Overview:
Kellen Brewer averaged 20.1 points, 6.5 rebounds, 3.2 assists and 1.9 blocks as a junior last year for Metairie Park’s Country Day School to earn State Class 2A Player of the Year honors
The alma mater mattered in one of greatest recruiting coups in UC Santa Barbara men’s basketball history.
Kellen Brewer, a four-star recruit from Country Day School of Metairie Park, Louisiana, signed with one of the school’s alums in an on-campus ceremony Wednesday.
Gaucho coach Joe Pasternack graduated from Country Day in 1995.
“He asked me if the lunches were still the same and everything,” Brewer told Noozhawk.
Pasternack admitted that Brewer is the first player he’s ever tried to recruit from Country Day.
“My alma mater wasn’t very good in basketball,” he said with a laugh. “I wasn’t very good in basketball.
“To have Kellen Brewer come from Country Day? It’s special.”
The Gauchos were the first school to recruit Brewer.
“The coaches’ belief in me,” he replied when asked about the biggest factor in his decision.
“When I was playing AAU basketball, coach Pasternack, and coach Brandon (Cyrus) would be at all my games supporting me,” he said. “I just feel like they’re a great staff, and it’s a great location, and I just feel like it’s the best situation for me.”
Brewer was ranked among the nation’s top 100 recruits by 247Sports after averaging 12.0 points, 3.3 rebounds and 2.5 assists per game for LivOn on the elite Nike EYBL circuit this past summer.
“What helped me the most was probably going to the Top 100 camp,” he said. “That definitely was a great experience.
“Playing AAU taught me a lot, too. Most of those kids are obviously going to be in Division I, so it was just kind of like a preview.”
Brewer, a 6-foot-6 senior guard, committed to UCSB after visiting the campus for the first time in late August. He was joined on the trip with his mother, Kenyada, and father Corey, who played 13 seasons in the NBA.
“I just knew that it was on the beach, and that the campus was beautiful,” Brewer said. “Besides that, I didn’t know that much about it.
“My mom loves it. She doesn’t really understand basketball as much as my dad, but she definitely loved the location everything during her visit.
“I’ve never lived in a place like it before, I’ll tell you that.”
He also got a taste of the campus atmosphere while making a visit last month. He attended UCSB’s Blue-Green rivalry men’s soccer match against Cal Poly.
“It was a big experience hanging out with them,” Brewer said. “All the players were really nice to me — I talked to CJ (Shaw) the most.
“He was telling me about the program, telling me about the coaches … What to know, what to expect.”
Pasternack said Brewer’s game is similar to that of Shaw.
“That’s what got me excited watching him play,” he said. “And he’s going to get stronger.
“I mean, he’s got great genetics with his dad, and with our strength program, and P3 (Peak Performance Project training center), he’s going to be a killer.”
Brewer showed his physicality on the football field, catching 74 passes for 1,031 yards and 23 touchdowns for Country Day the last two seasons.
“He has a lot of toughness to him,” Pasternack said. “He’s very young — he’s only 17 years old — and he’s going to continue to grow.”
Brewer’s father, who recently joined the coaching staff at Arkansas State, encouraged him to sign with UCSB.
“He just felt like this is a place where I could come in as a freshman and make an impact,” Brewer said. “And he loves the coaching and how coach Pasternack runs three guards in the lineup.”
Corey Brewer was chosen as the NCAA Final Four’s most outstanding player in 2007 after leading the University of Florida to its second-straight national championship.
His 13 seasons in the NBA included a run to the 2011 championship with the Dallas Mavericks.
“I’ve been playing basketball ever since I could remember — probably when I was 3 or 4,” Kellen said. “My dad was in the NBA, and I was going to be like him.
“I remember watching him play more toward the end of his career, especially when he was in Houston … That was probably my favorite season watching him.”
“I’ve beaten him a couple of times (in one-on-one),” he added with a laugh.
Kellen Brewer averaged 20.1 points, 6.5 rebounds, 3.2 assists and 1.9 blocks as a junior at Country Day School to earn State Class 2A Player of the Year honors.
He led the Cajuns to their second-straight state championship. They are angling for a third with a veteran team this season.
“This should be our best year,” Brewer said. “Everybody’s getting older, and we have like a good core group.
“The shortest person on our starting five is 6-3, so we’re one of the bigger teams in the state.”
Country Day coach Mike McGuire said Brewer will be “an elite player in the West Coast Conference,” the league that UCSB will moving to next season.
“I’m really excited to see him lead us in his senior year at Country Day,” he added. “KB has a bright future academically and athletically.
“He’s a great kid from great parents. He is a pleasure to coach.”