Buddy System Works for Rivals on the Court

They play for rival high schools and soon could be attending the ultimate rival universities, UCLA and USC.

But Jordan Farmar of Woodland Hills Taft and Nick Young of Reseda Cleveland have built a friendship that will endure even the most crazed fanaticism of the UCLA-USC rivalry.

“People say it’s like Magic [Johnson] and Larry Bird,” Young said.

Added Farmar: “Nick is my boy. He’s a good person, with a good heart.”

UCLA’s Pauley Pavilion was the perfect venue Saturday night in the Pangos Dream Classic for Farmar and Young to put on a show.

Cleveland took on Taft in the final game of a five-game high school basketball extravaganza. Fans ought to keep the Dream Classic program as a souvenir to see how many of the teenagers reach the NBA. I counted at least five prospects, with Farmar and Young among them.

Farmar, a 6-foot-1 point guard, has already signed with UCLA. Young, a 6-6 forward, hopes to sign with USC in April if he can achieve a passing Scholastic Assessment Test score.

For Christmas, Farmar gave Young several SAT prep books as a gift.

“It made me feel like he was noticing me and looking out for me,” Young said.

Usually, a Bruin never looks out for a Trojan. But in this case, UCLA fans should be rooting for Young to succeed because he is one of the nicest, most sincere teenagers you’ll ever meet, and he deserves the chance to receive a college education.

He entered high school with poor reading skills. His academic deficiencies were compounded by a family crisis that caused him to miss much of his freshman year. He tried to obtain a fifth year of athletic eligibility last spring.

The City Section Rules Committee rejected his hardship claim. So did a three-member appeal panel. Then, during the summer, in a rare second appeal, another panel overruled the Rules Committee and cleared him to play his senior year.

Some coaches criticized the decision, but in this case, common sense won out. The school system had failed him until late in his teenage years. Only now has he begun to embrace education and figure out that he can do anything when he combines his gifted basketball skills with academic knowledge.

“I feel myself getting smarter as I do my work,” he said. “Work is getting easier for me as I go to class and try harder. I’m making big progress.”

Young possesses offensive skills that can’t be taught. His spectacular dunks could be mistaken as coming from a college or NBA player, and he loves to make the crowd react.

“It’s like they paid, so I’m going to give them their money’s worth,” he said.

His shooting touch from three-point range this season has added a new dimension to his game. He has made 28 out of 48 (58%). It might have something to do with rising at 6 a.m. during the summer, jogging from his Los Angeles home to a park and practicing.

“I made 500 threes every morning,” he said.

Young is averaging 26.3 points and 10.2 rebounds in 15 games while dueling Farmar, his West Valley League rival, almost on a game-by-game basis. Farmar is averaging 24.5 points.

On the same day last week, Young scored 19 points in the first quarter en route to a 41-point performance against Burbank Burroughs, and Farmar scored 37 points against Fresno Central. They’ve created a mutual admiration society among their coaches.

Taft Coach Derrick Taylor said of Young, “I think he’s in the top five players in California. No one realizes how good he is except those who coach against him.”

Cleveland Coach Andre Chavalier said of Farmar, “He just has basketball savvy. Everything comes in the flow of the game. I’m looking forward to him leaving so I can cheer for him at UCLA.”

The respect between Farmar and Young was sealed after the two played on a travel team last summer.

“Me and Jordan became real good friends, like we had a connection,” Young said. “He’s a cool person. When you get on the court, you have to listen to him. He’s demanding. He doesn’t like to lose. He can shoot from anywhere. He could shoot from the white line if he wanted to.”

Farmar is an honors student and wants Young to join him in college even though USC will become his bitter rival.

“He’s a kid who’s been through a lot in his life,” Farmar said. “It’s not about ‘SC. None of that matters in the end. It’s good someone gets the opportunity for a higher education to better their life.”

Farmar turned 17 on Nov. 30. Young will be 18 in June. Both like to entertain fans. And both hate to lose.

But when the game is over and the fans have gone, Farmar and Young understand there’s more to life than who won or lost a basketball game.

It was exciting Saturday to watch point guard Sebastian Telfair of Brooklyn, N.Y., and 6-11 Dwight Howard of Atlanta, both of whom could be in the NBA next season.

One day, Farmar and Young could join them, but they realize their futures won’t be secure without a college education first.

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Eric Sondheimer can be reached at eric.sondheimer@latimes.com.