Brewer could fill Hornets' need at guard

EDMOND, Okla. (AP) _ Ronnie Brewer could be just the player the New Orleans Hornets need to partner with Chris Paul in their backcourt. <br/><br/>An athletic, slashing guard who's committed on the

Tuesday, June 20th 2006, 9:39 pm

By: News On 6

EDMOND, Okla. (AP) _ Ronnie Brewer could be just the player the New Orleans Hornets need to partner with Chris Paul in their backcourt.

An athletic, slashing guard who's committed on the defensive end, Brewer won over Hornets coach Byron Scott before he ever arrived in Oklahoma.

``We would love to have a guy like a Ronnie Brewer,'' Scott said Tuesday after Brewer and three others participated in a draft workout. ``But I just don't think he'll be there.''

The Hornets have two first-round picks in the June 28 draft but the first one doesn't come until No. 12, the next-to-last lottery pick. Their second pick is at No. 15, a selection they received along with Desmond Mason in a trade for Jamaal Magloire before last season.

Brewer averaged 18.4 points as a junior at Arkansas last season before declaring himself eligible for the draft. At the workout, he participated in 1-on-1 and 2-on-2 drills with Rutgers guard Quincy Douby and forwards Kevin Pittsnogle from West Virginia and Brad Buckman from Texas.

``He's as athletic as anybody we've got in here. He's 6-7. He's a lot stronger and bigger than I thought he was as well, and a heck of a defender,'' Scott said.

``He's got long arms, he's tenacious on that end of the court, he takes pride in that part of his game too. So he's just a very, very good all-around basketball player.''

New Orleans featured Paul and fellow point guard Speedy Claxton in the backcourt much of last season. Kirk Snyder, J.R. Smith and Rasual Butler each had chances in the starting lineup, but Claxton _ a free agent this offseason _ got the most playing time.

Team officials have suggested they'd be interested in re-signing Claxton, but the guard position could still use some reinforcements.

Hornets general manager Jeff Bower said the team isn't looking for any particular type of player to complement Paul, the rookie of the year.

Arizona's Hassan Adams, Villanova's Randy Foye, Memphis' Rodney Carney and Marcus Vinicius from Brazil have also stopped by for workouts with the Hornets.

``In general, we're just looking to get the best player whether he's a slasher or whether he's a shooter,'' Bower said. ``We're looking for a producer.''

Brewer said he has had to dispel myths that he's not big enough to play in the NBA and that he isn't a competent shooter. He said he measures 6-foot-6 1/2 without his shoes on and has shot well enough in workouts to silence critics.

While working on his shot _ which looks awkward because of a childhood injury _ Brewer said he's also been maintaining his ball-handling skills.

``The NBA is different. You've got to be able to a lot of different things. At my size, I think if I get the ball on the wing, I can handle the ball on pick and rolls and be able to kick it to open players,'' Brewer said. ``I think I can do a lot to help the team out.''

Brewer started all but two of Arkansas' 91 games during his three seasons and helped lead the Razorbacks from being a sub-.500 team to their first NCAA tournament berth since 2001.

``He's definitely not just a guy that you're going to just leave on the wing and just throw him the ball and then hope he's going to make a bunch of spot up jump shots,'' Scott said. ``He's a guy that can make shots off the dribble, so in other words he can create his own shot, he can get to the basket.

``He looks to me like almost a point guard, the way he handles the ball and the way he sets up his teammates. But if you need him to score, I think he can do that as well.''

Scott said he thought Brewer could play two or three different positions in the NBA and reminded him of another former Razorbacks player, Joe Johnson.

``Ronnie Brewer is just a basketball player,'' Scott said. ``I don't think many people look at him as a shooter, which he's not. But he's a scorer.

``He makes shots. I don't care how it looks. He makes shots. He's really adept at handling the ball and making passes and making plays for his teammates. He's a guy that's going to be in this league.''