Houston Rockets guard Jeremy Lin arrived in Taiwan Saturday morning for a two-day visit in his father’s homeland.
Lin returned to Taiwan for the third consecutive summer for basketball promotional events.
The Taiwanese-American is scheduled to appear at a consumer event organized by NIKE Taiwan Saturday evening and attend a press conference on Sunday before leaving for China.
Local media reported that Lin is scheduled to visit Taiwan again from Aug 27-28 for the Cathay Life basketball summer camp, where he would teach children basketball fundamentals.
Like other Asian countries, Taiwan has never stopped searching Taiwanese-born players or players with Taiwanese descent who were trained or are playing in the US to boost its basketball strength.
With the unexpected emergence and the global popularity of New York Knicks guard Jeremy Lin, it has been even more so.
The Central News Agency, Taiwan’s semi-governmental new agency, has recently reported on a new case that the Chinese Taipei Basketball Association may want to take a look at.
The story reported on Joy Burke and TJ Burke, who hailed from Arizona and are playing at Arizona State and UC Riverside, respectively.
Taiwan will not recruit Golden State Warriors guard Jeremy Lin for the 2011 FIBA Asia Championship in Wuhan, China due to Lin’s knee injury, Chinese Taipei Basketball Association (CTBA) President Ting Shou-chung said Friday.
Taiwan’s basketball federation will include Jeremy Lin, the first Taiwanese-American in the NBA, in its 24-man preliminary roster for the 2011 FIBA Asia Championship for Men, Taiwan media quoted Chinese Taipei Basketball Association (CTBA) President Ting Shou-chung as saying.
Golden State Warriors guard Jeremy Lin does not rule out the possibility to play for Taiwan in Asian competitions after meeting with Ting Shou-chung, the President of the Chinese Taipei Basketball Association (CTBA), last week in San Francisco, local media reported.
— An interview with Nancy Liu Recently I had an opportunity to interview a special girl who is so hopelessly in love with basketball that she quit her job earier this year and spent 63 days in eight European countries to watch 25 pro teams play in 50 games, including the Eurocups Finals and the Euroleague Final Four because of her passion for the game of basketball.
Her name is Nancy Liu, a Taiwanese girl whose name is probably sort of well-known in some European basketball circles by now. Liu also stayed in Turkey to witness the entire 2010 World Championship and has been featured in a FIBA television interview.
Yeah, a crazy girl indeed, but every passion starts with a crazy idea, doesn’t it? I also happened to find out that Nancy is not only a huge Duke fan and a Virgo but also has been following my blog for a while, which is why I have to write this post for her. Haha.
Read my interview below.
Taiwanese basketball junkie lives her dream in Europe Nancy Liu has often woken up during the past six months not knowing where she was. All she knew was she was somewhere in Europe — and that’s exactly how she wanted it.
Liu is an uncommonly dedicated sports fan, even by basketball junkie standards. She quit her job and visited 33 European cities in in 63 days from March to May this year to watch professional basketball games in person.
"I love the swishing sound of a basketball going through the net. And I’m uncomfortable if I don’t play basketball for two or three days, " said Liu, who started playing basketball in fifth grade when she attended an international school in Beijing, China.
Already familiar with the American basketball scene, including the professional National Basketball Association (NBA) and the college game, Liu said her passion for the sport took her to the other side of the Atlantic to explore an area she was less familiar with the game played.
Liu quit her job at an international trading company and started to map out her plan to visit as many European teams and leagues as possible.
Helped by the many friends she made while volunteering at various local sporting events, including the Jones Cup basketball tournament, the Kaohsiung World Games and the Taipei Deaflympics, Liu set up about 70 percent of her itinerary before departing on what she called, "A Basketball Dream — Ballin’ Europe."
The basketball-loving girl, who majored in applied chemistry at Taiwan’s National Chiao Tung University, began her basketball pilgrimage at a Swiss professional league game in Geneva less than 24 hours after arriving there.
In the following two months, the journey took Liu to numerous cities in eight countries — Switzerland, Italy, Slovenia, France, Spain, Germany, the Netherlands and Greece.
In all, Liu attended 25 games and watched 50 teams play in various European domestic leagues as well as the Eurocup Finals and the Euroleague Final Four, both top-tier European basketball competitions.
Liu estimated that she slept an average of less than three hours a night during her stay in Europe and visited as many as three cities in one day.
After the two-month trip, she spent three months in Beijing to work as an intern at NBA China and returned to Taiwan for a day before resuming her travels.
This time she visited Turkey for the 2010 FIBA Men’s World Championship and attended all of the tournament’s games, while getting to see her favorite player — Rudy Fernandez of Spain — perform in person.
To save money during her European travels, Liu said she spent all but one night staying at friends’ places, and ended up spending only around NT$200,000 (US$6,377) for the trip.
"Most of my budget was spent on transportation — flight tickets, train tickets and bus fare, " Liu said. She also had to overcome "the unthinkable" in Europe, such as a French railway strike and the disruption of Euro air traffic by the eruption of a volcano in Iceland that left European skies bathed in inpenetrable ash.
Though basketball was at the center of her trip, Liu said it had even greater significance because she used every opportunity to let everyone know she’s from Taiwan.
"This was my way of promoting Taiwan to the world, " she said.
Newspapers in Serbia and Greece gave extensive coverage to her ambitious trip, according to Liu. She was also interviewed by the International Basketball Federation (FIBA) during the World Championship.
Liu recalled that her parents expressed concerns about the trip when she first brought up the idea, but her father finally gave the go-ahead because "he didn’t want me to miss the opportunity to realize my dream."
Her European trek has not brought her dream to an end. If anything it was only the beginning of loftier ambitions, including a return to Europe for the 2011 European Championship, which will be held in Lithuania next summer.
Liu’s dream now extends beyond watching basketball games.
"I want to be involved in and initiate basketball-related nongovernment organization (NGO) projects which inspire children and the underprivileged through the sport, " said Liu, who described herself as being "broke" and is looking for a job to support her future plans.
"Basketball has been the inspiration to lift myself out of bed every morning since I was 13. I hope that the sport — and my journey — would be an inspiration for other people as well, " she said.
— SLAM: Jeremy Lin A while ago I also had a rare chance to be interviewed as a basketball writer by the SLAM magazine writer Ben Sin to talk about Jeremy Lin.
Whether or not Lin’s signing is driven by an agenda to boost ticket sales and buzz is up for debate, but the move has undoubtedly caused a positive reaction for the NBA in Taiwan. Chris Wang, a veteran sports journalist and current columnist for NBA.com in Taiwan, says Lin’s signing has increased interest in the League, although he isn’t sure if it’s increased enthusiasm for basketball in general, because Wang argues that, “pound for pound, Taiwanese basketball fans love of the game surpasses those in China.”
Lin and his family (parents and two brothers) appeared in an NBA-organized press conference in Taiwan less than 10 days after the signing. Hailed as “the first Taiwan player in the NBA,” Lin received a hero’s welcome at the press conference.
— Taiwan Beer going to China? There has been talks that Taiwan Beer is mulling to join the Chinese pro league CBA next year. The Chinese basketball authority has flat out rejected the report, saying that the 17-team league isn’t planning for an expansion for now.
TB thought about joining the Chinese league for a couple of reasons. First of all, it figured that it would benefit the team to be in the Chinese basketball market, which looks like a sponsor-rich and popular territory. Secondly, the relocation will be a part of the expansion plan of the Taiwan Beer Corporation, which has been trying to secure market access to China with warming Taiwan-China relations.
It was reported that TB Chairman Wei Po-tao had said he would spend 20-30 million RMB a year for the team to join the CBA, and the team is considering to make a city in Zhejiang Province as its homecourt.
Conflicting reports stated that TB might stay in Taiwan and choose Taipei as its home, but this is highly unlikely because it will cost Chinese teams a lot more on transportation if they have to play in Taiwan. On the political front, having Chinese teams play in Taiwan will definitely stir up controversy.
Anyway, I tend to look at it as just another rumor for now. It’s possible that Taiwanese teams will join the CBA in the future, but not in another three years due to too many concerns and techinical difficulties, I think.
Jeremy Lin, who is currently in the training camp with the NBA’s Golden State Warriors, has signed an endorsement deal with NIKE Taiwan, the United Evening News reported Saturday. However, NIKE Taiwan denied the report.
Several U.S. websites have reported in early August on Lin’s signing with NIKE.
According to Liberty Times, if Lin, the first Taiwanese-American to sign with a NBA club, had signed with NIKE Taiwan, the company would have had a lot more say in terms of how to market Lin in Asia and particularly in Taiwan. NIKE Taiwan might invite him back for clinics or PR events. Now, their plan will have to be approved by people in the HQ before proceeding further.
NIKE Taiwan declined to disclose Lin’s contract with the brand, Liberty Times reported.
Twenty-two years-old Jeremy Lin, who signed a two-year partially-guaranteed contract with the NBA’s Golden State Warriors last week, was back in Taiwan for a charity game and a children basketball camp.
All of these happened after a simple phone call from Yao Ming, who told Taiwan media that he was impressed with what Lin has accomplished and invited him to join Yao Foundation in Taiwan for its charity tour.
Less than 12 hours later, the Lin family — including Lin’s father Lin Gieming, his mother Wu Hsinhsin and two brothers — was on the plane back to Taiwan.
In case you’ve never heard of him by now, it’s not difficult to find him on the internet. (See Jeremy Lin on Wikipedia)Also make sure to watch these Youtube clips below. Lin became the first Harvard graduate in 57 years to make it the the NBA. He is also the first Taiwanese-American player to sign with a NBA team.
Jeremy Lin vs John Wall NBA Summer League Mavs vs Wizards Highlights
Lin became the overnight sensation in Taiwan after his signing. He was everywhere from newspapers, magazines to television news. In fact, the news reporting in Taiwan did not lag far behind that in the U.S., where Lin has been featured constantly since March.
NBA Taiwan called a press conference for Lin on Wednesday, featuring him as “the first Taiwanese player in the NBA.” The press conference attracted tons of media. I personally counted there were more than 30 TV cameras and about 100 reporters at the Westin Hotel, where the press conference was held. (See Jeremy Lin attributes achievements to family, faith)
Lin attributed much of his “success” to his family and religious faith — he was a devout Christian who still envisions himself as a pastor some day.
He said he chose the Warriors because of many factors, including the size of the contract, the style of play, roster space and location — the Lins live in the Bay area.
Being an Asian-American player out of Harvard was never an advantage, he also told the media, because of stereotypes that Asians are weaker than other players and that Ivy League graduates are better at academics than basketball.
About the possibility of representing Taiwan in international competition, Lin said he knew that many rumors "are flying around, " but "no decision has been made."
Meanwhile, religion has been a major part of life for Lin, who has said he would like to be a pastor someday and help underprivileged children in urban areas — the reason he chose to major in economics and sociology at Harvard.
Lin, who idolized Michael Jordan growing up, said the transition from the college game to the NBA will require work on "almost everything, " from ball-handling to strength to a different shot- clock.
His goal for the upcoming season will initially be getting "in the rotation, " and then becoming the starting point guard. Longer term, he said he wants to win an NBA championship.
About the comparison between him and NBA standout Steve Nash, Lin said it’s been a honor to be compared with Nash, but all he could say was that both of them “are point guards, play with basketball IQs, and love to run the pick-and-roll.”
Lin has been very cautious and low-key in the question and answer session of the press conference. As a fan, I like that because he tries to keep everything in perspective and not to be big-headed. After all, the road ahead is long.
Lin scored 17 points in the charity game Wednesday night. The game featured a team of NBA active players against a mixed team of Taiwanese and Chinese players. It was like any other charity game or All-Star game which players showcased their one-on-one skills and dazzled the fans with highlight-reel dunks. Team NBA, consisted of Lin, Brandon Jennings of the Milwaukee Bucks, Hasheem Thabeet of the Memphis Grizzlies, DaJuan Summers of the Detroit Pistons, Amir Johnson of the Toronto Raptors, Luke Babbit of the Portland Trail Blazers and a pair of Yao’s Houston teammates, Aaron Brooks and Chase Budinger, won by the score of 137-103.(See Jeremy Lin, Jennings catch fans’ eyes at Yao’s charity basketball game)
It was not a competitive game at all. But it seemed to me that Lin was more comfortable driving than shooting. In fact, Lin was able to do so because he was actually more athletic than people thought. From what I’ve seen, he has good shooting mechanics, so he will be able to develop his perimeter game in the NBA with no problem.
I agreed with Taiwanese player Chen Chih-chung’s observation that Lin knows very well how to protect the ball on his drives, which is very important for a slashing type of player. Fans were unable to witness Lin’s skill to run the offense as a point guard though, given the fact that it was a charity game and Lin was not familiar with his NBA teammates at all.
Sources told me that NIKE Taiwan is negotiating with Lin’s agent Roger Montgomery for a show deal, but it’s possible that NIKE global will take over if it finds Lin is worth it. Lin wore NIKE shoes at Harvard, which is sponsored by NIKE.
Lin wore Adidas shoes and apparels though when he appeared with Dwight Howard at a children basketball camp in Taipei Thursday morning, which is sponsored by Amway and is a project under the NBA’s Junior NBA program.
The Lins met with their relatives in Taiwan, including Lin’s grandmother whom he is very close with but hasn’t met for years, before flying back the the U.S. Thursday night. In between, Lin also met with Taiwan President Ma Ying-jeou.
Lin is expected to fight for playing time at the point guard position with Stephen Curry and newly-signed Jannero Pargo at Golden State, but he should be able to enjoy Don Nelson’s fast-tempo offense and make solid contribution as a backup or third point guard in his rookie season.
No matter what happens, Taiwanese fans will be watching and giving support. At least two local newspapers have decided to send correspondents to the Bay area to cover Lin in the pre-season training camp as well as the regular season games.
As far as representing Taiwan in international competitions, I think Lin will be very carefully weighing that decision, especially at the most important time of his young NBA career. Personally, I think Lin’s agent will advise him against it because too much is at stake.
Taiwan Hoops 