New America Media, News Report, Posted: Feb 10, 2012

NY Knicks guard Jeremy Lin has captured the national spotlight for leading his team to victory in its last two games. But, for many Chinese Americans, Lin is an inspiration for reasons other than his basketball prowess, reports Chinese media.

Chinese Americans now view Lin, the first Chinese-American to play in the NBA, as their new idol, for his ability to get into Harvard and the NBA successfully. Taiwan-based FTV reports that Lin has “inspired Taiwan's local basketball team and youths who are interested in playing basketball to go for their dreams."

During a recent appearance on Taiwan's Good TV, Lin said his mother, who appeared with him on the show, was supportive of his dream of playing professional basketball while a student at Palo Alto High School in California.

"Some of my mother's friends would tell her that she was wasting time by letting me play so much basketball. She would get criticized,” said Lin. “But she still let me play because she saw that basketball makes me happy… she just supported everything I did.”

Lin went on to say that once he got in to Harvard, the same mothers who were critical of the time he spent on the court began to ask about “which sports their kids should play to go to Harvard.”

The experience, Lin said, gave him a better appreciation for what his parents did. “Not many Asian parents would have done the same.”