There were no dunks by the Continentals’ freshman backup point guard wearing No. 3, and no Lin cheering sections — unless you count the two dozen drunken Hamilton Delta Upsilon fraternity brothers who stood baseline and taunted the visting Tufts players.
But Joseph Lin, the younger brother of Knick sensation Jeremy, made the most of his six minutes of playing time, banking in a jumper to give the Continentals a 17-16 lead with about 10 minutes left in the first half, and dishing for two assists. He did have one costly turnover right before the half ended.
After the Continentals’ 67-64 win — which put them on the cusp of a playoff berth — Joseph Lin was walking off the court and a scorekeeper showed him the halftime Knicks score against L.A.
“Know who your brother is guarding?” the scorekeeper asked Lin, before providing the answer in the next breath. “Kobe!”
“Are you serious? Kobe?” said the 5-11 Lin, before rushing to get changed, hoping to catch the second half of the Knicks-Lakers tilt on TV.
At 135 pounds, Joseph Lin was the lightest basketball player on the court Friday night — by a landslide. When the Continentals ran a pick-and-roll midway through the first half, Lin ran smack into 230-pound James Long of Tufts, and nearly got bounced to Utica. But Lin quickly maintained his balance and sprinted downcourt to bank in his only points of the night.
“Joe is physically a little smaller than guys. He came in at 135, which, for a college athlete, is not exactly a power position,” says Hamilton men’s basketball coach Adam Stockwell, in his first year coaching at the small, liberal arts school of about 1,600. “But from a basketball perspective, he’s probably one of our most complete basketball players. He has a great court sense, a great feel. He’s very good at running ball screens. He’s our best passer. For his minutes on the season, his assist-to-turnover ratio is great (2.0).”
And Hamilton’s starting point guard, sophomore Greg Newton from Barrington, R.I., says that Lin is “really coming into his own,” and hasn’t needed much mentoring.
Lin declined several requests for an interview with the Daily News, citing his family’s wish for privacy.
Stockwell says that he didn’t know much about Joseph Lin when he got the head coaching job last summer. Lin introduced himself to Stockwell at a team barbeque, instantly making a good impression.
“Who doesn’t like a guy who gives them the ball?” Stockwell said, adding that Lin is very “low-key” and hasn’t made much noise about his suddenly famous older brother, although Lin’s Hamilton teammates are enjoying the Lin connection.
“It’s been fun with his brother (Jeremy). When we were on the road last week, the guys were in the hotel, watching the Knicks play New Jersey, Jeremy Lin’s breakout game. The guys on the team have really embraced it,” says Stockwell. “And Jeremy was up for most of the week at Hamilton over Thanksgiving break. We had two tournaments, (the NBA) was still in lockout. (Joseph’s) whole family came up and guys got a chance to meet Jeremy. He worked out in the back here. It was great.”
In limited minutes, Joseph Lin is averaging 3.1 points, but he has 58 assists, tied for second-highest on the team. Stockwell thinks there is great promise ahead for the youngest Lin brother.
“Joe’s got a lot of basketball ability, a great future,” says Stockwell. “He’s really meshed well. He’s made our freshman class of six a pretty good class. The guys trust him, believe in him, know that he’s going to find them when he can. He’s had a really good year for someone I didn’t know about when I first got the job.”
