Fearless: The Jake Lincoln Story

     



          Swish. Jake Lincoln hits yet another jump shot.  It's an hour after his 18-point 12-rebound performance that earned him CML preseason player of the week, and everyone else has long left the court.  It's almost dark, and you wonder how he even manages to see the basket.  Still, he makes just about every shot.
          Lincoln has been an underdog ever since he was born.  He never had a father; it was just him, his twin brother Jesse, and their mom. He grew up on Cartee Street, one of the worst neighborhoods in Coudersport.  He heard gunshots almost every day, and after the first time he was mugged he didn't leave the house without a baseball bat.  A lot of kids from Cartee Street don't live to be juniors in high school, let alone become superstar basketball players. 
          So how did a kid from the wrong side of the figurative tracks rise so quickly to CML stardom? Not without adversity.  His passion for basketball helped him avoid the gang and drug-dealing scenes of his neighborhood, but he wasn't always a star.  As a freshman, Lincoln barely saw the court for the Coudersport JV team.  During that summer he literally slept in the high school gym, waking up every morning to make 1000 jumpers before eating a breakfast of raw egg whites, crushed nails, and celery juice.  The dedication paid off, and as a sophomore Jake carried the JV team, especially in a memorable double-overtime game with Oswayo Valley.  He hit several threes in the closing minutes, and though his team came up short, he was well on his way to stardom.
          However, Lincoln still had some challenges in the academic world.  A couple of his teachers didn't think he would ever amount to anything.  One told him that he was "pushing all the wrong buttons."  He hit rock bottom when he didn't achieve proficient on the Foresight tests and was placed in Math Rehab.  But Jake was undaunted, and with the same persistence and dedication that had served him so well on the court, he pulled his grades up. He worked his way out of Math Rehab, repaired his relationships with his teachers, and is now well on his way to academic first-team.
          Back to the court now, two hours after Lincoln's star performance. It's pitch dark now; he shoots by pure muscle memory.  After each rare miss he cranks out 10 push-ups, 10 crunches, and 10 up-downs.  He never had anything handed to him.  He had to scratch and claw for every opportunity.   He knows that if he doesn't give his all, he might end up right back where he started.  Maybe that's why he fights so hard for every rebound.  Whatever the reason, the CML is lucky to have him.