Obama: I knew about Jeremy Lin before everyone else

President Barack Obama says he was ahead of the curve on Linsanity.

Appearing on a podcast with ESPN's Bill Simmons, Obama talked about the New York Knicks point guard, the role of sports in the presidency, and, of course, the Chicago Bulls.

Lin, like Obama, is a Harvard graduate—and Obama said he caught wind of Lin's skill when Lin was still in school.

"And I knew about Jeremy before you did, or everybody else did, because Arne Duncan, my Secretary of Education, was captain of the Harvard team," Obama told Simmons. "And so way back when, Arne and I were playing and he said, I’m telling you, we’ve got this terrific guard named Jeremy Lin at Harvard."

— FULL TRANSCRIPT: B.S. REPORT WITH BARACK OBAMA

Simmons also asked about the importance of a President throwing out a decent ceremonial first pitch at baseball games, and Obama brought up George Bush's post-9/11 strike at the World Series, adding that he was visiting soldiers in Iraq and speaking at a basketball gym.

"And somebody just handed me a ball and said, 'Come on, Mr. President, take a shot.' And I said, 'OK, and I shot it and swished it from the 3-point line.' And the amount of excitement that those folks had was surprising to me.

"But I think it just sort of reminded me of the kind of bond that sports creates in people. People—for all our differences politically, regionally, economically—most folks understand sports. Probably because it’s one of the few places where it’s a true meritocracy. There’s not a lot of BS. Ultimately, who’s winning, who’s losing, who’s performing, who’s not—it’s all laid out there."

Naturally, Simmons brought up Obama's beloved Bulls, asking how often he hoped to welcome the Bulls as NBA champions.

"Every year," Obama said. "And it hasn't happened yet, but it will happen."

Asked if that was meant as a guarantee, Obama replied: "Well, I've got another five years here," causing Simmons to note the implied guarantee that Obama would be re-elected in November.

Called on it, the president laughed and said: "Somewhere along the line, my Bulls are going to come through here. Absolutely."