EL SEGUNDO HERALD March 24, 2016 Page 7 Lakers Young Core Continues to Blossom By Adam Serrao The 2015-’16 NBA season has obviously been a disappointment for anyone who has watched a Lakers game. After 20 years as the star of the team, however, Kobe Bryant is giving Lakers fans one last gift before he walks off into the sunset of the Hollywood Hills. The future Hall of Famer and one of the best players the league has ever seen has been the only reason people have watched games this year. Suddenly, though, a shift into the youth movement has occurred. After the All-Star break, head coach Byron Scott took the reins off of his team and let them spread their wings. What happened next? Players like D’Angelo Russell, Jordan Clarkson, and Julius Randle began to shine. While the Lakers brothers from the other side of the Staples center continue to try to make an impact in the playoffs, a young core dressed in Purple in Gold has begun to blossom. The Clippers have had their chance to shine and subsequently, have squandered it. It won’t be long before the youngsters on the Lakers mature and not only take back over L.A., but also the league. With all of the hopes flying around L.A. this season for yet another lottery pick in this year’s NBA draft, the young core that is already in place has begun to elevate their play. Sure, the Lakers are on pace to put together the franchises worst record in the history of its existence, but who cares if you can get another top-notch young player to go alongside Russell, Clarkson, and Randle, right? Well, setting franchise lows is never a good thing and is certainly not something to be proud of, especially when you’re the Lakers, but despite the poor play and egregious record, there remains some optimism blossoming in Laker Land. “The whole young (Lakers) core is very talented,” DeMarcus Cousins explained. “D’Angelo is coming along. Jordan is coming along. It’s just about time.” Cousins is the star center of, historically, one of the Lakers biggest rivals: the Sacramento Kings. For him to express kind words about the youngsters on the Lakers is certainly a compliment, to say the least. “It’s a matter of time before it’s clicking for all three of those guys. They’re going to be a problem,” he continued. Cousins is right, it’s only a matter of time. It should not be forgotten that despite their young ages, the trio of youngsters that currently occupy spots on the Lakers roster still have years until they reach their respective primes. At age 20, Russell is the youngest of the bunch behind Randle’s 21 and Clarkson’s 23. All three players should enter their prime at around the same time and when they do, watch out. Add to the mix another young up-and-comer from this year’s draft and in three years you could be looking at a Lakers team that closely resembles this year’s Golden State Warriors team. As Cousins said, it’s only a matter of time. If a player and veteran of that caliber is already admiring the young talent on the Lakers, then who knows who GM Mitch Kupchak and the rest of the Lakers front office will be able to wrangle up in next year’s free agency, where the Lakers will be among the team’s with the most money to spend in the league. Despite all of the excitement surrounding the Lakers youth movement, it’s not quite time to head to Downtown L.A. to witness a parade quite yet. As Russell knows, a glaring 14-55 record (as of last Tuesday) means that there is still much work to be done. “We’ve got to continue to keep proving it. We believe in each other. We know what each other are capable of. We’ve got to string some more wins together and make progress before we start speaking that far in advance.” While there may not be a parade at the end of this season, players like Russell bring hope to fan base that has been seriously devoid of it for what only seems like a decade now. “From the start of the season, we all knew it was going to take these guys time,” Scott said of his team of youngsters. “It’s just a matter of how much time.” Scott has been, indeed, toggling with that ever-so-frustrating dilemma of knowing when to play his youngsters so that they can get the experience that they need in late-game situations, and sitting them, because - well, quite frankly - the Lakers need to lose the game. Either way, Scott will have the tendency to come out looking like the bad guy. As he knows, it’s never fun playing for a spot in the NBA Draft Lottery, especially when he and the franchise is used to playing for a spot in the playoffs. Though this season has not offered much to Lakers fans in terms of success, it has allowed their imaginations to run wild with what could be in the future. Regardless of the outcome of this week’s game or how the team ends the season, there is a glimmer of hope and a look into a bright future that has a distinct possibility to bring better days ahead. Though they are down now, the Lakers will not be down forever. Russell, Clarkson, Randle and the rest of the youth movement in L.A. are certainly doing their part to show that to their fans sooner, rather than later. • Burkley & Brandlin LLP A T T O R N E Y S A T L A W Living Trusts/Wills, Probate, Employment Law, Personal Injury Trust and Estates Litigation, Business Litigation, Civil Litiga tion 310-540-6000 Lifetime El Segundo Residents *AV Rated (Highest) Martindale - Hubbell / **Certified Specialist Estate Planning, Trust & Probate Law, State Bar of California, Board of Legal Specialization Brian R. Brandlin • Bruce R. Brandlin • Christopher P. Brandlin Douglass M O R T U A R Y “Our Family Serving Yours Since 1954” B U R I A L - C R E M A T I O N - W O R L D W I D E T R A N S F E R P E T M E M O R I A L P R O D U C T S 500 EAST IMPERIAL AVENUE EL SEGUNDO, CALIFORNIA 90245 Telephone (310) 640-9325 • Fax (310) 640-0778 • FD658 Financial Aid is Stress Test for Incoming Trojans By Rob McCarthy College-acceptance letters arrive this week and begin tough discussions for students and their parents about which school fits their academic goals, personality and the family’s budget. The University of Southern California will figure prominently into those living-room battles over what teens want and what parents are able to sacrifice for a four-year education. USC is so popular with college-bound seniors that nearly 52,000 applied for admission. The downtown L.A. campus next to the L.A. Coliseum has a student population of 43,000 Trojans and a huge network of alumni and potential employers in greater Los Angeles. What incoming freshman and their families didn’t know when they mailed off their applications last year was that tuition and student fees at USC will top $51,000 by the time those freshmen arrive in the fall. That is the highest tuition of any university - public or private - in the nation, including Stanford University ($46,320) and Harvard ($45,278). Pepperdine in Malibu wasn’t far behind at $49,000 for the current 2015-16 year. None of the schools used for comparisons have announced fall 2016 tuition yet. When word leaked out about a $2,000 increase for next academic year, some students protested. They staged a demonstration inside a USC administration building and demanded a meeting with the provost to air their grievance. University officials have defended the latest 4 percent tuition hike, saying that figure represents a 50-year low and that the actual cost of a USC education is much lower than the new $51,442 figure. What angered student demonstrators more was that USC has raised tuition and fees 4 percent for five consecutive years, meaning that a four-year education today costs $10,000 more than in 2011. USC has not indicated whether it will freeze tuition next year, as students leaders have requested. Whether a USC degree remains affordable isn’t easy to answer. It’s complicated by family finances, a student choice of major, and whether a lucrative job will be waiting after graduation. For an English or a liberal arts major, maybe a less-costly private or local public university is the route to take, according to one South Bay college consultant. “It depends on the degree you come out with,” said Ron Rotenberg, an independent college consultant. “A USC engineering major has a pretty good chance of getting a job.” The cost to attend USC is not the same as what undergraduates actually pay, says university spokesman Robert Perkins. Financial aid, such as endowments and scholarships, pays four out of every 10 dollars in tuition for the average USC attendee, school figures show. “The average cost to a student — commonly referred to as “net price” or “cost of attendance” — is discounted nearly half the amount,” Perkins wrote in an email. A $300 million pool of private financial aid, which is gifted to students and not repaid, funds the discounted tuition, he explained. A USC student graduates with less debt than a student from other private schools. For college consultant Rotenberg, USC is a top-choice school for many of his clients. Admission to USC requires a more-detailed profile of the student’s finances than what public universities review when awarding financial aid. Private schools, including the Ivy Leagues, ask for a College Scholarship Service, or CSS, report. The CSS looks at all possible sources of income for families to tap to pay college tuition, including savings, home and business equity. The majority of universities and colleges rely on the Free Application for Federal Student Aid (FAFSA), which protects a family’s primary home from the equation used to reach what is called expected family contribution. “The goal is getting into the best school at the lowest cost,” Rotenberg said, adding there’s more to the college-selection process than financial aid. A school should be a good fit academically and socially, he said. With 98 percent of freshmen living on campus, USC offers a different college experience than a commuter school. One-third of USC students live in school housing, which costs about $13,500 per year. Books and supplies are about $1,500 per year. Four years at USC easily will reach $270,000. While the housing costs across town at UCLA are equivalent to USCs, the annual tuition at the crosstown rival is closer to $15,000 per year, not including housing, books and expenses. USC provided figures showing that nearly 60 percent of its student body receives private financial aid, which discounts the actual cost of attendance. Private financial aid is not student debt, according to college consultant Rotenberg. It’s a gift from an endowment fund left to the school. “On average, USC gives 75 percent of need in the form of gift aid, which is money you don’t have to pay back. It can be on merit or be a grant.” Rotenberg said. “Not all schools do that.” USC’s level of generosity with private financial aid is rare, exceeded only by the Ivy League schools that will gift 100% of the tuition to a highly desirable applicant. USC officials would rather that prospective students and families know about the university’s deep pockets and history of helping students to achieve a top-flight education that is rewarded with a good-paying job after graduation. The graduation rate for USC freshmen who earn their degrees in four years holds down student debt and family costs. The four-year graduation rate is 77 percent, according to university figures. The graduation rate jumps to 90 percent for five years, and 92 percent by the sixth year. Adding a fifth year adds 20 percent to an undergraduate’s costs of a degree, so choosing a school that offers enough classes to finish in four years is something to consider when the acceptance letters arrive, according to Rotenberg. He knows the conversations that lie ahead for parents who want to give their teens the best education possible. The college-selection process should take into consideration the child’s future and the family’s long-term financial picture, he said. They should sit down before senior year and talk about how much money is available, not wait until the acceptance letters start arriving. Any school that’s out of reach financially, don’t apply there. Parents have emptied their bank accounts and retirement savings and taken out second mortgages on their homes to pay for a child’s top-choice school. Stafford parent loans count as financial aid, and burden parents with an additional loan payment and a less-thanfavorable interest rate. If a child’s major is a high-demand career with a promising annual salary after graduation, then maybe a private university education, including some student debt, is a solid investment. An undergraduate degree isn’t what it once was in the job market. Technical professionals require a master’s degree or a doctorate, so families and students should be clear from the outset about their educational goals after high school. Some families hold students accountable by making them take out student loans, which they must repay if they drop out. “It’s OK to have that leverage,” Rotenberg advised parents. When a student has “some skin in the game,” it’s motivation to finish his or her degree rather than be stuck with student debt resulting from years of college that were wasted. May 1 is the deadline for students to accept a university’s offer of admission. •
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