Jim Brewer (basketball)

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

Jim Brewer

Personal information
Born	(1951-12-03) December 3, 1951 Maywood, Illinois, U.S.
Listed height	6 ft 9 in (2.06 m)
Listed weight	210 lb (95 kg)
Career information
High school	Proviso East (Maywood, Illinois)
College	Minnesota (1970–1973)
NBA draft	1973: 1st round, 2nd overall pick
Selected by the Cleveland Cavaliers
Playing career	1973–1985
Position	Power forward
Number	52, 42, 40, 8
Career history
1973–1979	Cleveland Cavaliers
1979	Detroit Pistons
1979–1980	Portland Trail Blazers
1980–1982	Los Angeles Lakers
1982–1985	Ford / Jollycolombani Cantù
Career highlights and awards
NBA champion (1982) 2× NBA All-Defensive Second Team (1976, 1977) EuroLeague champion (1983) Consensus second-team All-American (1973) No. 52 retired by Minnesota Golden Gophers
Career NBA statistics
Points	4,099 (5.8 ppg)
Rebounds	4,458 (6.3 rpg)
Assists	1,038 (1.5 apg)
Stats  at NBA.com
Stats  at Basketball-Reference.com
Medals Men's basketball Representing  United States Olympic Games 1972 Munich Team

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]