Harvard University is known for its top notch academics, but not exactly as the hotbed of hoops excellence. It has been more than 60 years since the nation's top-ranked academic institution has been invited to compete in the NCAA March Madness tournament. But that could change this year, thanks, in part, to star basketball player Jeremy Lin, who some say has a shot to going to the NBA. Host Michel Martin talks with Lin about his skills on the court and some of the racism he's faced as an Asian-American player.

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Our summarized transcript:

But first, we want to tell you about an interesting young man who might be a part of basketballs future. Now Harvard is known for its top flight academics, but it is not exactly known as a hotbed of hoops excellence. Its been 64 years since the nations top ranked academic institution has been invited to compete in March Madness. But Harvard is hoping to snap that streak this year, thanks to its star and team co-captain, Jeremy Lin.

Now, heres another thing that makes Lin stand out besides his play. Hes Asian-American, which makes him somewhat of a novelty in the sport. This has not gone unnoticed by many members of the press and by spectators. And we will talk more about that with Jeremy Lin. Hes is here with us now at the studios at Harvard. Welcome, thank you for joining us.

MARTIN: Did you go there (Harvard) intending to play basketball?

Mr. LIN: Yeah, I went to Harvard with the intention of playing basketball but obviously I didnt know how it all turn out or whether I would stay for the entire four years.

MARTIN: Where do you think your love of the game comes from?

Mr. LIN: My parents, you know, my dad loved playing basketball and so do my brothers. And we used to play all the time growing up and I just fell in love with it at an early age and, you know, I have had a little hoop in my house ever since I was, you know, a baby. And so, I was exposed really early on. I just kind of fell in love with the game that way.

MARTIN: Your dad is from Taiwan originally. Youre born here, but your dad is from Taiwan. Why do you think he loves the game so much?

Mr. LIN: Ive asked him and he just says, he loves the game but hes not exactly sure why. He saw it on TV and he just describes it as sweeping him off his feet and he just really enjoyed the movements, I guess, and how the game was played and eventually he started playing himself.

MARTIN: You know, you coming out of high school despite the fact that your team won the state championship, you were largely bypassed by colleges with a powerhouse basketball programs including Stanford, which is not far from where you grew up. Do you have any idea why that is?

Mr. LIN: I think its multiple reasons. First, I was really skinny, and I wasnt that tall, you know, me being Asian-American that may have had something to do with it. Im not exactly sure to what extent.

MARTIN: You think so on a negative way?

Mr. LIN: Yeah, I believe it impacted my recruitment but I dont think thats a sole reason. I think, there are a lot of other issues as well.

MARTIN: But why, why would it, why would it you think theres a stereotype that, you know, Asian-American guys cant play the game? I just cant bring myself to say that movie title, you know, like, that involves jumping, you know, I just cant. But do you think it has something to do with people just not thinking that, I dont know, what do you think?

Mr. LIN: I think in America, basketball is predominantly for, you know, black and white people. And so, I think it is just, yeah, I mean, I guess people arent used to it and people dont expect it. And maybe theres a stereotype there that, you know, maybe there are some discrimination there. Im not exactly sure of what everyones thinking, but I think in general Asian-Americans are seen or looked down upon on the basketball court.

MARTIN: And forgive me, because this cant be, you know, the most fun thing to talk about. I understand that your ethnicity is noticed by some spectators. I am told that you actually still get slurs on the court. What do the people say?

Mr. LIN: Yeah. I mean, I get Asian jokes and, you know, when other fans try to heckle us, I dont really hear from other players very much. That was more of the case when I was in high school, but in college its mostly just the fans and they say just stuff about, you know, stereotypical jokes in terms of go play the orchestra or yell out beef and broccoli or sweet and sour chicken. And they call me sometimes, I heard Chinese import, go back to China, slanty eyes, can you see the scoreboard. So pretty much everything you can think of.

MARTIN: Are you surprised by this at this day and age? I mean, it is (unintelligible) there havent been standout Asian players. Basketball has become international sport, are you surprised by this?

Mr. LIN: At this point, Im not surprised just because Im used to it. But I think when it first started happening, when I was in junior high and high school, I was definitely surprised and kind of shocked because all my Asian-Americans friends growing up played basketball with me and there are other Asian-Americans that I knew that were playing in a lot of rec leagues that I was in. But it seemed like the higher the competition got, the more racial slurs came my way, I guess.

MARTIN: Well, Im sorry to hear that.

Mr. LIN: Sorry.

MARTIN: If basketball doesnt workout or even if it does, is theres something else that youre interested in that you think you might like to do?

Mr. LIN: Yeah, I would like to get into ministry, potentially be a pastor. I would like to attend seminary somewhere down the line and also to work in inner-city communities to help with underprivileged children. Right now, my dream after basketball is to be able to go back to my hometown and work for the church that I grew up in which is the Chinese Church in Christ, located in Mountain View. And also, theres a lot of ministry that can be done in East Palo Alto, which is right across the highway from my house.

MARTIN: Jeremy Lin is a senior guard for the Harvard University Crimson basketball team. He is studying economics and sociology and he was kind enough to join us from the studios at Harvard. Thank you so much for taking time out of your busy schedule to join us. Good luck.

Mr. LIN: Thanks for having me.

Source: npr.org