Article on Brewer's weekend
Like it is: Brewer makes it look easy at AAU showcase
BY WALLY HALL -ARKANSAS DEMOCRAT-GAZETTE
DENTON, Texas -- Thunder boomed across this too-dry area Friday and rain came down like a waterfall on a lily.
Dozens of coaches on the University of North Texas campus sprinted for their destination.
Literally hundreds of coaches had avoided the downpour by getting to one of the seven basketball courts early.
Arkansas Coach Stan Heath, who is still graciously accepting congratulations, was already in place for the Arkansas Wings game.
His early arrival had rewarded him with one of the few metal folding chairs.
Later he would slip down two courts and watch the Arkansas Hawks put on a clinic.
UALR's Porter Moser, who later would choose to stand so he could position himself to watch two games at one time, was another of the many who came to watch the Arkansas teams.
Arkansas State assistant Charlie Fenske was there, but so were coaches from Ouachita Baptist, Harding, Central Arkansas and others who took advantage of more than 4,000 players displaying their skills just hours from their campuses.
The Wings drew the biggest crowd of coaches, primarily because of Vakeaton (pronounced Vaughn) Wafer.
Yet, on this day, it was Ronnie Brewer of Fayetteville who blew up.
"He was the best player I saw all day," one coach said.
Brewer, of course, has been the subject of many recruiting rumors.
One was that Kansas had backed off him because he didn't play hard all the time. Brewer is so athletic and so gifted -- much like his dad, who is a cornerstone of Razorbacks basketball -- he appears to glide effortlessly.
He glided effortlessly to 68 points, 18 rebounds, 17 assists and 6 blocked shots in two games on Friday and Saturday. Kansas Coach Roy Williams saw most of Friday night's game. He did leave for several minutes but came back to catch the end of the game.
Coaches cannot talk to players or parents at the AAU event, and for the first time they can't talk to the summer coaches either, which is one more rule to penalize the coaches who work the hardest.
Another rumor about Brewer Jr. is that he is no longer considering Arkansas because Heath didn't hire his dad.
Ron Sr. is on staff at the UA. He's one of Dr. John White's hand-chosen fund-raisers, and while Ron was interested, he no doubt understood that Heath had to hire experienced people at this stage.
Ron Sr., who coaches the 17-and-under Hawks, obviously knows the game. His team fell behind and he started changing defenses and calling plays, which the Hawks executed with ease until they blasted by the Fort Worth high school team that featured two top-five players from Texas.
After that game -- which Heath saw from start to finish -- the UA coach had to rush to the airport. He had already changed his flight to Little Rock once, and he didn't want to be any later getting to the Rock.
Heath, who flew back and forth from the Nike and Adidas camps daily last week in search of players, was part of Corliss Williamson's Legends in the Rock breakfast Saturday and was to fly back here immediately Saturday morning for more recruiting.
The new coach has made it plain that he wants the past players to be part of the future.
"They made the Razorback program, I just want them to be a part of where we take it now," he said.
Former players, from as far back as when Eddie Sutton laid the foundation and right through the latest group, have found Heath to be approachable, friendly and a guy who listens and asks questions.
Ironically, perhaps, Ronnie Brewer comes along at a time similar to when his dad signed on.
The Razorbacks were building back then and are rebuilding now.
Ron Sr. and Ronnie Jr. could become the first father-son cornerstones in the history of Razorbacks basketball.
Like his dad, Ron Jr. has that much ability and he plays that hard, all the time.
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