Jeremy Lin’s perseverance wins respects of Americans: Locke

People's Daily Online: Yao Ming and Jeremy Lin are quite popular in the United States. Do you like basketball?

Gary Locke: I very much like basketball and I come from Seattle and Washington. And our Seattle Supersonic is actually one NBA championship several year ago. But there is a great love affair throughout all of America with Jeremy Lin. And of course, Yao Ming.was a great athlete and was highly respected throughout the America. So it is gratifying, it is great to see all the attention in the America and here in Asia over Jeremy Lin.

Asked about the reason why Yao Ming and Jeremy Lin is so popular, he said, “Yao Ming is a towering presence, a real gentleman on the court and off the court and very much believe in great sportsmanship.”

The greatest interest over Jeremy Lin is because nobody ever recognized him. However, he suddenly exploded on the scene. He had been overlooked by many scouts, and talents scouts and sports scouts. He has amazing skills and just shows the power of perseverance, self-confidence and determination that he was able to stick out when a lot of people and teams didn’t think much of his skills. He persevered and finally succeeded, Locke said.