When Logan Brewer transferred to Crothersville High School his sophomore year, he didn’t get a chance to step on the hardwood.
That never discouraged him.
Once he got his opportunity to represent his new home, he made the most it.
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The past two years, Brewer was a force on both ends of the court for the Tigers’ boys basketball team.
After scoring an impressive 402 points in his first season with the Tigers, Brewer set a single-season record at CHS for points by putting up 515 this past winter. He shot 54 percent from 2-point range and 32 percent from beyond the arc while also nailing 70 percent of his shots from the charity stripe.
In just two years, Brewer amassed 917 career points for the Tigers.
On top of the 6-foot-1 senior’s 19.8 points per game, Brewer averaged six rebounds and 2.5 steals while helping lead the Tigers’ first sectional championship appearance since 2004.
The Tigers finished with 15 wins in both of Brewer’s seasons in the lineup. Before he got there, the Tigers hadn’t put together back-to-back winning seasons since 1985.
For all of his accomplishments this season, The Tribune has named Brewer the 2018-19 Jackson County Player of the Year.
Brewer transferred from Columbus East his sophomore year and had to sit out the basketball season, but he did get to compete with the baseball team.
Once the Tigers’ basketball season came to a close, he started working with his future teammates.
He attended some open gyms and made his presence known right away. Brewer would go head to head with teammate Josh Thomas, who was coming off of a season — as a freshman — where he set the school scoring record for a season.
Tigers head coach Greg Kilgore said it wasn’t hard for Brewer to crack the Tigers’ starting lineup due to his work ethic and ability.
“I think he’s very coachable. I think he would fit into any system well,” Kilgore said. “I think the kids accepted him, and he wanted to be a part of something. Our kids saw how good he was, and it not only made our team better for two years but made some of our younger kids in the middle school see they need to work hard to be as good as (Brewer) is.”
Between his junior and senior seasons, Brewer worked relentlessly to help make the team better.
“I don’t think the expectations really changed after my junior year. The expectations were to go in and work our hardest,” Brewer said. “Whenever I moved here, I didn’t really know anyone. I knew Lane (Wienhorst) from AAU, but I think the expectation changed throughout this past year. The expectation was, ‘What can you do for not just the team but the community?’ This community has done so much and provided so much for boys athletics here. It’s a good feeling having everyone support us.”
Kilgore said Brewer’s game evolved, and his mid-range jump shot is one of the best he has seen.
“I think he’s a throwback player. I think he could have played in the 1970s and ‘80s,” Kilgore said. “I’ve watched Crothersville basketball since ‘78, and we’ve had several good players and teams, but I don’t know that I’ve seen a better 15- to 17-foot jump shot. He was as good from there as anybody in the state. I would guess he was around 68 percent from that range.”
Going into Brewer’s final season, the two-time All-Southern Athletic Conference player was expected to make some noise.
“I really thought he would be our leading scorer and rebounder,” Kilgore said. “Logan is a soft-spoken kid. He isn’t one to get everyone fired up in the locker room, but when he gets on the floor and the other kids see him playing all-out, I think everyone feeds off it.”
In many games, Brewer would defend the opposing team’s best player. He said he welcomed the challenge and would go up against players that were much taller than him.
While Brewer wasn’t afraid to carry the Tigers’ offensive load, he always tried to make the right play.
“I don’t think scoring the ball, personally, was a responsibility,” Brewer said. “My responsibility was to find the open person. It just so happened, a lot of the time, it was me (scoring). If I’m scoring the ball and we’re winning games, then let’s keep doing it that way. However, there were some nights I didn’t hit shots and we won games. All that mattered was winning games.”
There isn’t just one thing that motivates Brewer to continue improving.
“I’m a competitive guy. If I’m doing something, there is always a certain goal I set for myself,” he said. “Part of it is my family, not just my mom, dad and sister, but everyone in Crothersville. The guys on the team are like brothers to me. I wanted to prove a point. I thought we had a really good year. I think Crothersville is here and is ready. We’re coming for a sectional win. If they need me to work with the team, I will be there. If that’s what I need to do to help these guys win, that’s what I will do.”
While he hasn’t committed anywhere yet, Brewer would like to play basketball in college.
“I would like to play college ball, but nothing is set in stone right now,” Brewer said. “I’m looking at all the options. If I get considered to go anywhere, I will work as hard as I can that they’ve picked the right person to be there.”
Kilgore said Brewer will be missed next year.
“He has been a pleasure to have for two years,” he said. “He is a coach’s dream. He is probably the one kid that I’ve coached throughout the years that expects more from himself than what the coaching staff expects from him.”
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Joining Logan Brewer on The Tribune’s 2018-19 All-County team:
Josh Thomas, Crothersville, Junior
Key stats/honors: 13.1 PPG, 6 RPG, 3.2 APG, 2.4 SPG, 43% 2-point, 28% 3-point, 61% FT, All-SAC, Broke 1,000 points, became all-time scoring leader at CHS.
Isaac Johnson, Brownstown Central, Senior
Key stats/honors: 13.1 PPG, 3.4 RPG, 1.25 SPG, 1.63 APG, 48% 2-point, 30% 3-point, 78% FT, All-MSC.
Seth Borden, Brownstown Central, Senior
Key stats/honors: 8.5 PPG, 6.5 RPG, 3.17 APG, 1.46 SPG, 1.04 BPG, 49% 2-point, 60% FT, All-MSC.
Michael Boshears, Brownstown Central, Senior
Key stats/honors: 11.1 PPG, 3.3 RPG, 3.73 APG, 1.87 SPG, 43% 2-point, 32% 3-point, 74% FT, All-MSC honorable mention, HBCA All-Star, Hoosier Basketball Magazine Top 60 Senior Workout.
A.J. Goecker, Trinity Lutheran, Senior
Key stats/honors: 15.2 PPG, 6 RPG, 2 SPG, 64% 2-point, 36% 3-point, 65% FT, Trinity MVP, IBCA Academic All-State honorable mention.
Jack Roberts, Seymour, Senior
Key stats/honors: 8.13 PPG, 4.26 RPG, 1.52 SPG, 48% 2-point, 53% FT, SHS MVP.
Eric McCoy, Seymour, Junior
Key stats/honors: 10.04 PPG, 2.17 RPG, 1.04 SPG, 1.35 APG, 35% 2-point, 35% 3-point, 67% FT.
Owen Sullivan, Medora, Senior
Key stats/honors: 14.3 PPG, 6.2 RPG, 2.8 APG, 1.1 SPG, 57% 2-point, 39% 3-point, 72% FT.
Keaton Seniours, Medora, Senior
Key stats/honors: 12.6 PPG, 5.1 RPG, 3.4 APG, 1.6 SPG, 1.4 BPG, 54% 2-point, 34% 3-point, 61% FT.
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Ethan Wischmeier, Brownstown Central, Senior
Braden Neal, Brownstown Central, Senior
Tyler Goecker, Trinity Lutheran, Sophomore
Cable Spall, Crothersville, Sophomore
Lane Wienhorst, Crothersville, Senior
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Jackson County Player of the Year
Logan Brewer, Crothersville, senior
Key stats/honors: 515 total points, 19.8 PPG, 6 RPG, 2.5 SPG, 54% 2-point, 32% 3-point, 70% FT, All-SAC, 917 career points at CHS in two years, school records for points in a game (45) and season (515).
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