USC's Bob Cantu discusses Jeremy Lin of the Knicks

Since this has been the toughest and most disappointing season of my career, because of five season ending injuries we've endured, I decided to write about Jeremy Lin and what he has done for the NBA and for basketball.

I have been watching him play and I must say I have Linsanity. This kid can really play. He has such a natural feel for the game. It makes every coach at every level ask themselves if there is someone on their bench that can help their team. I think this is good for the NBA and great for basketball.

Evaluating and recruiting is not an exact science. Players change everyday and every year. Its impossible to project exactly how good a player will be. We all have things we look for and experiences in the past to base our evaluations from. With that being said there will always be surprises and disappointments. I saw Jeremy play in the high school playoffs his senior year and thought he was a good player but didn't see him as a scholarship player at the D-1 level. I thought he would be a good walk on.  Obviously I was wrong, but at the time that's where he was as a player.

I remember when current Philadelphia 76er Nikola Vucevic was a freshman here at USC and played very limited minutes and then became the 16th pick in the NBA draft two years later. I remember when we signed Nick Young, Taj Gibson, Demar Derozan and knowing they were going to be good but not sure how good. They are all impact NBA players now.

I also remember signing Derrick Williams from La Mirada HS at USC before being forced to release him because of coaching change, and people telling me "who is he, he isn't rated" and then he ended up the No. 2 pick in the draft two years later.

Coaching and recruiting are never easy but it is always exciting to see who the next sleeper will be.

Getting back to Jeremy Lin, I really think he will have a great career because he has poise and an amazing feel for the game. I hope he continues to have success and even though I am a Laker fan he has made me watch all NY Knicks games of late.

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