Jeremy Lin returns to the Bay Area

Nope, that's not Jeremy Lin -- that's Thanh, who celebrates a birthday today. Happy Birthday to him.

Last night, Jeremy Lin, probably the top Asian-American basketball player in college basketball today, returned to the Bay Area, representing his current school Harvard as they played Santa Clara.

Lin is a cult hero for a lot of Asian people -- this guy can dunk. CBS-5 was there and covered this game and also below the video is a nice write-up from the Chronicle on Jeremy.


Playing hard and smart goes a long way for Lin
By Steve Kroner, San Francisco Chronicle

How does a 6-foot-3 guard put together a line of 17 points, eight rebounds, seven steals and five assists, the stat-sheet-stuffing performance Jeremy Lin had in Harvard's 66-53 win over George Washington on Wednesday?

"I just try to play as hard as I can every possession," Lin said in a phone interview Thursday. "If you're aware and you're high-energy, the ball will eventually bounce your way and you'll be able to make plays."

Santa Clara has the tough task of trying to limit Lin's playmaking when the Broncos host the Crimson on Monday night. Santa Clara head coach Kerry Keating said someone with Lin's do-a-bit-of-everything success needs talent and motivation.

"It wouldn't matter if it were Jeremy Lin or Player X from any school," Keating said. "If you play harder than anyone on the floor all the time, good things are usually going to happen.

"If you're a smart player as well, good things are going to happen in addition to that."

If Keating had contacted Lin a little earlier four years ago, Keating's former and current schools might be reaping the benefits today. Lin led Palo Alto High to the CIF Division II state title in his senior season of 2005-06. During that season, he had hoped one of three schools - Cal, Stanford or UCLA - would give him a scholarship.

Lin got no scholarship offers - from those three schools or any others - and then committed to Harvard. At the time, Keating was an assistant coach for the Bruins' Ben Howland.

After one of Palo Alto's postseason games, Keating talked with Lin, offering him a recruited walk-on opportunity in Westwood. Lin chose to stick with Harvard.

"It's not like I didn't know he wasn't good four or five years ago," Keating said. "I watched him win a championship. ... In hindsight now, given UCLA's current state, he'd probably be starting for UCLA at point guard."

And if Lin were starting for UCLA at point guard, he wouldn't be playing at the Leavey Center on Monday night and he wouldn't have scored 17 points and had nine assists in the Crimson's 73-68 victory over Santa Clara at Harvard last season.

As an Asian American, Lin has endured more than his share of taunts. "Everything you can think of - I've pretty much heard it all," he said.

When he went to the free-throw line during his 30-point performance in a 79-73 loss at Connecticut last month, someone in the stands reportedly blurted, "wonton soup."

Some players who get heckled - for whatever reasons - say they use those barbs as inspiration. Lin takes a different approach.

"I'm not very good in terms of using stuff for fuel," he said. "When I get angry, I play out of character. I'm more of a tune-it-out guy."

Lin has thrived at Harvard, but to project him as an NBA player might be a stretch. A scout who had nothing but good things to say about Lin as a college player believes it's highly unlikely Lin can make it in the league.

Though Lin acknowledged he'd like to play basketball for a living, whether in the NBA, the NBA Development League or overseas, he said, "I'm not focused on that at all. I don't want to sell my teammates short, be worrying about the wrong things, playing for the wrong reasons.

"The coaches and I aren't talking about any of that stuff at all until after the season."

One topic head coach Tommy Amaker, Lin and his teammates do discuss is winning the Ivy League championship. Believe it or not, Harvard has no Ivy League titles in men's basketball.

"We get a nice reminder every day at practice when we see all the girls' Ivy League championship banners and we have zero on our side," Lin said.

Read more: http://www.sfgate.com/cgi-bin/article.cgi?f=/c/a/2010/01/03/SPA31BCKUC.DTL#ixzz0bnjm9a7W

Cameron House closed

We were just informed in the last half-hour that Cameron House is closed for repairs until the week of January 17th. I apologize for the two teams that showed up today to be turned away.

Currently, the coaches are figuring out when to have practice before the games this weekend. Count on a practice after school Friday (half-day). Your coaches will inform you of what is going on and check back on the blog for further updates.

Oh John Wang

Saturday, I went to watch John Wang play on his high school team for the very first time. Here are his highlights...



HAPPY BIRTHDAY
And today we'd like to wish Calson a very Happy Birthday!

Bye Bye Beverlyn

Tomorrow school will resume and something will be different, Beverlyn will not be there. As she stood on the hill on the last day before break, she couldn’t hold it in any longer and started tearing up as her classmates and other students from St. Mary’s gave her hugs to say so long, farewell.

In my two years plus as Athletic Director, Beverlyn will be one of the students that will stick out to me for several reasons. Granted it’s a short sample size, but athletically, I haven’t seen anybody improve in such a short time ever. Not that she wasn’t good to begin with her first year of basketball, but her second year, she stepped up and was arguably the key, if not one of the biggest reasons why the 6th grade girls won the championship.

But besides that, what will stick out to me more than anything else is her speech at Awards Night. It’s not easy and I go around the classrooms joking around saying everybody should have a speech prepared. Yes, I’d love to see everyone give a little talk in front of everyone, because we want to know how you feel after you win an award.

So Beverlyn stood up there, accepting her Most Improved Player Award. She went down the list of pretty much every single person that helped her along the way. She thanked her coaches, teammates, myself, James and her family – most notably her father. If memory serves me correct, he wasn’t able to make it and it was unfortunate because this was Beverlyn’s shining moment.

Even before she was announced the winner, her classmates were chanting “Beaver,” her nickname. Her gratitude was sincere and that will be a moment that I personally will never forget.

Below are also some thoughts here classmates have shared about her leaving.

We will still see Beverlyn around at practices and games, but her presence will be sorely missed at school.

Miles: She always giggles when anyone says something. Bye and good luck.

Erica: I’ll miss her giggles and herself, of course. She has a really nice personality. We used to always fight, but then make up a few days later. Good luck at her new school and I’ll miss her a lot. I hope she'll visit more often.

Catharine: I will miss Beverlyn’s everything. She was cool and helps people. I will miss her.

Marissa: So the thing I’ll miss most bout Beverlyn are the good times we’ve had together as best friends. I hope she doesn’t forget me in the future cause true best friends stay together forever even if they are apart.

What makes her different from any other friend I’ve had in my whole entire lifetime, she always finds a way to make things work out between everyone. She’s always been a peacemaker if any of the other girls got in a fight with one another. She just makes this easier and better for everyone. I think she’s the person that changes us all. My most memorable story with Beverlyn is winning our first championship last year cause without her, our best player, we wouldn’t have gone to that very special game that might happen once in our lifetime. Beverlyn is thee closest best friend to me cause I always have that feeling that I can tell her anything and she wont judge me.

She mite laugh, but never totally judge me. I hope she doesn’t get a better friend than me and forget me. I'm sure I wouldn’t ever forget her. She’s a one of a kind friend that will catch you if you fall, never leave your side, and will always be apart of my life. I hope we still communicate after she leaves either by email, calling or even aim. Many memories we’ve had will stay with me for life. Once a SAINT, ALWAYS A SAINT! Seeing Beverlyn just walk out that door and never coming back, will rip my heart rite out of my chest. It’s going to hurt a lot and I don’t no if I can heal without her. When Beverlyn is gone, I’m sure I’m going to feel this empty part in my heart just having a cold breeze rush through it. Having to lose a best friend like this is just like fire burning your skin away. I'LL MISS YOU BEVERLYN! YOUR ALWAYS GONNA BE MY BEST FRIEND FOR LIFE!! A&F (aLWAYS AND fOREVER). HAVE FUN IN YOUR NEW SCHOOL!

Sunday practices tomorrow, Happy Birthday

We resume Sunday practices at NDV tomorrow. Check the link on the sidebar or scroll down a bit on the blog to see your time.

Also, don't forget to vote for your top moment of 2009.

And we wish a very special Happy Birthday to Emily.

The Top 10 Moments of 2009

I gathered up the Top 10 moments of St. Mary's Athletics of the year 2009. Of course, this is just my opinion and feel free to leave a comment at the bottom as to what should be higher or lower on the list. Nobody ever really leaves comments though...

I've also set up a poll on the side here for YOU to vote for what you think should be the number one moment.

And a quick note -- for example. The 6th graders are now 7th graders, but at the time of the event, they were in 6th grade. So please note that.




10. Vivian wins the pentathlon (May 30, 2009)

Vivian Leung kept the St. Mary’s pentathlon streak alive by winning the pentathlon at the annual CYO Track and Field meet. This was the third straight year someone from St. Mary’s had won the event.

Vivian took first in three of the five events, winning the high jump, long jump and 100 meter dash — the first three events of the competition to build a healthy lead. She finished her winning performance placing second in the 400 meters, an entire lap around the track.



9. Baseball wins their first game (April 22, 2009)

In only year two, the 7th and 8th grade baseball team won their first game 12-8, with some timely hitting and pitching.

Trailing 7-3, St. Mary’s put together an inning for the ages. They drew five walks, stole more than 10 bases and strung together some clutch hitting and put an 8 spot on the scoreboard – the maximum amount of runs allowed in an inning due to the mercy rule.

After Derek struck out the final batter of the game, the players sprinted off the field and didn't even know they won. 12-8 was the final.



8. Soccer team gets in the win column (October 10, 2009)

Double ten proved lucky as the 7th and 8th grade boys soccer team decided to join the party with a win of their own. After being shut-out for their entire rookie season, they got on the board quick in their first game of the year and scored two goals.

Even though they lost the season opener, it was a sign of things to come. In their big game, they jumped out to an early 1-0 lead thanks to a Derek penalty kick, and then Derek sent a beautiful corner kick that Tommy basically walked into the net.

Up a goal, they played as conservative of a defense as they could and hung on for the 2-1 victory.




7. 6th grade boys win their first game (December 11, 2009)

The 6th grade finally got enough players out for a basketball team and their results came a lot quicker than expected. In game number two on the season, the 6th graders, resilient as ever, matched the other team point for point, before going on an 8-0 run to end the game.

Their 14-6 victory was clutch shot after clutch shot, with Hartman leading the way with 6 points. They iced it when Anthony hit a bank shot for the first points in his career.




6. Olivia wins MVP, plays baseball, basketball and volleyball

Olivia Chan played all three sports in her 8th grade year and had as good of as year as you can hope for. Olivia served the 8th grade girls volleyball team to a win in their first year. She pitched and batted fifth in the lineup for baseball. And she took home the Girls Most Valuable Player Award for basketball, cementing her legacy at St. Mary’s.




5. 6th grade boys playoff run (February 15, 2009)

Down 15-6 in their playoff game, the 6th grade boys made a furious comeback. They went on an 8-0 run and the 6th graders were rolling. The St. Mary's crowd was "jacked up," in one of the most incredible few minutes of St. Mary's basketball I have ever seen in my lifetime. Fans were standing, screaming and chanting defense.

I've watched a good amount of games, basketball, baseball, volleyball and soccer and never have I felt the rush I did when the 6th grade went on that run.

Maybe I am exaggerating a bit, but that 8-0 the 6th graders had, storming back to make it a one point game, was as into a basketball game I've been since the Warriors playoff run of 2007.

They ended up losing the game, but that incredible few minutes will be hard to top for years to come.



4. 4th/5th graders volleyball win (October 25, 2009)

They were a point away from winning a set, only to lose on three straight points. But their next game proved that that one set wasn’t a fluke.

They went to Pacifica and won decisively, including a furious comeback in the second set. A dominating first set 25-15 win, and a come from behind 25-23 win for the set and match. They were serving the ball over consistently, returning the ball over, talking to each other.

It was a wonderful scene as all the girls jumped up and down after the game, celebrating their first victory ever. The look on their faces were priceless and an image that they will be able to carry on for the rest of their lives.




3. 8th grade girls go out with a bang

Following their first tournament game, coaches Alex Kawashima, Matt Chung and James Chiu all felt that this year was different.

And so it was, as the 8th grade girls went (7-1) in the regular season, and won a tension filled playoff game where Sophia Nguyen hit free-throws with less than a minute left to send the girls to the championship.

The season featured so many memorable moments with Jessica Wong hitting her three-pointers, Shari Wong and her monster blocks, as well as Vivian Leung making a lay-up with less than 10 seconds left for a win.

The class of 2009 played remarkable in their final year at St. Mary’s and set a standard for years to come.



2. 8th grade girls volleyball championship run

The 8th grade girls had as rough of a rookie season as you could imagine, as they didn’t even hit 20 points a single time in their games last year.

But they had to figure there was nowhere to go but up. But this far up was something that even they had a hard time believing.

Game two of the Flame Tournament set a precedent for the rest of the season. They led in the first set only to give up a huge lead. Yet, they come back and won the second set for their first set victory. They won another set in the third round and kept that momentum into the regular season, winning their first four games to start off the year (4-0).

They struggled in the second half of the regular season and ended with a .500 record, (4-4) backpedaling into the playoffs. In their playoff game, everyone was at their best. Bump, serve, spike – ticket punched to the championship. 25-15, 25-17. The girls dominated.



1. Team of five wins the championship, the 6th grade girls story

Winning a championship with only five players is difficult, so how would you characterize winning it with only four?

Beverlyn had just fouled out of the game and had to watch the final seconds of the game from the bench, hoping her teammates could make the 13-12 St. Mary’s lead stand.

And was the buzzer sounded, the five girls and their coaches celebrating like there was no tomorrow. They were champions.

This team lost three straight to start the year, but got it together and made their run at the right time. They beat the number one team in the division in convincing fashion on their home floor, and saw improvements from each and every girl on the team.

It was an incredible run all season as this team has only 5 girls on the team. They don't have the luxury of rest like most teams, but yet they pulled through.

This wasn’t a championship where one or two players carried the load. Every girl pitched in on the offensive and defensive end and they have a first place trophy to show for it.

Sunday NDV Practice Schedule

3rd/4th grade: 11 a.m. - 12:30 p.m.
7th grade RED: 12:15 p.m. - 2 p.m.
7th grade WHITE: 1:15 p.m. - 3 p.m.
5th grade: 2:45 p.m. - 4:30 p.m.
6th grade: 3:45 p.m. - 5:30 p.m.
8th grade: 5:15 p.m. - 7 p.m.

Weekday practices will also resume this week at Cameron House.