Farmar will no longer get a scrutiny-free ride

I‘VE NEVER been crazy about talking to college kids or rookies, remembering what it was like to communicate with my own kids when they were that age.

At some point someone is going to say something wrong, and while I’m still sending the 30-year-old to time out on occasion, I’m not sure that would fly with a young Bruin or Laker.

It would be easy, of course, to pick on the college kids or rookies, and get a rise out of them making for easy column fodder, but picking on teenagers just doesn’t seem like good sport, especially when there are so many self-important veterans to tweak.

On occasion there’s an exception -- Dodgers rookie Andre Ethier, coming to mind, popping off and declining the opportunity to reconsider before getting the Page 2 treatment. But for the most part, college kids and rookies are going to get a pass here.

That’s why I never talked to Jordan Farmar while he was at UCLA. And while I probably would’ve waited another year to allow him to get his feet under him in a Lakers jersey, I wanted to know where I went wrong.

I thought Farmar left UCLA too early, too quick to make the jump to the pros and then figured he would have no place in the Lakers’ plans any time soon.

So I hoped at the very least he would make me feel better, and tell me that even he was surprised by his immediate impact on the Lakers’ fortunes.

“Not at all,” the kid said. “My expectations are a lot higher than what I’ve done so far, so I guess you could say I’m not meeting my expectations.”

I told him that, just the other day, UCLA Coach Ben Howland was saying he’d have urged Farmar to turn pro if someone could’ve guaranteed Farmar he would be one of the first 20 players selected -- thereby earning a good chunk of money.

But Farmar went No. 26, and said, “For [Howland], it’s all about money.

“I’m going to make money regardless,” he added. “I landed in the perfect situation. It was just time. My time at UCLA had come to an end.”

OK, so just tell me you were a little nervous about getting off to a good start up here in the big time.

“I’m never nervous,” Farmar said. “I’m getting paid to do this. I’m a professional.”

I checked his Lakers bio. He’s not only a rookie, he’s still a teenager at age 19.

“At UCLA you play against the pros a lot during the summer,” the kid said. “I held my own out there, so I knew I could play this game.”

So far, hard to argue. In the team’s first four games, Farmar was making nearly 67% of his shots from the field, and playing in prime-time situations for the Lakers. Instead of beginning the season in the D League, Smush Parker and Sasha Vujacic are facing a significant challenge for playing time. Scratch that, Farmar already has left Vujacic behind.

“It’s like having a veteran head on a young body,” said Paul Westphal, former NBA player and coach now doing work for Fox Sports Net. “He’s going to be around this league for a long time.”

But I never thought he’d have this kind of impact so soon.

“It was easy to be fooled,” Westphal said. “He was playing at about 70% last year, dragging that bad ankle around. But look at him, he’s just 19. That’s amazing.”

How amazing is this? Five games into his NBA career, a “We want Farmar” chant could be heard in Staples Center. In the first quarter.

And when he got the call off the bench with 6.5 seconds left in the first quarter against Minnesota, there was a noticeable buzz in the arena. It continued when he picked up a loose ball, turned and fired a half-court shot at the buzzer, the ball bounding off the front of the rim and missing by just that much from bringing everyone to their feet. And all in 6.5 seconds.

“As long as I’m an asset, I can be on the court,” said Farmar, who has obviously gained Phil Jackson’s confidence.

Before the game, Jackson was talking about Farmar’s “recognition of the game” and his sense of anticipation, describing Farmar like a hockey coach might have described Wayne Gretzky’s knack for knowing where the puck was going to be before anyone else.

I guess that explains why he was somewhat of a pest on the court, buzzing around the Timberwolves and looking as if this is just what the old pro does for a living.

I know this, I’m going to feel a lot better from now on when I get the chance to tease -- or rip him.

PRO GOLFER John Daly and his wife each have filed for divorce. It would be Daly’s fourth divorce. So much for one mulligan per round.

THE ESPN.COM headline read, “Kings’ Miller out for four weeks....”

That’s just great, I thought, the only thing the Kings have going for them is Bob Miller and now he’s out. Later, I learned the story was about the Sacramento Kings and Brad Miller, who could afford to lose their Miller.

IF THE Dodgers could sign only one free agent this off-season, the team’s website is asking who would be the choice -- and is providing seven names.

Barry Zito tops the list with 34%, Alfonso Soriano follows with 27% and Nomar Garciaparra, who figured to be a fan favorite, was next at 22%.

Barry Bonds is available, living in Beverly Hills and Tuesday night a spectator at the Lakers game. But when Jeff Kent was asked earlier in the day about playing with Bonds in L.A. next season, Kent laughed and laughed, and then advised Bonds to ask for $20 million and wait for San Francisco to sign him again.

“That’s where he’s going to end up,” Kent said, although it would be far more entertaining if Bonds pulled on a Dodgers jersey and took the locker next to Kent.

THE ROLLING Stones will perform in Dodger Stadium on Nov. 22, and I presume play the Dodgers’ fight song, “I can’t get no satisfaction.”

T.J. Simers can be reached at t.j.simers@latimes.com. To read previous columns by Simers, go to latimes.com/simers.