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Taipei. He’s not quite a local boy made good, but he’ll do: NBA sensation Jeremy Lin, born and bred in America, is inspiring a feverish following in his ancestral home of Taiwan, a society craving true heroes.

Lin, born 23 years ago in the United States to Taiwanese parents, only speaks halting Mandarin, but his triumphs with the New York Knicks are being hailed as grounds for island-wide celebration.

“Lin-Sanity: Coming from Behind to Score Five Wins in a Row,” Taiwan’s mass-circulation United Daily News roared across its front page after another successful weekend for Lin, the first US-born NBA player of Chinese descent.

Both the print and electronic media have pulled out all the stops to add to the adulation of the 191-centimetre (6ft 3in) Harvard graduate, citing every new achievement with relish.

The joy knew no bounds after point guard Lin’s career-high 38 points over the weekend led the Knicks to victory, outshining LA Lakers’ superstar shooting guard Kobe Bryant.

“Hao the God: Writing a New York Legend,” the Taipei-based China Times said, coining a nickname based on the basketball prodigy’s Chinese name, Lin Shu-hao.

Sports journalists have gone into overdrive to unveil new tidbits of Lin-ology, interviewing relatives in central Taiwan and excavating long-forgotten examples of academic work that got him into Harvard.

The Lin craze has also set off new interest in basketball in Taiwan, which has only a semi-professional league, with thousands of players now heading for the courts in their precious spare time.

“I couldn’t sleep last night. I just couldn’t wait to play basketball,” said 29-year-old Winston Lin, a Taipei resident who spent several years in France and has so far been a football devotee.

Even for members of Taiwan’s seven-team basketball league, Lin’s story is an inspiration.

“The past record suggests it’s nearly impossible for Chinese players to survive in the NBA, unless you’re 229 centimetres like Yao Ming,” said Michael Lee, deputy secretary-general to the Chinese Taipei Basketball Association.

“It’s dominated by Westerners, and especially African-Americans, but Lin has overcome his natural restrictions and played smart as a point guard.”

Lin was undrafted after playing at Harvard University and cut in December by Golden State Warriors and Houston Rockets, but when he got his opportunity with the injury-hit Knicks, he grasped it with both hands.

Yueh Ying-li, a member of Taipei-based Dacin Tigers, said he was moved by Lin’s determination and rigorous preparations, which paid off handsomely when he made it into the Knicks team this month.

“Chance favours the prepared mind,” he said.

Hung Chia-chun, a 16-year-old Taipei student, hailed Lin as a star in the mould of Yani Tseng, the world’s number one female golfer, and Chen-ming Wang, formerly the New York Yankees’ ace pitcher.

“He’s another glory of Taiwan,” Hung said.

Over the past 10 days, Lin stories have competed for attention with another major story involving a young celebrity, who has been in the public eye for very different reasons.

Makiyo, a Taiwanese-Japanese starlet known for her hard partying, has been indicted for involvement in the beating of a Taipei taxi-driver, setting off a bout of soul-searching about the lack of civility in popular culture.

By contrast Lin is a positive role model, and despite his tenuous links to Taiwan, he is a point of pride in an island which struggles for international recognition, according to political science professor Hsu Yung-ming.

“Taiwan has few stories with which to impress international society,” said Hsu, of Taipei’s Soochow University.

“So when persons like Lin emerge, people here share the pride and see him as their hero, even though he has few ties with Taiwan,” he added.

For some Taiwanese, however, the Lin-sanity is getting a little crazy.

“It’s a bit weird to regard him as a Taiwanese hero, since after all he has only distant links with Taiwan,” said Jo-Jo Cheng, a 25-year-old Taipei office worker.

“But then again, his outstanding performance is an example for Asian basketball players who would like to get into the NBA.”

Agence France-Presse