his 10 shots from the field, and missed all three of his 3-point attempts. Lin dished out a team-high five assists. Christian Webster led the Crimson in scoring with 24 points.
Donald Sims led the Mountaineers in scoring with 22 points, while Brand had 14.
Appalachian State reached the semifinals of the tournament by beating Marshall 80-72 on the road. The Mountaineers lost to visiting Pacific 64-56 in the semifinals.
Peterson remembered that it was good for the Mountaineers to play the game since their final game of the season, up to that point, was a 56-51 loss to Wofford in the Southern Conference Tournament finals.
Beating Harvard was also the first post-season victory for the Mountaineers of any kind. ASU lost in its two NCAA tournament appearances, and fell to Mississippi in the first round of the 2007 NIT.
Appalachian State also started the season early because of a preseason trip to the Bahamas. Appalachian State played three exhibition games on the trip.
“It was a big motivation for us,” Peterson said. “It was one of the longest seasons I've ever had because we had that preseason trip to the Bahamas.”
Lin, who was not drafted out of Harvard, bounced from the NBA Developmental League into the Golden State Warriors' training camp before being released. He was picked up by the Knicks, and at the start of February led the Knicks from a potentially horrible season into playoff contention.
Most of the country knows that. It even has a name in the New York area — “Linsanity.”
What they may not know is that Lin's final collegiate game was played against Appalachian State at the Holmes Center.
Harvard lost 91-71 to Appalachian State in the first round of the http://Collegeinsider.com Tournament, which was played on March 17, 2010. Harvard went into the game with a 21-7 record, while Appalachian State was 22-12.
Lin scored 12 points in that game, which wasn't even a team-high. Harvard took an early lead, but the Mountaineers stormed back to win the game.
Buzz Peterson was the coach of Appalachian State at the time. Now at UNC-Wilmington, Peterson remembered assigning defensive specialist Kellen Brand to stop Lin. Jeremi Booth also guarded Lin.
“It was an interesting draw with Harvard,” Peterson said. “We had a decent RPI, which was why we got a home game. I thought it was an attractive draw for Harvard. I know getting a win was big and getting a win over Marshall was big.”
Peterson said the scouting report on Lin was that he was good at creating his own shots, particularly off the dribble. He was also a good passer.
“I remember he could create his own shot off the dribble, so we were nervous about that,” Peterson said. “He was a good shooter and one of those kids you wanted to make sure didn't get any good looks.”
Brand and Booth, for the most part, did their jobs to limit Lin's scoring potential. Lin made four out of his 10 shots from the field, and missed all three of his 3-point attempts. Lin dished out a team-high five assists. Christian Webster led the Crimson in scoring with 24 points.
Donald Sims led the Mountaineers in scoring with 22 points, while Brand had 14.
Appalachian State reached the semifinals of the tournament by beating Marshall 80-72 on the road. The Mountaineers lost to visiting Pacific 64-56 in the semifinals.
Peterson remembered that it was good for the Mountaineers to play the game since their final game of the season, up to that point, was a 56-51 loss to Wofford in the Southern Conference Tournament finals.
Beating Harvard was also the first post-season victory for the Mountaineers of any kind. ASU lost in its two NCAA tournament appearances, and fell to Mississippi in the first round of the 2007 NIT.
Appalachian State also started the season early because of a preseason trip to the Bahamas. Appalachian State played three exhibition games on the trip.
“It was a big motivation for us,” Peterson said. “It was one of the longest seasons I've ever had because we had that preseason trip to the Bahamas.”