Had a chance to catch up with former Gator standout Corey Brewer, who will be holding his third annual Back 2 Back youth basketball camp from Aug. 6-8 at The Rock School in Gainesville.
Brewer just completed his fifth NBA season with the Denver Nuggets, averaging 8.3 points and 2.0 rebounds. He helped lead a young Denver team to the NBA playoffs, where the Nuggets pushed the Los Angeles Lakers to seven games before falling in the first round.
The camp has raised thousands of dollars for Shands UF Heath Care. Brewer has created the “Corey Brewer Fight Diabetes Fund” in an effort to raise funds and awareness for the disease. Brewer’s father, Ellis, died of complications from diabetes last February.
The camp is open to players ages 9-17 and costs $175. For more information or to sign up for the camp, visit www.coreybrewer.com, e-mail
[email protected] or call 914-964-6540.
On the phone, I was able to touch on a variety of topics with Brewer:
– on Florida coach Billy Donovan’s recent inability to land big guys in recruiting, “It’s surprising. You take a look at the guys in the NBA, Matt Bonner, David Lee, Al (Horford) being an All-Star, Joakim (Noah) is basically an All-Star. Udonis Haslem. We’ve all had some success at the next level. I can’t explain it.”
– on going from Dallas to Denver during the offseason, “We had won an (NBA) championship and I was traded, so it was adjustment going to a new team with a new system. Coach (George) Karl, he likes to play fast, which is good because that’s how I like to play. We were a young team and we had some struggles early but we were able to come together.”
– on his father’s death, “It was tough, I was going back and forth from Denver to home (Portland, Tenn.). I was home for a while and then when I got back I had an injury shortly afterwards. I had to grieve but I know he’s in a better place.”
– on the legacy of being part of UF’s back-to-back national titles in 2006-07. “Joakim, Al, Taurean (Green) and I, we like to reminisce. We were talking about it the other day. It was a special time.”
