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himself available for the draft last month with UCLA sophomore guard Arron Afflalo, who announced Saturday that he had withdrawn from the draft and will return to the Bruins for his junior year.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