Jordan Farmar
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| Position | Point guard |
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| Height | 6 ft 2 in (1.88 m) |
| Weight | 180 lb (82 kg) |
| Team | Los Angeles Lakers |
| Jersey | #5 |
| Born | November 30, 1986 Los Angeles, California |
| Nationality | American |
| High school | Taft High School, Woodland Hills, Los Angeles |
| College | UCLA |
| Draft | 26th overall, 2006 Los Angeles Lakers |
| Pro career | 2006–present |
Jordan Robert Farmar (born November 30, 1986) is an American professional basketball player for the NBA's Los Angeles Lakers. At 6'2" (1.88 m) and 180 lb (82 kg), he was previously the starting point guard for the UCLA men's basketball team.
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[edit] Biography
[edit] Early Life
Farmar attended Portola Middle School in Tarzana and Birmingham High School in Van Nuys, before transferring his sophomore year to Taft High School in Woodland Hills, a suburban community of the San Fernando Valley within Los Angeles. He then decided to play college ball at UCLA and eventually went on to the NBA with the LA Lakers.
[edit] High school
At Taft High School, Farmar scored a record 54 points in a single game. As a senior, he averaged 27.5 points and 6.5 assists and led Taft to the school's first Los Angeles City title. He was named the Los Angeles Times Player of the Year and LA City Co-Player of the Year, and the California Interscholastic Federation Los Angeles City Section High School Player of the Year. He also earned USA Today Super 25 selection, Parade Magazine 2nd-team All-American, Slam Magazine Honorable Mention All-American, CalHi Sports All-State honors, and the Southern California Jewish Athlete of the Year. [1]. He was also a teammate with current New York Giants WR Steve Smith. Additionally, he was selected to play in the McDonald's High School All American game, where he scored 6 points, dished out 3 assists and snagged 7 steals in 19 minutes of playing time.[1]
[edit] UCLA
Considered one of the elite point guards in the nation at UCLA, Farmar was named to the all Pac-10 team and the all Pac-10 Tournament team. In the 2006 NCAA Tournament, Farmar led the UCLA Bruins to the National Championship game against the Florida Gators, which they lost by a score of 73-57. Farmar led all scorers with 18 points, and also finished with 2 rebounds, 4 assists, and 2 steals. On April 20, 2006, he declared to enter the NBA Draft. He majored in psychology and was a member of the Athletic Director’s Honor Roll in winter 2005.
[edit] Pre-NBA
Farmar impressed NBA scouts at the pre-draft combine with a 42-inch vertical leap, the highest of any player there. Later, he was drafted by the Los Angeles Lakers with the 26th Pick in the NBA draft. On July 8, 2006, he made his debut at the Summer Pro League, which was held at the Walter Pyramid. His final game totals were 17 points and 3 assists in 31 minutes of play.
[edit] First Year (2006-07)
For most of the 2006-2007 season, Farmar played backup to Smush Parker. On March 31, 2007, Farmar was assigned to the Lakers' D-League team, the Los Angeles D-Fenders. On April 1, Farmar scored 18 points in a 101-109 home loss against the Anaheim Arsenal.[2] Later on that afternoon, he was re-called by the Lakers to play against the visiting Sacramento Kings. Farmar added 4 points in 8 minutes playing time assisting the Lakers to a home victory, thereby making history by becoming the first player ever to participate in both a D-League and an NBA game on the same day.[3] On April 15, 2007 against the Seattle SuperSonics, Farmar got his first professional career start replacing Smush Parker in the starting lineup. To go along with the two starts in the regular season, Farmar started all five playoff games at point guard. In those games against first round opponent the Phoenix Suns, he averaged 6.4 ppg and 1.2 spg against Steve Nash.
[edit] Second Year (2007-08)
With the departure of Smush Parker, Aaron McKie, and Shammond Williams, the Lakers were lacking in the point guard spot. Therefore, with their 1st selection in the 2007 NBA Draft the Los Angeles Lakers selected point guard Javaris Crittenton, who has since been traded to the Memphis Grizzlies. As a result, during the summer and fall of 2007 Farmar became a denizen of the team training facility, working on his shot from June through September. He knew his job was in jeopardy with a new point guard in town and knew he had to work to keep his position within the organization. So far his hard work has paid off, and averaged 9.1 points per game, 2.2 rebounds per game, and 2.7 assists per game, in 20.6 minutes per game serving as the backup to veteran point guard Derek Fisher who made his return to the Lakers after a two year stint with the Warriors and one with the Jazz. He played in all 82 games in the 2007-2008 season and shot 46.1% from the field, 3.9% up from last season, as well as 37.1% from three-point range, 4.3% up from last season. "I'm just trying to shorten [my shot], square my shoulders up and just knock it down," Farmar said. "It's all hand-eye coordination, and I believe in my ability."[4] He now has a career high of 24 points on a game against the Miami Heat.[5]
[edit] Player profile
Farmar is a point guard who is considered one of the rising stars in the NBA. He is an all-around point guard who can score, pass and steal.
[edit] Personal life
Farmar was born in Los Angeles, California. His father, former baseball player Damon Farmar (an outfielder who was a second round draft pick in both 1982 and '83), is African-American. He and his mother, Melinda Kolani, and his Israeli stepfather, Yehuda Kolani, are Jewish.[6][7][8] He has stated that he inherited his competitive drive from his father and mentor, Damon Farmar, who played football and baseball at University High and baseball in the minor leagues. The younger Farmar spent countless hours in his father's clubhouses, hanging out with his father's teammates, and watching his father play.[9] Farmar has a half-sister, Shoshana Kolani. [10] He enjoys the beach, going to movies and listening to Hip Hop and R&B music. His favorite food is fettuccini alfredo, his favorite actors are Denzel Washington and Halle Berry, and his favorite musician is Usher.[11]
[edit] Awards and recognition
- Los Angeles Times High-School Player of the Year: 2003-04
- Rivals.com National Freshman of the Year : 2004-05
- Pac-10 Freshman of the Year: 2004-05
- All-Pac-10 Freshman First Team: 2004-05
- All-Pac-10 First Team: 2005-06
- Pac-10 All-Tournament Team: 2005-06
- NBA Rookie Team 2006-07
- NBA Sophomore Team 2007-08
[edit] Notes
- ^ Player Bio: Jordan Farmar - Men's Basketball
- ^ NBA Development League: Lakers Recall Farmar From D-Fenders
- ^ Lakers Cruise to Victory Over Kings
- ^ "Farmar works hard on his shooting; Second-year guard takes Jackson's talks to heart," LA Times, 12/1/07
- ^ Lakers Cool Off Heat for 10th Straight Win
- ^ http://www.ynetnews.com/articles/0,7340,L-3177805,00.html
- ^ JewishJournal.com
- ^ http://www.ynetnews.com/articles/0,7340,L-3425115,00.html
- ^ Jewish Jordan Gives UCLA His Best Shot | Sports | Jewish Journal
- ^ LAKERS: #5 Jordan Farmar
- ^ LAKERS: #5 Jordan Farmar
[edit] External links
- Jordan Farmar Info Page at NBA.com
- Jordan Farmar Statistics at Basketball-Reference.com
- Official Site
- NBA Draft Profile
- UCLA Player Profile
- Bruin Basketball Report
- Yahoo! Player Profile
- "Farmar works hard on his shooting; Second-year guard takes Jackson's talks to heart," LA Times, 12/1/07
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