University of Minnesota Athletics
Jim Brewer - M Club Hall of Fame
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Jim Brewer
Men’s Basketball, 1971-78
HOF Class of 1994
Jim “Papa” Brewer, Illinois’ “Mr. Basketball, wrought great changes in the game when he came to the University of Minnesota. His unique ball-handling and passing ability set him apart from other center/forwards.
Brewer used his size and strength to grab rebounds and thwart opponents’ shots. A member of the 1972 “Iron Five” Big Ten championship team, he closed his Gopher career with 1,009 points in 75 games, a 13.5 point per game average.
Voted Gopher MVP three years in a row, Brewer’s other honors include: honorable mention, second team and first team All-Big Ten; first team All-NCAA Tournament; Big Ten MVP, second team and first team All-American; and the “M” award as Minnesota’s best student-athlete.
He played for the U.S. in the 1972 Olympic Games in Munich, Germany, and was selected second overall in the 1973 NBA draft by the Cleveland Cavaliers, and second by the ABA New Jersey Nets. Brewer chose Cleveland, and played nine NBA seasons with Cleveland, Detroit, Portland and Los Angeles. He later was an NBA assistant coach, first with the Clippers and later with the Minnesota Timberwolves.
Brewer’s No. 52 jersey was the first basketball jersey retired here, in 1973.