FAMILIAR HAUNTS

Like a red steel rim, this game has been in Derrick Anderson’s sights seemingly forever. Inviting. Attainable. Yet now that it’s upon him, can he finish?

Anderson, a Pepperdine senior guard, will return to the scene of his grandest moment when the Waves play USC at the Sports Arena tonight. He led Crenshaw to the City Section championship in 1996 in the same building, and his team went on to win the state title.

USC recruited Anderson, but he had to take the junior college route, starring at L.A. City. He played as a junior at Nevada, transferred to Pepperdine and sat out last season. While waiting and watching, he thumbed through the 2000-01 Wave schedule. Dec. 14 at the Sports Arena stood out.

“It’s in my hometown, and I can show my family and friends I can play,” he said. “When I looked at that schedule, it said to me that I’m home. It’s not a road game.”

Returning to Los Angeles hasn’t been all comfy-cozy, though. Anderson was shot while visiting a friend near his parents’ home last April in a random drive-by incident. No arrests were made and Anderson has no idea who pulled the trigger.

The bullet traveled through his left shoulder and into his chest, puncturing a lung and missing his heart by two inches.

“I couldn’t lift my arm, and when my friend drove me to the police station I couldn’t breathe,” he said. “At that moment I thought I was going to die. I wouldn’t wish that kind of pain on my worst enemy.”

By the time he recovered three months later, Anderson was out of shape. Although he played on a travel team in Italy in August, he remains a step slower than he was during practices last season.

Conflicting emotions resulted. The feeling of immortality common in college students has given way to self-examination. Anderson knows he is lucky to be alive. But he also realizes he has done less than his best to get back into game shape. Now that the season is underway, he is caught between appreciating the opportunity and wishing he was 100%.

“I just need to take the role I have and do what I can,” he said. “I understand I was given a second chance. It made me humble. I was not doing anything wrong, but it made me focus on my goals in life, how special and successful I can become.”

Anderson’s parents kept him on a tight rein, and he made it through high school without becoming a victim of his environment. Funny how trouble found him years later on a short visit to his old neighborhood. Except that there is nothing funny about getting shot.

“I never thought it would happen to me,” he said. “I grew up in a rough neighborhood, but my mom and dad told me to stay focused. I’d go outside only to go to the park or to leave the neighborhood. I wasn’t allowed to go outside and just play and stay out all hours.”

Anderson’s parents attend Pepperdine home games and will watch him tonight.

A rangy 6-foot-5, 210 pounds, Anderson averages 18.6 minutes off the bench. He came to Pepperdine with a reputation as an accurate long-range shooter but has made only six of 23 three-point attempts and is averaging 5.6 points.

Coach Jan van Breda Kolff believes Anderson will produce more in time. It’s just that time is running out.

“Derrick has good instincts and he understands the game,” Van Breda Kolff said. “He sees plays develop offensively and defensively. He knows what we need on the offensive end. He can recognize switches and mismatches. And he’s a big guy who can see over the top of things.

“The problem is that he’s still not in basketball-playing shape. He sees a situation developing but sometimes is a step late.”

Anderson is showing signs of the explosiveness that enabled him to average 11.3 points and 4.5 assists at Reno. In the waning seconds of a close game against San Jose State on Saturday, he made a steal and dunk that sealed Pepperdine’s victory.

“We expect that kind of play out of Derrick,” Wave forward Kelvin Gibbs said. “We’ve all seen him do incredible things in practice. He’s a great athlete, and he’ll be doing more as the season progresses.”

If anything can prime Anderson’s pump, it will be playing against childhood friends Brandon Granville and David Bluthenthal of USC.

“I can’t wait,” Anderson said. “I still talk to Granville, and Bluthenthal and I were on the same team last summer.

“They know they have a game on their hands. We don’t fear them at all. We actually think we should win the game.”

Anderson will have the opportunity to help. His minutes have increased recently because an ankle injury has sidelined guard Craig Lewis for two games. Lewis probably won’t be at full speed tonight.

“Hopefully this will be my breakout game,” Anderson said.