Mercurial Hornets point guard adjusting to rock star status

Charlotte Hornets center Al Jefferson says playing in China alongside new teammate Jeremy Lin is like hanging out with a rock star.

It certainly looks that way.

Everywhere Lin has appeared during the Hornets' preseason tour, he's been mobbed by hordes of fans chanting his name and holding out posters and jerseys for his autograph.

Charlotte's first open team scrimmage, in Shenzhen, ended up with the Chinese - American star holding court in a group interview while his teammates looked on from outside the media scrum.

"Everybody loves him. That's not just over here (in Shenzhen), everywhere people love to see him. That's amazing," Jefferson said of Lin's massive popularity in China, where his grandparents were born.

Lin, who claims he has an emotional bond with the country due to his Chinese ancestry, paid back the cheering fans by scoring a team-high 16 points while dishing out four assists to help the Hornets beat the Los Angeles Clippers 106-94 at the Shenzhen Universiade Center on Sunday.

Lin received the loudest ovation in the packed 17,000-seat arena when he took the court midway through the first quarter, and he was cheered boisterously after every shot he made.

"I am just thankful for this. I come back to China almost every summer and every time they (fans) treat me very well," said Lin, who signed with the Hornets in a free-agent deal worth $4.3 million over two years.

However, the overwhelming support is sometimes a burden for the devout Christian, as he confessed in a recent interview with the Charlotte Observer.

"It can be scary, too," said Lin, who has more than four million followers on his micro-blog account.

Lin also revealed in the interview that he needs a personal bodyguard by his door so he can feel safe in his hotel room while visiting China.

"I can't get used to it (his fame in China) sometimes. It's not something I ever expected, but I am definitely very thankful for it, no question," the 27-year-old told China Daily earlier this year during a commercial tour for his watch sponsor, Tag Heuer.

After homegrown star Yao Ming retired in 2011, Lin became the new idol of Chinese fans after the Harvard graduate unexpectedly sparked the struggling New York Knicks to a winning surge in 2012, which inspired the "Linsanity" fad.

Lin's instant stardom saw him grace the covers of Sports Illustrated and Time magazine, and his No 17 Knicks' jersey became the league's top seller in early 2012.

"My grandparents were born and raised in China. I am not like 7-foot and I play point guard - there are a lot of different aspects that I feel ordinary (Chinese) fans can relate to," he said.

However, Lin was unable to replicate his success with the Knicks at his next two clubs - the Houston Rockets, Yao's former team, and the Los Angeles Lakers

"I feel like in the last three years I haven't been able to play to my full potential," he said.

"At first I was being crushed by the pressure. As I get older, I have slowly learned how to deal with it and really focus. When I completely do that, I think everything else is going to take care of itself."

Hornets owner Michael Jordan has called Lin the team's biggest acquisition in the offseason, and head coach Steve Clifford wants him to be aggressive at both ends of the court.

"I think he can take another step in his career. He's proven he can be a good NBA player and I know he wants to play more consistently. I think he can do that," said Clifford.

Lin said he was making the most of his trip "home" to build chemistry with his new teammates - including leading eight of them on a shopping excursion in Shenzhen.

"It's fun because they kept asking me things like 'What we gonna do?' They want to get a taste of China. It's cool that they are willing to do that," said Lin.

Kemba Walker, the Hornets' starting point guard, expects Lin's on-court strengths to boost the team and also his own play.

"We've been (playing each other) for quite some time, and he is very good," said Walker. "We push each other to get better. He is a great pick-and-roll player, I can definitely learn things from him in that aspect of the game."

The Hornets and Clippers will play their second and final game of the tour at Shanghai's Mercedes-Benz Arena on Wednesday night.

sunxiaochen@chinadaily.com.cn

(China Daily 10/14/2015 page24)