HOW SWEET IT IS : FORMER GRANADA HILLS STUDENT FINDS HOME AT L.A. BAPTIST.

Byline: Bill Schlotter Daily News Staff Writer

In the aftermath of the Northridge Earthquake, it seemed to Jermaine Sweet that the whole world was coming apart.

The Northridge apartment he had shared with his mother and older brother was in shambles and they were forced to seek refuge in an emergency shelter.

Even before the quake, the family had financial problems. With the loss of most of their belongings, money was even tighter than before.

His mother was worried about his brother getting into trouble. At Granada Hills High School, where Jermaine was a freshman, kids who resented his respectful demeanor and desire to stay out of trouble were picking on him and calling him names.

So one day in February 1994, after spending less and less time at school in the preceding weeks, Jermaine came home from Granada Hills High - and he never went back.

It might have been a decision that turned his life around. Sweet, who leads L.A. Baptist's basketball team in scoring at 23.1 points per game, is on track for a June graduation. College - and a chance at a future - are no longer a dream.

``When he came here, he had almost no credits and no discipline about studying,'' L.A. Baptist basketball coach Bob Chevalier said. ``He could have come here and said, `This is too hard,' and just bailed. But he didn't.''

Jermaine's first high school experience was not easy. Shy and good-natured, he was intimidated by the environment at Granada Hills, a school with more than 2,000 students. He also became a target for harassment because of his anti-gang, anti-drug stance.

``Some of the boys from Los Angeles didn't like it that he had a good attitude and didn't want to get in trouble,'' Marion Sweet, Jermaine's mother, said. ``They called him `Oreo' and `zebra' and racial names like that. My oldest son went through the same thing.''

Despite the impending hardships, Marion knew it was for the best that Jermaine drop out of Granada Hills.

Jermaine had friends who attended Montclair Prep, but the private school was too expensive. That's where Loreen McCord and L.A. Baptist came in.

McCord's son, Duke Barclay, played on the same youth league team as Jermaine.

``Jermaine and my son were very close,'' Loreen McCord said. ``They were like brothers. And he was just a great kid. It was one of those things where you just couldn't help but love the kid.''

The McCords were trying to get their son enrolled in L.A. Baptist for his sophomore year. And they figured they would try to get Sweet in as well.

``Because of what happened at Granada, they weren't sure they wanted to take me,'' said Jermaine, who had only few transferable units. ``At Granada, I had very poor grades. They didn't want that to continue here.''

But McCord was determined. Other parents also got involved, volunteering to pay Jermaine's enrollment fees. The McCords even allowed Jermaine to move in with them after getting to and from the North Hills campus became difficult when Marion Sweet moved to Panorama City.

``We got some help from some good friends,'' Marion Sweet said. ``Loreen McCord is like Jermaine's godmother. We got him into L.A.B. so we could save him.''

Allowed into the school on a trial basis, Jermaine worked hard - attending summer school the last two years and taking night classes to make up the lost units of his freshman year - to make sure no one asked him to leave.

``I love it here,'' he said. ``At Granada, I was kind of scared. But when I came here it seemed like this is a really quiet, safe place. The people here really care about all their kids.''

And Jermaine has worked equally hard on the court. Earlier this season, he set an L.A. Baptist single-game scoring mark with 40 points.

Chevalier said Jermaine has the ability to play basketball in college. He mentioned Biola of La Mirada as one school that has interest in him.

Sweet has been so affected by his experiences at L.A.B. that his long-term goal is to come back one day as a teacher.

Chevalier said there will be a job awaiting him as an assistant basketball coach as well.

``I love that kid,'' Chevalier said. ``It's been a blessing to know him. He'll be great at whatever he does because he's got such a great heart.''

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Photo: (color) L.A. Baptist senior Jermaine Sweet is all smiles. The star basketball player has turned around his fortunes on and off the court.

Terri Thuente/Daily News