Paly’s resident varsity pointguard, Jeremy Lin sat down with me and answered some questions about his season, his game, and his interests.

Q: What do you think has been your best accomplishment with Paly basketball team?

A: My best accomplishment with Paly basketball has to be winning CCS [Central Coast Sectionals] as a freshman even though I didn’t do much. I guess, I’d say compiling records of 25-4 and 20-1 in the two years that I started on varsity. Also, winning first-team all league and sophomore of the year last year. Also, Cooper Miller and I shared the Team MVP and All-League MVP freshman year on JV.

Q: Throughout your entire basketball career, what has been your favorite memory or game?

A: My favorite memory and game has to be last year’s second game against Gunn. It is my favorite game because I don’t like Gunn very much and I scored eight out of the last 10 points and had the assist on the other two points to win the game by three.

Q: So, I know you love [Coach Peter] Diepenbrock as a person, but how do you feel about him as a coach? Are your practices modeled after boot camp?

A: Diepenbrock is a great coach and I think he is extremely under-appreciated. He’s the backbone of our team and he keeps our team disciplined and running properly. He spends much of his week preparing video and scouting reports, while thinking of ways to make us a better team. Our practices aren’t modeled after boot camp, but they can be intense.

Q: What are your goals for Paly basketball?

A: I want to win CCS this year and next year, I want to win league this year and next year, and I want to go as far in states as possible, hopefully reaching the championship game one of these years.

Q: What are your goals for yourself academically?

A: Maintain a relatively high GPA with zero or one B’s and score above 2200 on the SATs, even though those tests are extremely stupid. But above all, I just want to try my best and I’ll be happy with any result if I know that I tried my hardest.

Q: What about goals for college? Where do you hope to go?

A: I hope to go to Stanford or UCLA, because Stanford is a great academic school and my brother goes to UCLA. Also, I’m pretty sure that both those schools are ranked in the top five for food. That’s a really big deal to me. I hope I will be able to play basketball at Stanford, but I think I have a better chance making it to those schools academically.

Q: How does this Paly basketball season compare to your last season?

A: This season is very different because everyone is very determined to win CCS, especially after our heartbreaking overtime loss last year. Also, we’re clicking much better as a team, winning games, and having fun along the way.

Q: I know most basketball players have idols or role models. Whom do you look up to? Who inspires you to play basketball?

A: My biggest role model is my older brother because he’s a really great and encouraging person. But in terms of basketball, my role model was Michael Jordan, but he retired. Now, I really like watching Vince Carter and Tracy McGrady play.

Q: Which is your favorite basketball team of all time and why?

A: My favorite basketball team is now the Miami Heat because I like Shaq and Wade. I’m not jumping on the Heat bandwagon because they became my favorite team right when Shaq got traded. I’m the first person I know to like that team.

Q: One of the most vital parts of successful basketball is a cohesive team. How do you personally try to connect your team together?

A: Our trip to Hawaii was an extremely fun and important trip because we lived with each other for an entire week and hung out all day. I personally try to connect with my teammates by talking and joking around.

Q: Do you have any superstitions before you play basketball games?

A: Yeah, I pray to God before every game. That’s my only superstition.

Q: What do you think are the strongest aspects of your basketball game?

A: I think the strongest aspects of my game are my vision of the basketball court, decision-making and driving to the hoop.

Q: What do you think you need to improve on?

A: I need to improve by getting stronger, quicker, and shooting more accurately.

Q: In what ways do you try to be a leader on the court?

A: I call out plays, and I try to help someone whenever possible. I also like to joke with my teammates on the court just to loosen them up, but when things are more serious, I try to get all my teammates on the same page.

Q: How do your teammates influence you?

A: They are a huge influence because they really encourage me and make me want to play basketball with them. Even some of the players who don’t get a chance to play as much really influence me because they are all great people and they are always there supporting the team. My coach also has a huge influence on me and he makes sure that our team doesn’t get complacent after winning several games. He wants us to come out with high intensity everyday.

Q: So do you enjoy torturing the JV team? Do you try to scare and intimidate its players?

A: I don’t really torture, scare, or intimidate the JV team; I just laugh at them. I usually try to keep myself from being tortured and violated by the people on varsity.

Q: So you transferred to Paly from the Gunn district, correct? What were the main factors for transfering?

A: It’s pretty simple why I transferred. The science department here is ridiculously good.

Q: What does playing Gunn mean to you? Do you ever feel that you are betraying your roots?

A: Gunn is always an extremely emotional and fun game, especially because my brother never got the chance that I think he deserved at Gunn. But to be honest, that didn’t affect my decision to come here. I don’t really feel like I’m betraying my roots because I live on the Paly side. I did go to JLS, but I only went there in the first place because I knew more people there, then the science department attracted me to Paly.

Q: As you know, prom is coming up fast. Who would be your ideal prom date?

A: My prom date has to be someone who is attractive, has a great personality, and is willing to pay for my dinner.

Q: As a basketball expert I’d like to know what your favorite game shoe is and why? And what type of shoe do you recomend others to buy?

A: My favorite game shoe has to be the Nike Shox BB4. Those are the best shoes that have ever been created because of durability, comfort, and appearance. I bought two pairs of those, but they don’t fit me anymore. I’ve been trying to buy new ones from Eastbay for several months, but they only sell size 18.

Q: I know that you are very active in school work and love to be social. How do you manage to balance school, friends, and basketball?

A: I usually catch up on my social life or sleep during class and on the weekends. A lot of the time, I hang out with friends while doing homework and playing basketball. It’s tough when I have so much work, but I just try to manage my time properly so that I am never overloaded any particular day.