Musselman adds an All-American, former alum, to basketball staff

Former All-American and former NBA first-round draft pick Ronnie Brewer and Arkansas alum Jon Blake have been added to Arkansas’ men’s basketball staff, Eric Musselman announced Tuesday.

Brewer was named recruiting coordinator and Blake will serve as assistant director for basketball administration.

Brewer, the 14th pick in the 2006 NBA Draft by the Utah Jazz, spent 10 seasons playing professional basketball (2006-16). Brewer played three seasons (2006-10) with the Utah Jazz and played in the 2008 NBA Rookie-Sophomore Game.

He was traded to the Memphis Grizzlies in January of 2010. He then signed with Chicago prior to the 2010-11 season and spent two seasons with the Bulls.

Over the next two seasons, Brewer played with the New York Knicks (2012-13), Oklahoma City Thunder (2013), Houston Rockets (2013-14) and a second stint with the Bulls (2014). He ended his professional career playing one season (2015-16) with the Santa Cruz Warriors.

He scored 3,940 points in his NBA career with 1,427 rebounds and 828 assists.

Highlights include him playing and starting a career-high 81 games while averaging a career-high 13.7 points, in 2008-09 with the Utah Jazz and playing 81 games in 2010-11 to help the Chicago Bulls post the best record in the NBA (62-20) and reach the Eastern Conference finals.

After his rookie season in the NBA, he started the Ronnie Brewer Foundation in 2007 to support communities in at-risk situations while promoting education, physical fitness, and the importance of working together as a team.

He additionally organized annual summer basketball camps for the youth in Fayetteville and has created jobs in Farmington with his Brew Crew Transportation Trucking Company.

In 2009, Brewer was the recipient of the University of Arkansas’ Silas Hunt Legacy Award, which recognizes African Americans for their significant contributions to the community, state and nation.

After retiring from professional basketball and in addition to his Foundation and trucking company, Brewer has worked at Fayetteville High School with the boy’s basketball team and a communications teacher as well as coaching the Woodz Elite U16 AAU basketball team.

Brewer has also put his communications background to use by serving as host on sports radio talk shows in South Florida and Northwest Arkansas.

During his playing career at Arkansas, Brewer was a 2006 All-American, a two-time first team All-SEC selection (2005 and ’06) and a two-time All-District pick (2005 and ’06) by both the National Association of Basketball Coaches and the U.S. Basketball Writers Association.

Brewer ranks 16th on Arkansas’ all-time scoring list with 1,416 — trailing his father and fellow NBA first-round pick Ron with 1,440 points — in his three seasons with the Razorbacks.

He led the Razorbacks in steals in each of his three seasons, including leading the SEC in 2006 with 83, and ranks eighth on the school’s all-time steals list.

Brewer additionally led the Hogs in scoring, rebounding, field goals made and free throws made in both 2005 and 2006 while leading the team in assists and 3-point field goal percentage in 2005.

Born in Portland, Ore., Brewer grew up in Fayetteville and was inducted into Fayetteville High School’s Hall of Greats in 2017.

While with the Purple Bulldogs, he was selected Mr. Basketball in Arkansas as a senior in 2003. He broke Corliss Williamson’s conference scoring record as a senior and averaged 25 points, nine rebounds and six assists that season.

Although he only played three seasons for the Razorbacks (2004-06), Brewer received his degree in journalism from Arkansas in 2015.

Blake, a Springdale native and Arkansas graduate, spent the past season as associate director of football operations at Southern Cal. Before that, he was an operations assistant with the Miami Dolphins in 2019 and a graduate assistant in football operations for the Razorbacks for three seasons (2016-2018).

He was a membership advisor with the Fayetteville Athletic Club in 2015-16 after serving in the video operations department with Arkansas’ football team for the 2014 season. He worked in production at KNWA-TV and Fox 24 News for three years (2011-14).

He earned his bachelor’s degree in sports management from Arkansas in 2015, as well as master’s degrees in sports management (2017) and physical education teaching and coaching (2019).

Blake played football at Har-Ber High School.

Information from Arkansas Communications is included in this story.