Jim Brewer
Personal information
Born (1951-12-03) December 3, 1951
Maywood, Illinois, U.S.
Listed height6 ft 9 in (2.06 m)
Listed weight210 lb (95 kg)
Career information
High schoolProviso East (Maywood, Illinois)
CollegeMinnesota (1970–1973)
NBA draft1973: 1st round, 2nd overall pick
Selected by the Cleveland Cavaliers
Playing career1973–1985
PositionPower forward
Number52, 42, 40, 8
Career history
1973–1979Cleveland Cavaliers
1979Detroit Pistons
1979–1980Portland Trail Blazers
1980–1982Los Angeles Lakers
1982–1985Ford / Jollycolombani Cantù
Career highlights and awards
Career NBA statistics
Points4,099 (5.8 ppg)
Rebounds4,458 (6.3 rpg)
Assists1,038 (1.5 apg)
Stats  at NBA.com
Stats  at Basketball-Reference.com
Medals
Men's basketball
Representing  United States
Olympic Games
Silver medal – second place 1972 Munich Team

James Turner Brewer (born December 3, 1951) is an American former National Basketball Association (NBA) player.

Brewer was the first notable player to come out of Proviso East High School, which has one of the most successful high school basketball programs in Illinois. In 1969, Brewer, playing center, led his team to the first of four state championships. Brewer was followed at Proviso East by other future NBA players, notably Doc Rivers, Michael Finley, Dee Brown, Shannon Brown, Sterling Brown, and JeVon Carter.

The 6'9" 210-pound forward then attended the University of Minnesota. One of his teammates was future Baseball Hall-of-Famer Dave Winfield. He is infamous for his role in a 1972 brawl in Minneapolis, where white Ohio State center Luke Witte was assaulted by fellow Gophers Corky Taylor and Ron Behagen in a game. The fight escalated when Brewer repeatedly struck Witte's white teammate Dave Merchant in the face.

Brewer played in the 1972 Summer Olympics, including the United States' controversial loss to the Soviet Union in the gold medal game, being violently injured by Alexander Belov during the free-throw in the second half and unable to continue playing.[1][2] The referees failed to properly assess the flagrant foul. After the Olympics, Brewer was drafted by the Cleveland Cavaliers in the first round (2nd pick) of the 1973 NBA draft.

Whenever Brewer scored a basket at a Cavaliers home game, the public address announcer would declare, "Two for the Brew!" Brewer played nine seasons in the NBA from 1973 to 1982. Then he played with Pallacanestro Cantù in Italian Serie A along with players as Pierluigi Marzorati and Antonello Riva with coach Giancarlo Primo. He won a Euroleague and was an Intercontinental Cup finalist.

Brewer is the uncle of former NBA player and current Philadelphia 76ers head coach Glenn "Doc" Rivers and the great uncle of Doc's son, Minnesota Timberwolves point guard, Austin Rivers.[3]

In 2007, the Illinois High School Association named Brewer one of the 100 Legends of the IHSA Boys Basketball Tournament.[4]

Notes

  1. ↑ Gallagher, Taps (2012-08-01). "3 Seconds From Gold: 'Stolen Glory' Recalls Epic 1972 Olympic Basketball Final". HuffPost. Retrieved 2021-06-01.
  2. ↑ "50 stunning Olympic moments: No1 – USA v USSR, basketball final, 1972 | Sean Ingle". TheGuardian.com. 16 November 2011.
  3. ↑ Doc Rivers Coaching Info Archived 2009-03-07 at the Wayback Machine at NBA.com
  4. ↑ "100 Legends of Boys Basketball Tournament". Illinois High School Association. Archived from the original on 3 August 2011. Retrieved 1 May 2022.
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