Seventeen-year-olds shouldn’t be like that.
They shouldn’t have that poise, that maturity, that
confidence.
They shouldn’t be leaders.
But sometimes, once in a great while, they are. They have the
poise and the maturity and the confidence, and you envy them
because they can’t even freaking vote. But they’re
special, and you know it.
UCLA freshman point guard Jordan Farmar is one of those people,
and though it’s unfair to assign him the task of returning
the basketball program to glory, he’s certainly not a bad
candidate.
“I’m a natural born leader,” Farmar said after
practice yesterday. “That’s what I expect of myself.
I’d rather take the blame for everything and make sure it
gets done.”
Wow.
Those are big words from the young man, but you can’t help
but buy into the hype. The kid can play. He’s smart, he sees
the court well, he just gets it.
And with the rest of Farmar’s freshman class, a recruiting
class that was ranked as high as No. 4 in the nation, it’s
impossible not to get excited about this Bruin team. Arron Afflalo.
Lorenzo Mata. Josh Shipp. The future of UCLA basketball may very
well be now.
At one point in Thursday’s practice, Farmar, Afflalo, Mata
and Shipp were all on the same team, playing with junior Ryan
Hollins. The four freshmen, just babies in the grand scheme of
things, were facing the likes of Dijon Thompson and Cedric Bozeman,
talented seniors who have experienced the ups and downs that have
come to characterize UCLA basketball.
The freshmen, Hollins and Janou Rubin won at one point. 7-2 (by
ones). It probably didn’t mean much in terms of anything, but
my simple mind found it significant.
These freshmen are here to do something special. “I plan
to be a big part of this season and play a big role,” Afflalo
said.
These kids didn’t come here to watch. They came to play.
And win.
“I’m not here to just play around and have a good
time,” Farmar said. “I’m here to get better and
advance to the next level.”
“The only way you’re going to do that is contribute
and be successful on the court, no matter what age you are. It
doesn’t matter if you’re a freshman or a
senior.”
It doesn’t matter if your last name is Bozeman and
you’ve been the starting point guard for two seasons. What
matters is the present.
At one point yesterday, coach Ben Howland yelled at Bozeman,
“Every time I look at you and you’re on your knees,
I’m going to take you out of the game!”
Howland didn’t have that luxury last year. Well, he did,
but it would have meant putting Ryan Walcott in the game. And
really, who wants that?
Now when Bozeman clutches his knees for a breather, Farmar will
go to the court for playing time. And after seeing Farmar play on
Thursday, that would be more than OK.
“Coach Howland wants us to be a team,” Farmar said.
“Everyone has their own roles, and that’s the toughest
adjustment. He wants me to be a leader and be a point guard, and
that’s what I am naturally.”
So naturally, things should work out well. If Farmar is able to
play the point, Bozeman will be able to play wing, where he is
probably much more valuable to the team. It must be nice to be
Howland and finally have choices in the backcourt, including a
talented array of kids still getting used to this whole college
thing.
After watching practice, it seems like these dedicated freshmen
could see the court a lot. And that’s exciting.
But perhaps the most exciting thing about these guys is their
interaction with one another. They live in the same room in Saxon,
they’re in the same classes (check out Education 80, it must
be a good one) and they genuinely seem to understand each
other.
“We’re really close now,” Mata said.
“We’re living pretty good.”
Freshmen shouldn’t have it this good. But these ones do,
and that’s fine with me.
Regan is the basketball columnist this season. E-mail him at
dregan@media.edu.