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All the way across the country in a big city known as New York, one man is lighting up opponents in the Madison Square Garden while simultaneously shocking America.

Jeremy Lin, an undrafted point guard out of Harvard, suits up in his number 17 New York Knicks jersey on game day and puts on a show every time he gets on the court.

The point guard has set an NBA record for the most points scored in a players’ first four NBA starts with 109, edging out basketball legends Allen Iverson, Shaquille O’Neal, and Michael Jordan.

The New York Knicks have claimed victorious in every single game Lin has started in. Lin is exactly what this team needed after an 8-15 start and the loss of their star player Carmelo Anthony to injury, as they have won seven straight games.

In Lin’s first NBA start against the New Jersey Nets, he recorded 25 points, five rebounds, and seven assists. These are more than satisfactory numbers for any NBA player.

Lin’s remarkable game on Feb. 4 against New Jersey was certainly a surprise, but it was nothing compared to the performance he put on six days later when NBA superstar Kobe Bryant and his Los Angeles Lakers came into town.

On this night, Lin out-performed Bryant on every level, recording a career high 38 points and leading the Knicks to victory over one of the best teams in the league.

It was this performance in particular that gained Lin national recognition. Every sports nut in the country was raving about the “lin-sanity.”

The Bay Area in particular is loving the “linsanity”. Lin grew up in Palo Alto and attended Palo Alto High School. In 2006 he lead his team to the CIF Division II state title and was named Northern California Division II player of the year.

Despite his high school success, Lin failed to achieve an athletic scholarship from any college. Carrying a 4.2 GPA through high school, Lin attended Harvard and was able to walk-on to their Division I basketball team.

After going undrafted in 2010 and being released by the Golden State Warriors and the Houston Rockets, Lin is now truly in a New York State of mind, enjoying every second of it.

“I think that he is a great player, but if he played in a city that wasn’t New York, he wouldn’t get as much television coverage as he has. It’s all the New York buzz and east coast bias,” said sophomore Kody Simmons.

Lin represents a great deal more than just a good basketball player. He is the first American player in the NBA to be of Chinese or Taiwanese descent, serving as a role model for Asian Americans nationwide. Most importantly he is a story of dedication and never giving up. The man seemingly came out of nowhere and is now the most talked about basketball player in the NBA.