White House spokesman Jay Carney says his boss -- an "avid sports fan and particularly avid basketball fan" -- was so impressed with New York Knicks superstar Jeremy Lin's skills that he brought it up Wednesday morning on Marine One -- the helicopter that ferried the president from the White House to Air Force One at Andrews Air Force Base.

"It's just a great story, and the President was saying as much this morning," Carney said of Lin's rapid point scoring and sudden superstardom. "It's obviously terrific for the New York Knicks, but it's the kind of sports story that transcends the sport itself."

Carney said the basketball fan in chief caught the highlights of the Knicks' game, including Lin's last-second three pointer that gave the Knicks the win.

"He's very impressed and fully up to speed," Carney said of Obama, who often plays basketball with friends, aides and his daughters at the basketball court at the nearby Interior Department.

But Carney noted that Lin has impressed even non-fans, including his wife: "She was pretty amazed, and she doesn’t watch basketball," Carney said.