President Obama says he saw Linsanity coming when the rest of the world did not.
Speaking on a Podcast Thursday with Bill Simmons of Grantland.com, Obama, a Harvard Law School graduate, said he’s known about Lin for some time.
“I knew about Jeremy Lin before you did or everybody else did because Arne Duncan, my Secretary of Education, was captain of the Harvard team,” the President said. “And so way back when, Arne and I were playing [basketball] and he said, ‘I’m telling you we’ve got this terrific guard named Jeremy Lin at Harvard.’
“Then one of my best friends, his son is a freshman at Harvard, and so when he went on a recruiting trip to Harvard he saw Lin in action. So I’ve been on the Jeremy Lin bandwagon for a while.”
Obama told Simmons he has NBA League Pass on his iPad and periodically watches games while working.
Asked by Simmons if he was taking credit for Linsanity, Obama answered: “I can’t take credit for it. I’m just saying I was there early. … What’s interesting is the fact that somehow folks were missing it in practice. … Because you’ve got to assume that during scrimmages he was running the pick-and-roll pretty well.
“And it is a terrific story. He seems like a wonderful young man. And, look, it elevates this great sport all round the world. It can’t hurt ratings for basketball in China.”
Asked about Obama’s comments Friday after practice, Lin said he hoped to meet the President.
“That’s part of the Harvard network and being a part of the Harvard family,” Lin said. “It means a lot. They support me as I support them. I got a chance to meet with Arne Duncan and work out with him last year. That was a pleasure. Maybe sometime, somewhere down the road I can meet the President as well.”
Photo: CNN/SI
