Farmar Will Stay in Draft

It was a position that point guard Jordan Farmar has been in many times: ball in his hands, time running out, options running through his head. Take a shot or pass?

On Sunday, the deadline for college players to withdraw from the NBA draft without forfeiting their eligibility, Farmar announced that he will pass up his remaining two years at UCLA to take his shot at the pros.

Farmar had insisted from the beginning that he would remain in the draft only if he were guaranteed that he’d be a first-round selection. But Farmar indicated Sunday that he is proceeding without such assurance.

“I’ve gotten nothing but positive feedback from teams,” Farmar said. “I really enjoyed myself while I was here at UCLA, but now it’s time to move on. It’s been a lifelong dream of mine to play in the NBA.”

In pursuing that dream, Farmar made himself available for the draft last month with UCLA sophomore guard Arron Afflalo, who announced Saturday that he had withdrawn from the draft and will return to the Bruins for his junior year.

Farmar and Afflalo tried out for five teams apiece. Farmar worked out for the Clippers, Lakers, Phoenix Suns, New Jersey Nets and Sacramento Kings.

Afflalo did not take part in the NBA predraft camp in Orlando; Farmar did. While there, he boosted his stock considerably, emerging as one of the top two players there, according to the general consensus, along with Memphis guard Darius Washington.

Farmar’s path to the NBA has been fueled by a perfect storm, a series of circumstances that might not fall in line again.

Although he was coming off a season in which he was named Pacific 10 Conference freshman of the year, Farmar, under the guidance of Coach Ben Howland, elevated his game as a sophomore, developing the defensive skills and court awareness demanded by NBA clubs.

The Bruins, picked to finish third in the Pac-10, not only won the conference title and the conference tournament, but made it to the NCAA championship game before losing to Florida. That put Farmar, the player at the controls of the team’s offense and its second-leading scorer (13.5 points per game), in the national spotlight.

Farmar took a huge leap in terms of his NBA appeal by his performance at the predraft camp, which none of the projected lottery picks attended.

This year’s draft figures to be much weaker than next year’s because of the new ban on the drafting of 18-year-olds. Several gifted players coming out of high school, including 7-foot center Greg Oden, will not be available until next year.

Three websites project Farmar as a first-round pick. Inside Hoops has him going 17th to the Indiana Pacers. Draft Express predicts he will go 24th to the Memphis Grizzlies. College Hoops Net sees Farmar going 25th to the Cleveland Cavaliers.

Despite all the pluses, there are still those who question whether Farmar is big enough at 6-2, quick enough or strong enough for the pro level.

“People thought I would be weaker than I was,” he said. “But I showed my athleticism. If people had been telling me that I was not ready and that I should go back to school, that would have been a different story.

“But I know now that I can play at that level against anybody.”

Still, Farmar said, he didn’t make his final decision until Saturday night.

“It was very tough,” he said. “It went down to the wire. There were positives both ways. But at the end, I went with my gut instinct and my heart.”

Farmar is expected to hire agent Arn Tellem this week.

Howland joined Farmar for his Sunday announcement and backed him.

“We are really proud and excited over everything Jordan has accomplished for us at UCLA,” Howland said.

“He did a great job helping to reestablish our program. We are totally supportive of him. He is only 19 and has a bright future ahead of him.”

Darren Collison, who will be a sophomore next season, will take Farmar’s starting role. Afflalo is expected to be given minutes at the point as well.

“I really wanted us to win that national championship last season,” Farmar said, “but it didn’t work out that way.”