Like a lot of people, Rice coach Ben Braun missed out early on Jeremy Lin.
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Jeremy Lin is the latest craze in the NBA. (AP)
Despite interest from Lin, who was from Palo, Alto, Calif., Braun, then the coach at California, did not offer a scholarship to Lin out of high school. Lin’s first choice, Stanford, also did not offer a scholarship.
Lin eventually went to Harvard, where he played from 2006-2010.
“I’m not embarrassed,” Braun said this week. “Lots of people missed out. To say he was under-recruited is an understatement.”
Lin had 17 points and six rebounds in a 67-63 loss to Rice in 2008. The following year, Lin had 14 points and three rebounds in an 85-64 win.
“I am very happy for Jeremy,” Braun said. “He gave me a big hug after both games. He’s certainly a better player now and has earned everything he’s got.”
After college, Lin went undrafted and eventually made free-agent stops with the Golden State Warriors and Houston Rockets before being picked up by the New York Knicks.
Since becoming a starter with the Knicks in the past week, Lin has scored 129 points, the most by any player in his first five games since the NBA-ABA merger in 1976.
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Braun also told me stories of a couple other future NBA stars he missed on during his college coaching career.
As the story goes, Steve Nash wanted to play for Braun while he was at Eastern Michigan.
Braun passed and Nash eventually went to Santa Clara. At Cal, Braun also passed on Chuck Hayes, who went to Kentucky.
“Those things happen,” Braun said.
And then there was a kid named LeBron James from Akron, Ohio.
Braun knew James’ high school coach and even managed to bring James for a campus visit during his junior year in high school. Braun recalls telling James’ mother: “Your son will never play a day in college.”
James, who became a superstar with the Cleveland Cavaliers before joining the Miami Heat last season, left his mark even though he never signed with Cal.
He wrote his initials on a chair in Braun’s office.
“I told him that’s a commitment,” Braun joked.
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