Brewer excels following in father's footsteps

FAYETTEVILLE, Ark. (AP) Ronnie Brewer is finally headed to the NCAA tournament.<br> <br> Maybe now, when he and his father share stories, the conversation won&#39;t be so one-sided.<br> <br> ``That&#39;s what I wanted Ronnie to be able to see at the University of Arkansas how exciting basketball can be, how rabid the fans can be,&#39;&#39; former Razorback Ron Brewer said. ``That six-game winning streak, he saw that.&#39;&#39;<br> <br> Arkansas earned its first NCAA bid since 2001 this season, winning six straight down the stretch before losing to Florida in the SEC tournament. The eighth-seeded Razorbacks (22-9) play ninth-seeded Bucknell (26-4) Friday in Dallas.<br> <br> Ron Brewer will be there, of course watching his son try to lead his alma mater to the same heights dad did.<br> <br> ``I was going to go see him no matter where (Arkansas) went,&#39;&#39; he said. ``I was going to find a way.&#39;&#39;<br> <br> Ron Brewer played at Arkansas in the late 1970s, teaming with Sidney Moncrief to lead the Razorbacks to the &#39;78 Final Four before moving on to the NBA. His son is now a junior and a first-team All-Southeastern Conference selection. Ronnie wears the same No. 10 his father did, and hopes to leave a similar legacy.<br> <br> ``Just to be one of the great players to play at Arkansas, and a player to get them back on the map it means a lot to me,&#39;&#39; he said.<br> <br> Ronnie Brewer grew up in Fayetteville watching Nolan Richardson and the Razorbacks and he remembered those glory years when he was looking at schools.<br> <br> ``Me being in Fayetteville, you have to be a die-hard Razorback fan and I kind of took that into consideration when I made my decision,&#39;&#39; he said.<br> <br> Richardson had just been fired, but new coach Stan Heath successfully recruited Brewer. Ron says he didn&#39;t influence his son&#39;s choice too much.<br> <br> ``As much as I wanted him to go to the University of Arkansas, that was Ronnie&#39;s decision, because I want him to be happy,&#39;&#39; he said. ``It&#39;s not what dad wanted, or his mom wanted I wanted him to be happy.&#39;&#39;<br> <br> Ronnie went through growing pains at first. The Razorbacks went 12-16 his freshman season. They improved to 18-12 in 2004-05 but failed to make the NCAAs.<br> <br> The Razorbacks knew Brewer was talented, but they needed him to play with more urgency.<br> <br> ``Just kind of picking up the pace of things a little bit,&#39;&#39; assistant coach Dan Hipsher said.<br> <br> This season, Brewer has responded. He finished the SEC tournament as the conference&#39;s leader in scoring (18.55 points per game) and steals (2.61).<br> <br> A 6-foot, 7-inch guard with long arms, Brewer&#39;s ability to deflect passes on the perimeter is crucial for an Arkansas team that likes to run.<br> <br> ``He&#39;s rebounding, passing, scoring, running the floor,&#39;&#39; Hipsher said. ``He&#39;s really a part of everything we&#39;re doing right now.&#39;&#39;<br> <br> Ron Brewer has been a constant influence in his son&#39;s life as a father and as a basketball mentor.<br> <br> ``He was the type of person that was all ears. He was taking as much as I was giving him and soaking it in like a sponge,&#39;&#39; Ron said. ``The more the years go, the more I hear him talk, the more I see him grow up, I see that the foundation that was established in him is coming out.&#39;&#39;<br> <br> These days, Ron is like most Arkansas fans thrilled by the progress Ronnie has made.<br> <br> ``The fundamental parts of the game have allowed him to be where he is right now, and that&#39;s what I&#39;m proud about,&#39;&#39; he said. ``I enjoy right now sitting, just like any spectator, watching him play.&#39;&#39;<br> <br> Razorbacks fans have one concern about Ronnie: How much longer will they see him in an Arkansas uniform? Ron says the NBA is not an issue at least not at this point.<br> <br> ``Right now, Ronnie made a commitment to the University of Arkansas, to us, to himself, that the university is where he&#39;s supposed to be, and he&#39;s going to be there for four years,&#39;&#39; Ron said. ``He&#39;s only been there for three. He&#39;s still got one more year. Now, it can change in the course of four or five weeks or two months. I don&#39;t know. But right now, it&#39;s still the same.&#39;&#39;<br> <br> Right now, Ronnie Brewer has an NCAA tournament game to prepare for and a few more memories to create for himself and his father.<br> <br> ``All the things that he&#39;s done here, for them to put me and him in the same category, it means a lot to me,&#39;&#39; Ronnie said. ``I think it means a lot to him as well.&#39;&#39;<br> <br> (Copyright 2006 by The Associated Press. All Rights Reserved.)

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