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Up Close with Corey Brewer
by Stephen Litel
HoopsWorld
October 16, 2007
The hype surrounding Timberwolves rookie Corey Brewer has been stifled by the trade of Kevin Garnett and the media coverage of fellow rookies Greg Oden and Kevin Durant. Coupled with the play of Ryan Gomes and the likely chance of Gomes starting for Minnesota rather than Brewer, the first-year player from Florida finds himself adjusting to the NBA.
Before leaving for Memphis for Monday's preseason matchup with the Grizzlies, Corey Brewer spoke with HOOPSWORLD about his adjustment to the league, comparisons and his response to the media's expectations for the Timberwolves.
To this point in camp, what has been the easiest adjustment from the college game to the NBA?
The easiest adjustment? I'd say the conditioning part ain't too bad, getting up and down, because in college you get up and down a whole lot. That's about the same. Ain't too much easy in adjustment to the NBA. Everything is different.
Is there one thing that stands out as the toughest adjustment so far?
Just everything is hard. It's an adjustment. Just learning how to play in the NBA. The rules are kind of different when it comes to defensive three seconds, what you can do and everything and then, learning how to play pick and roll four or five different ways. It's an adjustment learning the system. I think learning the system is the hardest thing for me so far.
What is your response when you hear the comparisons between yourself and Scottie Pippen?
I love Scottie Pippen, so you know I feel real good when I can get compared to him like that. It's hard to live up to a guy like that. He's one of the top fifty players to play the game, but I love it. I just hope I can be half the player he was in the NBA.
What do you need to do to make that comparison valid?
I've got to learn to make some jumpers consistently. I've got to be able to put the ball on the floor and see the floor better. He was like a big point guard, basically, a point forward.
A majority of the "experts" are predicting this to be a rough season for the Timberwolves, most likely ending up with another lottery selection. Do you pay attention to the media's predictions at all?
I ain't never listen to the media members "experts." These guys don't play basketball. You let basketball do the talking for you. You lose, they're going to talk bad about you. You win and they're going to talk good about you. So, just go out there and play basketball. If you win, you don't have to worry about because you know they're talking good. If you lose, then you know they're talking bad. That's the way you've got to look at it, in my opinion.