Published Dec. 11, 1990|Updated Oct. 18, 2005
While a video camera whirred ominously in the background, Nick Anderson went off by himself to shoot free throws. He was the main character, the only actor, in this suddenly serious one-act play: Mr. Anderson Goes To The Bench. Anderson is shooting poorly from the foul line, 15 percentage points lower than last season, prompting the Orlando Magic, his employer, to record his movements on the basketball court.
Anderson is 22, a young 22, one year removed from the University of Illinois after playing only two seasons with the Illini.
Three years upon graduating from Simeon High School in Chicago (he sat out his freshman year at Illinois because of Proposition 48), Anderson became a professional athlete. The first player taken by Orlando in the 1989 draft, he averaged 11.5 points and 3.9 rebounds and ranked second on the club in field-goal percentage (49.4). Not since Kiki Vandeweghe in 1981 had the No. 11 pick averaged 11.5 points a game.
Anderson, the Magic agreed, was going to be some player, if he wasn't already. Hadn't he made the switch from small forward to shooting guard after playing forward in high school and college? Didn't he play more like 6 feet 6 rather than his real-life 6-4? (The Magic drafted Anderson thinking he was 6-6, but that's another column.)
So how come now, 20 games into his second season, Anderson is watching himself shoot free throws on videotape?
How come now, after starting the first 13 ballgames, Anderson has spent the past seven coming off the bench?
How come now, after the Magic traded Reggie Theus and Sidney Green to clear the way for a supposed youth movement led by Anderson and rookie Dennis Scott, Anderson is playing behind Otis Smith, another veteran?
"My shots haven't been falling the way they normally do, but I've been shooting very poorly from the free-throw line (54.7 percent, down from 70.5 percent last year)," Anderson said. "I'm not a poor free-throw shooter. I've just got to bear down and get the mechanics together. I've looked at the film. My release is the way I want. It's just something I've got to keep working on. I can't let it bother me."
But something is bothering him. Look at the pictures sometimes, then you'll know how much his eyes are a part of Anderson's presence. They do more than accentuate a youthful countenance; they flicker with the electricity that allows no emotion to remain secret for long.
Of course, even a blindfold can't hide Anderson's displeasure when he is sitting and not playing. Bewilderment clouds his eyes and you wonder, as with football player Vinny Testaverde of the Tampa Bay Bucs, where he made a wrong turn.
"It's frustrating," Anderson admitted last week. "I told Morlon (teammate Morlon Wiley) I was going for a walk after the (Portland) game. I played hard, even though I wasn't getting the calls and I was getting hammered. But there's going to be some nights like that. I just have to learn to clear my head."
The signs were there, for Anderson's struggle began during the Magic's first western trip of the year. Eleven days on the road, coupled with a lingering virus, stripped Anderson of his strength and _ apparently _ his confidence.
Five games into the trip, Magic coach Matt Guokas replaced Anderson with Smith. The Magic didn't win that game, against Denver, but the team has since won two of seven. Smith is averaging 17.2 points and 7.7 rebounds during the run, making uncertain Anderson's return to the lineup.
"Nick's in a slump right now," Guokas said following Monday's practice. "And, Otis, for the most part, has played pretty well. Guys that are playing good, you have to stay with them."
The first eight games of the season, Anderson averaged 20.6 points and shot 50.3 percent from the floor. Going into tonight's match with Philadelphia, those numbers are down: 15.9 points (second-best on the team) and 46.9 percent shooting from the floor.
Anderson thinks he knows what the coach wants, but isn't really sure because they haven't talked much. Maybe a pat on the back would help this young talent one year removed from college.
"I want to get Nick back in the starting lineup," Guokas said, "but he's got to play well."
