FORT SMITH -- Walter Brewer's passion for the game of basketball is apparent even after playing and coaching for 50 years.
"I love the game," Brewer said. "My family, we're into sports. We grew up in basketball or some type of sport. It's something that I like to instill in kids. They really understand the knowledge that we have as coaches. I love it when even just one kid really picks it up. I feel like I did my job. I'm still excited about coaching."
Brewer, the former Northside standout and younger brother of Ron Brewer Sr., brought his Oklahoma City Southeast Spartans to the inaugural Big Show Tip-Off Classic, which was started by Northside head coach Eric Burnett and another former Northside player Rodney Perry.
"I'm very happy to be here," Brewer said. "I was very excited when Eric and Rodney called me and asked me would I come and be a part of this. There was no hesitation; I said, 'Definitely.' I always wanted to be in the Coca-Cola Classic and haven't had the opportunity. This one was very good to me. I've been coaching for so many years, and this is the first time I've coached here in Fort Smith."
Brewer barely missed out playing in the Coca-Cola Christmas Classic, which started in December 1978, just after he had graduated the previous May.
Brewer went on to play at Northeastern State University in Tahlequah, Okla., and then played in a semi-pro league in Dallas.
"Like so many of us, I wanted to play in the NBA," Brewer said.
Then reality set in, and Brewer took the first job available as an elementary school teacher in Oklahoma City.
"I wanted to be in Tulsa, but they had no openings," Brewer said. "Oklahoma City had one opening, and it was an elementary job. We had a little one, and it was work so I took it."
Brewer soon applied for a coaching position at Oklahoma City Douglass, which eagerly hired him with his background, and was an assistant for three years there before being asked to take over at Southeast, a historic high school in Oklahoma City that had closed in 1990 due to declining enrollment but renovated as a magnet school and reopened in 1994.
Brewer then began the rebuilding process of a once-proud program that had won state championships in 1976, 1981 and 1982.
"It was great to build something from the ground up," Brewer said. "That's something that you can never take away. Even my former players, they did it for me. I just threw it out there; they built it. I cannot take credit for this. I've got to give that to my former players and players now because they believed in me and keep the tradition going."
Brewer went 6-18 that first year and didn't win a game against another Oklahoma City school.
"It was a challenge," Brewer said. "That first year, we didn't win one city game. We were 6-18. It was a shock to me. I'd never had a losing record before as a coach or a player. It was different. Like my wife said, I had to learn to crawl before I walked."
Soon, Brewer and his Spartans were running.
Southeast made its first state tournament appearance under Brewer in 2000 and won consecutive state championships in 2004 and 2005. Only an overtime loss to Tulsa Central in 2006 prevented it from being three in a row. The 2005 Spartans finished 27-0 and with a three-year record of 79-2.
Brewer through the years has thought about returning to his roots in Fort Smith.
"I had for many years, a lot," Brewer said. "My brother, Ron, and a lot of people tried to get me home. I love coming home."
Brewer grew up playing basketball on the playgrounds of Fort Smith at Creekmore Park and Tilles Park, and he went to Howard Elementary and Darby Junior High.
"This is where I learned the knowledge of the game was here in Fort Smith, going to the parks, going to the Boys Club," Brewer said. "That's still home. I still have feelings for it."
Brewer missed out on playing for legendary coach Gayle Kaundart at Northside like his older brother Ron did, but Kaundart was still in Fort Smith coaching at Westark Junior College.
"Playing at Coach Kaundart's gymnasium, at Darby, at Howard Elementary," Brewer said. "Those are memories I'll never forget. We'd play at Creekmore Park, Tilles Park; anywhere there were games, we were there. We'd play at Lincoln Youth Center. We'd play there until late at night. There were people there that loved the game. We'd open the gym at 11 o'clock at night and stay there until 3 in the morning."
While Brewer has a deep appreciation for the good old days, he was overwhelmed by Northside's new gymnasium.
"I love this facility," Brewer said. "Of all the gyms that I've gone to, this is one of the top-notch gyms. They did a great job."
PEA RIDGE
Another native son returns
Former Van Buren standout Trent Loyd brings his Pea Ridge Blackhawks to Lavaca for the Golden Arrow Classic.
"It's always fun going back to the River Valley to see friends and family," Loyd said. "It gives my family a chance to see us play as well."
The Classic features two teams that played for state championships last year, including defending Class 2A state champion Lavaca and Class A runner-up County Line.
"I think it's good for our guys to go face River Valley teams," Loyd said. "They play a different style. I think it's a tough style; it's physical. It does our guys a lot of good. I always look forward to it."
Pea Ridges opens the tournament on Tuesday against Paris and with a win will possibly face County Line.
"Last year, we faced Lavaca in the tournament, which won the state tournament, and the next day faced County Line, which was in the finals," Loyd said. "It gets us battled-tested for the season. It's a really good tournament for us. I know our guys are excited to go back to it. It's a good opportunity."
Loyd played for his dad Randy Loyd at Van Buren.
COUNTY LINE
Undefeated test
The Indians began the season ranked No. 1 in the Arkansas Democrat-Gazette rankings, and they've certainly lived up to that billing.
County Line went into a 10-day Thanksgiving break with an 11-0 mark. Only Wonderview in the season opener has played the Indians within 10 points in County Line's 79-71 win.
In their start, the Indians also own a 70-41 win over Lavaca, last year's Class 2A state champion, but County Line did commit 19 turnovers.
"All of those mistakes, we trying to clean up as much as we can," County Line coach Joe Brunson said. "We try to be as efficient on offense as we can be, eliminate the turnovers and take good shots by good shooters."
County Line pulled away with a 22-point second quarter and had a pair of 10-point runs against Lavaca, which is rare against the Golden Arrows.
"They definitely helped," Brunson said. "When you're playing a team as good as Lavaca, runs like that really help. They guard really well. It doesn't matter who Lavaca has on the floor, they're going to guard really well."
County Line opens the Golden Arrow Classic on Tuesday against Providence Academy.
"Beat us in the semifinals of the tournament last year," said Brunson, whose Indians finished 40-5 last year.
ALMA
Tough schedule
Under second-year coach Dominic Lincoln, the Airedales have opened the season against tough competition with losses to Sylvan Hills and Springdale Har-Ber.
"It's tough right now, losing back-to-back games like this and playing really stiff competition," Alma coach Lincoln. "We missing a lot of pieces right now.
Alma opened the Big Show Tip-Off Classic with a 78-48 loss to Springdale Har-Be. Alma committed 18 turnovers, which was a major takeaway from the loss.
"How we have to value each possession and how each little mistake you make against good teams like this capitalize on," Lincoln said. "If you make two or three in a row, then that lead expands so you have to be cleaner, you have to be stronger, you have to make decisions quicker. We have to grow and learn from it quicker."
Israel Towns-Robinson, Easton Boggs, Branson Brogan and Carmani Smith were all unavailable due to sickness or other ailments.
"Those are four guys that play big parts for us," Lincoln said. "No excuses, we have guys in there, and it's opportunities for them to step up and make plays. We'll come back and stick to it and get back to work. Get healthy and keep going."
Alma will play host Benton in the first of three games in the Benton Holiday Classic at 5:30 p.m. Dec. 1 before playing Jacksonville at 8:30 p.m. Dec. 2 and Farmington at 11:30 a.m. Dec. 3.
"I think it's something we need," Lincoln said. "We're such a young team; we're mostly 10th graders and 11th graders. I thought it would be good for this group. They had success in junior high to put them against really tough competition for them to grow up really fast. It is a tough schedule but a tough schedule makes tough kids. I want us to get ready for conference."
The Lady Airedales are also playing in the Benton Holiday Classic.
The Lady Airedales open against Beebe at 4 p.m. Dec. 1, play Benton at 7 p.m. Dec. 2 and finish against West Memphis at 10 a.m. Dec. 3.
SOUTHSIDE
Mavericks drop opener
Southside lost its season opener to Oklahoma City Southeast in the Big Show Tip-Off Classic at Northside.
Also a takeaway for the Mavericks was turnovers.
"We've got to handle the ball better," Southside coach Stewart Adams said. "We knew that handling the ball might be an issue for us. We had too many turnovers. We're going to have to shoot about 100% to overcome that."
Southside committed 28 turnovers, and Southeast turned them into 33 points in the 81-59 final.
Yazed Taforo finished with 20 points, and Levi Steele had 18. They were combined 17-of-27 shooting from the floor.
"We feel good," Adams said. "We've got some guys that can go score the ball. We've got some guys that can shoot. We've got to handle the pressure on those guys. Oklahoma City is not unlike what we're going to see. The good thing we can go and address those issues internally. Depth was an issue. That's going to get better once we get our football guys. I probably got a little tied in the second half. You want to win these games right now just like in conference, but the big thing is you've got to see what your issues are and address it and get better next week."
Southside plays its home opener Tuesday against Van Buren. The varsity boys will tip off at 7 p.m.
The Lady Mavericks travel to Oklahoma City Star Spencer on Tuesday and host Mount Saint Mary Academy on Friday.
GREENWOOD
Tough schedule as usual
The Lady Bulldogs are playing their usual tough nonconference November and December schedule.
They closed out the Thanksgiving break with a matchup between No. 1 ranked teams in their respective classifications with the Lady Bulldogs, ranked No. 1 in the preseason Class 5A ranking, against Nashville, ranked No. 1 in Class 4A.
Carley Sexton scored the first three baskets of the game and Greenwood jumped to a 14-0 lead. Nashville cut Greenwood's advantage to 40-35 at the half, but the Lady Bulldogs opened the game back up and won 80-61 to improve to 5-0.
Brooklyn Woolsey led Greenwood with 21 points and six rebounds. Anna Trusty had 20 points and nine boards. Mady Cartwright had 15 points, 10 rebounds and five assists. Sexton finished with 13 points, four rebounds and four assists.
Greenwood continues its tough schedule with a trip to Conway on Tuesday and hosts Vilonia on Friday.
The Bulldogs don't play again until Dec. 6 when they travel to Springdale.
Pea Ridge head coach Trent Loyd reacts Jan. 29, 2019, during a game against Farmington at Pea Ridge High School. (File Photo/NWA Democrat-Gazette)
Alyson Edwards
Yazed Taforo
Oklahoma City Southeast coach Walter Brewer talks with Fort Smith Athletic Director Michael Beaumont on Nov. 19 following Southeast's victory over Southside at the Big Show Tip Off Classic on Nov. 19. (Submitted photo)
Pea Ridge head coach Trent Loyd reacts Jan. 29, 2019, during a game against Farmington at Pea Ridge High School. (File Photo/NWA Democrat-Gazette)Chopping it Up
ALYSON EDWARDS
School Mansfield
Year Junior
Twitter @AlysonEdwards27
Favorite Food Sushi
Favorite Movie The Sandlot
Favorite Subject Pathology
Favorite TV Show Vampire Diaries
The Scoop Edwards was named Class 2A All-State last season in basketball and was the Most Valuable Player in the Class 2A state volleyball tournament, which Mansfield won in October. … Edwards has helped the Lady Tigers to a 4-0 start and is averaging 15.4 points per game … She scored 15 points and had 13 rebounds against Booneville two weeks ago. … Mansfield plays at Ozark on Monday and at Cossatot River on Friday.
…
YAZED TAFARO
School Southside
Year Senior
Twitter @TaforoYazed
Favorite Food Ribs
Favorite Movie Transformers
Favorite Subject Math
Favorite TV Show Stranger Things
The Scoop Taforo scored 20 points, hitting 10-of-16 field goal attempts, and had seven rebounds in the Big Show Tip Off Classic against Oklahoma City Southeast in the season opener on Nov. 19. … Last year against Rogers, the 6-2 guard had his second double-double with 17 points, hitting 6-of-6 free throw attempts, and 13 rebounds. … Southside hosts Van Buren on Tuesday.