Jeremy Lin Teams With One Day Wages To Improve Education For Girls
Jeremy Lin is back in the spotlight.
The Brooklyn Nets star guard has teamed up with One Day Wages to help raise awareness for girl’s education and has pledged to donate his March 17 game check against the Boston Celtics of approximately $30,000 to the cause.
Aside from that, Lin has also pledged to donate $100 for every three-pointer he converts over the team’s last 22 games. The organization has set an overall online goal of $200,000.
“Millions of girls across the globe are unable to get the education they need to provide for themselves and their families,” Lin recently wrote on the organization’s web site. “This is due to unaffordable school fees, forced child marriage, lack of sanitary products when they reach puberty, and many other barriers. My hope is to shed some light on these issues, and invite you to join me in taking action.”
On the court, Lin is also back in the saddle for the Nets after missing two months of action with a left hamstring injury. In all, the Nets’ big offseason acquisition has played in just about a fourth of the team’s games, nursing an assortment of leg and hamstring injuries.
In a recent battle against the Utah Jazz, Nets’ fans got a brief glimpse of what might have been, as Lin registered seven points and three assists in just 16 minutes. Teammates will tell you numbers alone don’t tell the whole story of what Lin brings to the mix.
“He’s been a big key to this team,” forward Trevor Booker said. “To have him back means a lot for the team. He’s one of our leaders, so when he’s on the court, we’re definitely more confident, and I think it shows.”
Already with Lin back in the lineup, the Nets have found a way to end a 16-game losing streak, recently knocking off the Kings in Sacramento for only their third road win of the season. In 20 minutes, Lin bagged 17 points and five assists, teaming with center Brooks Lopez to score 14 of the team’s final 18 points down the stretch in their 109-100 victory.
“He’s made me a better coach, I know that,” Kenny Atkinson said. “The experience, the calm… the comfort level I have, I have to coach a lot less, which is a good thing for our team. It’s what we thought when we brought him in. The [few] games that he’s played with us, it’s kind of what I thought. I think he’ll get better.”
Through 60 games, Lin was the team’s second-leading scorer overall behind Lopez at 13.3 points per game and had scored in double figures in the 13 games in which he played more than 15 minutes. Just as impressively, Lin has totaled 12 assists against just four turnovers in his limited minutes after missing 26 games.
With just 22 games remaining and the Nets sitting dead last in the NBA standings, chances are the Nets won’t risk things with Lin by asking him to do too much too soon. Atkinson expressed as much before Friday night’s game.
“We’re going to gradually increase him,” he said. “We’ll get the information from our performance team and doctors. We’re not going to rush this thing. We’re going to do it gradually.”
Even with him being so limited in first season back in New York, Lin remains a fan favorite, as many still salute him for his run of “Linsanity” with the Knicks when he emerged from nowhere in 2012 to average 23 points and nine assists during a 12-game stretch just before the All-Star break.
[Featured Image by Michael Reaves/Getty Images]
