As a high school prospect, Jordan Farmar was highly touted for
his offensive prowess. Yet as he prepares for his first official
collegiate game this Saturday against Chicago State, the freshman
point guard realizes he will need to do more than score points and
dish out assists to live up to the lofty expectations bestowed upon
him. Playing in a system that preaches defense first, Farmar
understands gaudy offensive statistics won’t necessarily
impress coach Ben Howland. “I wasn’t really demanded to
play defense as much as I am now,” Farmar said of his high
school experience. “The level of intensity on and off the
ball throughout the game is the biggest transition. It’s a
big emphasis for Coach Howland, so that’s what I’m
going to focus on.” Though the first game of the year is
still three days away, Howland has already stressed the focus his
team’s young leader must have on the defensive end. “My
biggest concern is how he does defensively because that’s
part of leading the team too,” Howland said. “Our
defense starts at the point.” Howland has indicated that he
expects Farmar to be just fine on offense but said he needs a
strong effort from him on defense, particularly with the Bruins
losing their best perimeter defender, Cedric Bozeman, for the
season. Farmar has already started buying into Howland’s
emphasis of increased strength by putting on 17 pounds over the
off-season through a rigorous weight-training regimen. Now,
it’s only a matter of days before it becomes evident how
quickly he has adopted his coach’s defense-first mantra.
STARTING LINEUP: After a critical injury to
Bozeman and two exhibition games, Howland seems to have settled in
on a starting lineup to open the season. It is expected to feature
Farmar as point guard, freshman Arron Afflalo as shooting guard,
senior Dijon Thompson in the wing position, and juniors Ryan
Hollins and Michael Fey at the No. 4 and No. 5 spots,
respectively.
DRIBBLERS: Redshirt sophomore Matt McKinney
returned to practice Friday and Saturday after sitting out of the
Bruins’ exhibition win over Monterrey Tech last Thursday with
a sprained ankle … Howland opted not to hold practice Sunday and
Monday in order to allow his players to recover and be fresh for
the upcoming week. “We took two days off to try to get our
legs back, heal up some bruises, and other things,” Howland
said. “Hopefully, the guys will come back with really active
legs.”