This post might fit better on the Celtics blog because Jeremy Lin is officially no longer a college player. But consider this the final installment in the series on Lin’s journey to the NBA. Lin signed a two-year contract with the Warriors yesterday.

Despite a stellar four-year career at Harvard, Jeremy Lin said he didn’t know the NBA was a realistic possibility until he began pre-draft workouts after the college season ended. While those workouts against other prospects instilled self-confidence, Lin didn’t win over NBA executives until a summer league game in Las Vegas last week.

Lin had been solid in his first three games for the Mavericks summer entry, but his playing time was limited. In the summer league finale, Lin was unleashed. Logging 27 minutes, Lin filled the box score with 13 points, four rebounds, two assists and two steals. More impressive, Lin posted those numbers while matched up against Washington’s John Wall, the top pick in this year’s draft.

Wall had 21 points and 10 assists, but he shot just 4-of-19 from the field and was out-played by Lin in the fourth quarter.  Lin scored nine points in the quarter and got the crowd on his side with his repeated athletic drives to the hoop.

Though video of the duel became a hit on the internet (find it after the jump), Lin didn’t expect much fuss over a game his team lost 88-82.

“I was surprised by the buzz because we lost,” Lin said. “I was just like, ‘Oh man, we almost had it, we should have had it, what could I have done to get it.’ Then all of a sudden everybody was talking about it. I didn’t see that coming, that’s for sure. I know that was the biggest game for my stock. That was probably the game that got me a chance to have this contract. I think after that game I started getting a lot more respect from NBA executives.” (more…)

This is the final installment of a series documenting Harvard guard Jeremy Lin’s preparation for the NBA Draft. You can find all of the previous entries here. This entry focuses on Lin, and Matt Janning from Northeastern, as they await their NBA fates. You can read more about the pair’s journey to this point in today’s Herald.

Weeks — and in some respects a lifetime’s — worth of preparation come down to one night. The NBA Draft is finally here so Harvard’s Jeremy Lin and Northeastern’s Matt Janning will soon learn if they’ve impressed one NBA general manager enough to hear his named called tonight.

While most kids grow up dreaming of being drafted, tonight is not make-or-break for Lin and Janning. Both have already received invitations from NBA teams to play in summer league, which takes place in early July. Considering that both will be late second round picks if they are selected, Lin and Janning may be better off going undrafted. In that case, they’ll be able to find the best possible situation out of a handful of teams rather than being stuck with one team that may not have room on its roster.

With everything after the top two picks something of a mystery this year, Lin isn’t trying to figure out when and if he’ll get selected.

“I’m not going to try to guess or anything, but I don’t regret what I did during this process,” Lin said. “I know that I’ve performed really well. I’m gaining more and more confidence with each workout. I know I’ve put myself in a position where (getting picked is) a possibility. I don’t know good or bad a possibility it is. Teams are real good at not letting you know what they’re thinking. But I know some teams are interested and I’m hoping for the best, but I can’t expect anything. If I’ve learned anything, it’s to expect the unexpected.”

The real news for Lin and Janning may not come until Friday when teams start reaching out to undrafted players to fill their summer league rosters. Janning will be keeping that reality in mind as he watches tonight’s draft with his family in Minnesota.

“I have no real expectations,” Janning said. “If my names gets called in the second round, that would be a dream come true right there, but other than that, if it doesn’t I always have the summer league option. That starts the second week in July so whether I’m going out to Vegas with one team or Orlando with another, I’m not too sure what our plan of attack is going to be. I’m just going to try to find a system that I can fit in and get some minutes in summer league and show everybody what I got.”

This is the fifth in a series documenting Harvard guard Jeremy Lin’s preparation for the NBA Draft. You can find the previous entries here. Today’s entry focuses on the experiences of Lin, and Matt Janning from Northeastern, during workouts for NBA teams. You can also read more about the pair’s journey in today’s Herald.

It’s been a while since I’ve updated this series — the Celtics extended playoff run had a way of pushing things to the back-burner — and a lot has happened. The draft is tonight and for the past month Jeremy Lin, as well as Northeastern’s Matt Janning, have been traveling the country to work out for NBA teams.

The pair has been busy, with Lin working out for eight or nine teams and Janning visiting with six. Both described the experience as a grind, though they’ve welcomed the opportunity to perform in front of NBA coaches, executives and scouts.

“It’s a little different,” Janning said. “You walk in the gym and you see GMs, front office guys, head coaches, scouts, all these guys that are there to critique your game. I feel like it’s a little more (nerve-wracking) than playing a college game or just playing a game in general. I kind of approach it the same way. I go out there and I know that I have to make shots to impress people so that’s what I focus on the most.”

Workouts are a staple of every spring and can have a major impact on a player’s draft stock. But what actually happens during these sessions? Lin and Janning draw back the curtain.

Four-to-six players (usually six) are flown into a team’s facility to participate in a workout. There is typically a mix of guards and bigs at each workout.

Things begin with a warm-up and then drills begin. There is some skill work, but most of the focus is on shooting. That’s good for a player like Janning, whose strength is shooting, and it’s also good for Lin, who can ease concerns about one of his perceived weaknesses with a solid showing.

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Just a quick bit of info to pass along: Boston College will host Indiana on Wednesday Dec. 1 in next season’s ACC-Big Ten Challenge, according to a source.

This is the fourth in an occasional series documenting Harvard guard Jeremy Lin’s preparation for the NBA draft. You can find the previous entries here. Today’s entry focuses on Lin’s preparation for workouts with NBA teams.

On Monday night, Jeremy Lin was preparing to leave Boston for good and head to Las Vegas. Lin had spent three weeks training in Vegas, but returned to Harvard to take his last final exam and wrap up his senior year.

With his school days behind him and a professional basketball career ahead, Lin reflected on the pros and cons.

“It’s good because I don’t want to do homework anymore,” Lin said. “I hate to do homework when I have to work out in Vegas. It feels good, but I’m not going to see my friends anymore so that kind of (stinks).”

Without homework to distract him, Lin can devote all of his focus to preparing for workouts with NBA teams leading up to the June 24 draft. Lin is working out in Vegas with famed basketball trainer Joe Abunassar.

Abunassar has worked with dozens of NBA players, including Kevin Garnett, Paul Pierce, Dwight Howard and more.  Lin hooked up with Abunassar after looking him up last summer while in Vegas for his brother’s AAU tournament. The experience went well so he was invited back.

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Northeastern’s Bill Coen has signed a contract extension, according to an NU source. Coen was a candidate for openings at Boston College and Siena this offseason. An official announcement is expected today. Terms of the extension were not immediately available.

Updated, 10:33 a.m.: NU just sent out a release announcing the extension.  The extension was termed a “multi-year” deal in the release. NU will hold a live webcast featuring Coen and athletic director Peter Roby at GoNU.com at 1 p.m. to announce the extension.

“Coach Coen has been a terrific coach and educator to our student-athletes over the last four seasons,” Roby said in the release. “His efforts in guiding our student-athletes to success both on and off the court embody the type of program we want here at Northeastern. We are thrilled to be able to keep him in the Husky family for the long term future.”

Updated 2:48 p.m.: NU announced that the extension is for six years.

This is the third in an occasional series documenting Harvard senior Jeremy Lin’s preparation for the NBA draft. You can read the first two entries here and here. Today’s entry focuses on the next step in Lin’s preparation.

With the Portsmouth Invitational Tournament in his rear-view mirror, Jeremy Lin is focused on the road ahead. Portsmouth was a good checkpoint for Lin and the Harvard senior reaffirmed his belief that he has a future in professional basketball by holding his own with 64 college seniors.

But Lin’s game is far from a finished product. He’s making the transition to point guard and while the early returns were positive, there are a few things Lin will work on now that he’s back in the gym.

A big challenge for every college basketball player — especially those who aren’t lights out shooters — is adjusting to the NBA 3-point shot. Lin made 34.1 percent of his 3-pointers this season, a number that doesn’t figure to improve when the line is moved back three feet at the next level.

Lin began working to extend his range last summer and it was an emphasis before Portsmouth, but he only went 1-for-2 from deep in three games.

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Assistant coach Orlando Vandross has left Boston University to join Alan Major’s coaching staff at Charlotte.

Vandross, a Brockton native, had been at BU for 13 seasons, remaining on staff when Pat Chambers took over for Dennis Wolff before last season.

“I’m excited to be a part of the 49ers family,” Vandross said in a release. “I’m looking forward to working with coach Major and solidifying Charlotte’s presence in the Charlotte area and the Atlantic 10 Conference. I knew the day would come that I would have to leave (Boston University) and advance my coaching career, but I knew it would have to be right. I’ve known coach Major and he’s a character guy with integrity. That along with the lure of all that Charlotte has to offer and the draw of the A-10. I’m looking forward to rolling up my sleeves and getting to work.”

When a new coach takes over, it’s expected that there will be some changes. But the shakeup happening at Boston College is a bit unusual.

Foxsports.com’s Jeff Goodman is reporting that junior Rakim Sanders will transfer and that new assistant coach John Gallagher is leaving for a head job at Hartford.

Sanders’ departure is unexpected mostly because he only has one year of eligibility remaining. If he transfers, he will have to sit out a season and then play his senior season. Sanders is coming off a disappointing, injury-marred junior season. He averaged 11.3 points, but missed time early due to a suspension and an ankle injury and played most of the season with an ailing foot.

Goodman posted on Twitter that there is a good chance Sanders lands at Fairfield, which is coached by former BC assistant Ed Cooley. It’s a logical destination considering both are Rhode Island natives, and while Cooley left for Fairfield before Sanders’ freshman year, he undoubtedly had a hand in recruiting the 6-foot-5 swingman.

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This is the second in an occasional series documenting Harvard senior Jeremy Lin’s preparation for the NBA draft. You can find Part I here. Today’s entry focuses on Lin’s transformation from a wing player in college to a point guard at the professional level.

Harvard’s Jeremy Lin was one of 11 finalists this season for the Bob Cousy award, given to the nation’s top point guard.  The recognition deservedly put Lin in distinguished company, but there was one minor detail that made Lin’s inclusion as a nominee somewhat odd: he didn’t play point guard for the Crimson.

Despite being mentioned as a point guard by national analysts all season, Lin rarely played the position during his time at Harvard. This season, freshman Brandyn Curry and sophomore Oliver McNally mostly handled the point guard duties. Early in Lin’s career, he played mostly off the ball while Drew Housman ran the show.

Lin said he hasn’t been his team’s primary point guard since his senior year in high school, but he is getting back to those roots. As Lin pursues a professional career, he is transitioning back to the point, where the 6-foot-3, 200-pounder is a better fit. His first real test was at last weekend’s Portsmouth Invitational Tournament.

“That was weird because everyone kept saying, ‘You’re a point guard, right?’ And I was like, ‘No, I’m actually a 2 or a 3 in college.’ Now I’m actually back to point guard,” Lin said. “I guess it makes my nomination for the award more valid.”

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