LJ b BB: Farley nominated

By Ed Piper, Jr.

There it is: "Reed Farley, La Jolla Country Day School."

Listed as a nominee to be a McDonald's high school all-American in basketball, the 6-foot-4 senior is a rare breed. In the 13 school years since my granddaughter Alexis enrolled at La Jolla High and I began taking photos of her and her cheer teammates--and the games they cheered at--no other LJHS basketball player has received the attention, and deservedly so, that the Viking point guard is receiving this season.

It's just the LJCDS thing. As Reed's father Dan said in an email, "The school designation". Like--yuck.

I used to get irritated when I would talk with sports people in San Diego, and they would say, "Oh, La Jolla. You mean La Jolla Country Day?"

NO in capital letters.

But over the years, I've reconciled with the fact that the local private school is prominent in high school sports, and people across the county recognize the institution.

That isn't so much a knock on La Jolla High, the local public school, as it is a compliment to the Torrey sports program. Athletic Director Jeff Hutzler and his colleagues have worked hard to build LJCDS's reputation.

And face it, private schools have a little more leeway to draw students than most public schools. There's the free tuition they can offer a prospective student. What can La Jolla High, renowned for its academics, offer a potential student athlete? "Hey, you can come here free, like everyone else, and excel in the subjects of your choice."

It doesn't have the same ring to it.

So, LJHS still is better known for tennis, and track, and--umm, maybe some other sports like water polo and swimming, than for basketball.

But Farley, an engaging personality who truly likes people and whose classmates at school like and are turning out in high numbers to watch him and his hoop mates, tells anyone willing to listen that he chose to stay home and play for little ol' La Jolla High School. Not La Jolla Country Day School.

His father, in private, will discreetly add that Reed, with the family's support, turned down the Foothills Christian's and Cathedral Catholic's (his family moves in church circles with Don families), and other schools in the process.

Imagine him playing in the Under Armour Holiday Classic at Torrey Pines High over the winter break with Jaylen Hands on Foothills Christian. It would have been phenomenal. We're lucky to have him.