His Goal Is to Be Consistent : Colleges: Forward Derek Noether is attempting to emerge from his redshirt freshman season and become one of Pepperdine’s leaders.

Shortly before he is scheduled to report to the gym for a basketball game, Pepperdine center Derek Noether likes to spend a few minutes alone, praying or reading from the Bible.

One of his usual readings is from Philippians 4:13: “I can do all things through him who strengthens me.”

The 6-foot-8, 220-pound Noether may not need much strengthening, but acknowledges he could use more intensity and consistency in his game.

Noether, the least celebrated of the five returning starters from last season’s West Coast Conference championship team, averaged 5.8 points and 4.2 rebounds a game as a redshirt freshman. He expects to become more of a leader this season.

“At the beginning of last year, I was timid about rebounding; I got (only the rebounds that were) coming to me,” Noether said. “A lot of times I would expect Geoff Lear or Doug Christie to get rebounds.

“The big lesson I learned was that I needed to go for everything. I would rather have Geoff and I fight over a rebound and have our team get it than to lay back and let the other team get it.”

He is averaging 7.3 points and five rebounds this season for the Waves (4-0), and hopes to continue his improvement.

“We are a good team when I concentrate, not on me being successful, but on me improving and everybody else doing better,” he said.

Noether said his concentration was not great when he was a center at Clovis West High in Fresno, where he used to dwarf opponents.

“When I was a 6-8 high school center I could get away with not going all-out every game,” he said. “But I need to sustain my overall intensity in college. I need to have more intensity, plus consistency.”

If Noether achieves those goals, Pepperdine has a good chance of repeating as WCC champion.

“I’m pretty hopeful that he has a big year for us,” said Coach Tom Asbury, who added that Noether is “not as predictable” as Christie, a 6-6 guard who was the conference player of the year last season; 6-8 power forward Lear, a two-time All-WCC selection, or 6-6 sophomore forward Dana Jones, the conference freshman of the year in 1990-91.

Still, Asbury said, “If (Noether) can be good, so can we.”

So far, Noether has held up his end of the deal.

“I’m not saying that Derek has to have great big numbers, but he needs to be consistent for us to be a sound team,” Asbury said.

“One of the frustrations for him has been that he has not been in games at the end because he is a pretty marginal free-throw shooter. Generally, I’ve been going with (6-6 junior forward) Steve Guild because he can shoot free throws well and because of his ability to handle the ball.”

Asbury also said he may ask Noether to play a different position next season.

He could be switched to forward if 6-10 freshman Todd Barten, who is expected to transfer to Pepperdine from Texas, can step in and play center.

If Barten, who did not play at all for the Longhorns, plays up to expectations, Asbury would have the luxury of using Noether and 6-8 freshman LeRoi O’Brien, a backup center from Westchester High, as power forwards or backup centers.

To make the switch to forward, Asbury said Noether would have to improve his perimeter defense and shooting from the 10- to 17-feet range.

Noether can run the court well for a big man, but Asbury said he must work on catching the ball in the open court and then dribbling or passing.

Noether believes the Waves’ goal of defending their conference championship is attainable.

“I think the conference will be tougher because everybody will be keying on us,” he said. “It makes other teams better because they have a target.

“We have to really work to sustain that challenge (of repeating as WCC champion). It’s a different challenge to exceed what we did last year and it will be difficult.”

Whatever the difficulties, Noether doesn’t plan to change his routine of pregame prayer and meditation.

“My faith helps me in basketball,” he said. “It helps me to focus, to get the butterflies out of my stomach. So (before games) I go to my room and read a few Scriptures and have some prayer time.”