Farmar Settles Into Leading Role

UCLA sophomore point guard Jordan Farmar led the Pacific-10 Conference in assists last season, was tops among the league's freshmen in scoring, minutes and free throw percentage, and second in steals. Yet, as the season wore down, a fight raged within Farmar.

"I was talking to Luc (Mbah a Moute) and told him I averaged 30 points and six assists as a senior in high school. I was an All-American," said Farmar, who attended Taft High in Woodland Hills. "I came in and was getting 13 points and winning some of our games. I (was) not taking over when I should be, and lo and behold, I'm freshman of the year (in the conference) and everybody is noticing me, and I'm feeling like I didn't do anything yet."

Farmar said his secret to this season lies with his newly discovered maturity, something that flourished during the offseason. The 19-year-old credited maturity as enabling him to survive a distressing first two months in which he played with a badly sprained right ankle, while helping him embrace his roles as a vocal leader and arguably as one of the nation's premier point guards. Daily News