Lin great role model for young Asian-Americans

For many Jeremy Lin fans, he is more than a sensational basketball player. He's an important cultural figure who is helping to break down stereotypes about Asian-Americans.

Lin, who has taken the NBA by storm this past week, is the first American-born player of Taiwanese or Chinese descent. And Jeff Yang, who writes an online column called Tao Jones for The Wall Street Journal, says it's impossible to overstate the impact the Knicks point guard has had this past week.

"He's been transformative," Yang said. "We've always had this stereotype of being intellectual and not physical. Well, he's turned that on its head. He went to Harvard, but he also pursued his dream . . . I really think the last Asian-American to have this kind of impact on the Asian-American psyche and culture was Bruce Lee. People can't get enough of him."

That is certainly the case in New York's Chinatown, where Margaret Chin, the City Council member who represents the district, says everyone has been glued to their televisions on Knicks game nights.

"I even went on YouTube to look him up the other night," she said. "We have a lot of basketball fans down here, a lot of basketball courts . . . We are looking forward to having him come and visit."

Rex Walters, who is half-Japanese, was the last Asian-American to play in the NBA. Now the head basketball coach at the University of San Francisco, Walters believes that Lin can be an important role model for young Asian-American athletes.

Said Walters: "I don't really look Asian, but Jeremy does. There's a lot of kids out there in the Asian community that will be able to look at him playing and see themselves out there. They will start to think that this is something possible out there for them."