Photo courtesy NBA.com
March 27, 2008
The last time most of us saw or heard of Jordan Farmar was last April when he led the UCLA Bruins to the NCAA national championship game. Farmar was living his dream: guiding UCLA through five rounds of the March Madness basketball tournament. Two of the things he loved the most in life, basketball and Los Angeles, were intertwined — just as they are now.
So much, yet still so little, has changed for the 20-year-old point guard from a year ago.
He is still the floor general for a storied basketball franchise, frequently performing on a national stage and living in the greater Los Angeles area.
But now it’s the LA Lakers. He is no longer “the man” like he was with the Bruins. Now he is one of Kobe Bryant’s teammates. He is not an all-around stud, but a solid contributor.
“The only real tough part is going from being the man to having to be a role player, come off the bench, and stuff like that,” explained Farmar, who was a former recipient of the Southern California Jewish Athlete of the Year award.
“That’s the toughest transition, but it’s been pretty good,” continued Farmar.
Not even 20 years after being born in LA, Farmar found out his professional career would start there. The Lakers selected Farmar with the 26th overall pick of the 2006 NBA draft.
He said he loves playing in his hometown. “I was born and raised in LA, so it’s a beautiful thing to stay home.”
At his age, Farmar has already scored a team high of 18 points in last year’s NCAA Championship game, has been anointed Pac-10 Freshman of the Year, and has run lay-up drills with Bryant. But he still can’t legally go out for a drink.
“Just staying confident, staying ready, just trying to learn,” Farmar gave as the keys to staying level with all the success coming his way at such a young age.
For any rookie, the learning curve is the big thing.
“When you learn, you happen to get better. You work hard, things just fall into place,” he said.
The Lakers are again one of the top teams in the Western Conference. Farmar, no stranger to meaningful spring basketball games, is confident that his new team can help him reach a new milestone.
“We have a great coaching staff all the way around,” said Farmar. “We have the best player in the game” — Bryant — “and we have a lot of people to learn from.”
One such person is special assistant coach Kareem-Abdul Jabbar, who also embarked on the Bruins-Lakers route.
While Farmar’s caliber is not the same as Jabbar’s, he has been a spark of energy coming off the bench, registering more than 15 minutes a game.
Currently making over a third of his attempted three-pointers, Farmar also continues being a pest on defense for opposing point guards.
For his solid rookie season, Farmar was recently awarded a roster spot in the much celebrated sophomore-rookie game at the NBA All-Star break, honoring the best first- and second-year players.
Farmar won’t be leading the Lakers in scoring or minutes anytime soon, but he may just factor in as a key ingredient to their attempt for yet another title this spring.
Reprinted with permission from The Jewish Advocate
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