Jeremy Lin growing tired of all the attention

It has been quite a rise for point guard Jeremy Lin, who went from hoping he would not get cut (what would have been the third time this year) from the Knicks a few weeks ago to gaining international acclaim with an eyebrow-raising 12-game stretch. On Friday, the league anticipated a media crush for Lin and his participation in the BBVA Rising Stars game that they gave him his own 20-minute press conference.

At this point, Lin wouldn’t mind having the attention rolled back a bit. “I am definitely surprised that people are still talking about Linsanity or whatever,” he said. “I think, hopefully, as the season progresses it will go from that to New York Knicks. And hopefully the Knicks can win basketball games and we can make a good push after the All-Star break and people will start talking about the Knicks and not necessarily me.”

The Knicks are still very much a work in progress. The had a seven-game winning streak that got the Lin ball rolling, but they have dropped two of their last three games as the team has been working star small forward Carmelo Anthony back into the lineup. That has been a hot topic of discussion, but when asked on Friday about which players have helped him along the most during his rise, Lin pointed first to his best friend on the team, Landry Fields. But Anthony was next.

“Carmelo, I think a lot of people have asked how is he fitting in, what is his attitude,” Lin said, “but he has definitely taken me under his wing, he talks to me pretty much every timeout, given me a lot of advice, he told me to keep being aggressive, keep doing what I’ve been doing and we’ll learn to play off of each other.”

Lin has not been shy about going to veterans for guidance, and they have been supportive. Apart from Fields and Anthony, Lin said a couple other veterans have offered big-time help. “The other two that really stand out, Tyson Chandler and Jared Jeffries,” Lin said. “Tyson is an unbelievable leader, a professional, he plays the way he carries himself. He called me last night (after the Knicks’ loss to the Heat), just to kind of pick me up and give me words of encouragement. And Jared, the most underrated guy on our team, he is an absolute team-first guy. His defense has been unbelievable. He is always talking to me and he has been in the league for a while.”