Farmar to attend UCLA in 2004
Taft high school basketball player, L.A. native prefers academic program
Jordan Farmar – one of the top prep point guards on the West Coast – announced Wednesday night that he has decided to attend UCLA, putting to rest a week’s worth of speculation that he might spurn the Bruins in favor of Florida.
The Los Angeles native took official visits to both Gainesville and Westwood earlier this month, and received scholarship offers from both schools.
Farmar also considered Gonzaga and Arizona before deciding that UCLA was the right fit.
"Getting to play in the Pac-10, having a chance to start as a freshman – the entire basketball side was all great," Farmar told FOXSports.com.
"And what put it over the top was the education I can get at UCLA and what the degree and networking I can do there will mean for my career and life after basketball," he said.
A 6-foot-1 junior at Taft High School in Woodland Hills, Calif., Farmar was a relative unknown on the collegiate scene before last summer, when his stock exploded after a series of sizzling performances in high-profile tournaments in July.
He sealed his status as an elite national-level recruit with an outstanding junior season, leading Taft to the Los Angeles City semifinals.
UCLA coach Ben Howland is believed to have targeted Farmar as a top recruiting priority almost immediately after taking the reins of the Bruin program in early April.
Howland has made it clear that he wants to keep the premier local talent in Westwood. Farmar is the second Southern California native to commit during the new coach’s short tenure.
Future backcourt mate Arron Afflalo committed to UCLA on April 15. Both Farmar and Afflalo are expected to compete for spots in the starting lineup as soon as they arrive on campus in 2004.
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