Jeremy Lin's sudden rise amazes his former coach
Sacramento Kings head coach Keith Smart argues a call during the first half. (Jan. 28, 2012) Credit: AP
Keith Smart was Jeremy Lin's coach with the Warriors last season. Fast forward a year or so and Smart is now the coach of the Kings, who visited the Garden Wednesday night under the relentless glare of the "Lin-sanity" spotlight.
Smart recalled a few key things about Lin, who was an undrafted free agent when the Warriors signed him. Because Lin is from nearby Palo Alto, Calif., and had a large Asian-American following, Golden State held an introductory news conference, which is unheard of for a player who wasn't even assured of making the team's roster.
"We had a conversation last year when he first came in," Smart said. "Undrafted free agent, but has a press conference bigger than our first-round draft pick last year. But what his deal was, he's like, 'Coach, I don't like all this stuff.' "
Neither man knew that "this stuff" was nothing compared with what is happening now with the Knicks.
"This guy just showed up and it's transcended the world," Smart said. "I mean, it's all around the world. I got friends in the Philippines that are texting me about Jeremy Lin. You can't explain it. It's just an amazing story all around the world."
Smart, who is best known for hitting the winning shot for Indiana against Syracuse in the 1987 NCAA championship game, said he saw a lot of good things from Lin last season. But most of that came in practice as Lin played in only 29 games for the 36-46 Warriors and had three stints in the NBA D-League with Reno.
"Anyone who said that they knew he could do this, I got to know what their [lottery] number is tomorrow," Smart said.
"Because no one could have guessed that . . . Everyone says, 'Well, you should have played him more.' Well, you had Monta Ellis, top five NBA scorer, Steph Curry, a runner-up for Rookie of the Year, you had Acie Law and Reggie Williams, and you had a young undrafted guy that didn't know how to play in the NBA yet. No one could predict it, but you knew he had a work ethic."
Smart said he's seen improvement from Lin on his shooting and on his "vision on the floor. Just watching him keeping his dribble alive, keeping players on his hip, and knowing where the pass goes. He sees the play now before it happens.
"Before, he saw the rim. He would just fly to the rim and he was always on the floor. Now he knows when to go, where to go, where the ball needs to go. The guy has run up the ladder so fast, it's amazing what he's doing."
