‘I wouldn’t want to guard him’: Length, skill and humble work ethic make Canton’s Brewer tough to defend

CANTON, Mo. — A humble beast.

Kaden Oliver, a junior guard on the Canton boys basketball team, gave that moniker to Preston Brewer, the Tigers’ 6-foot-8 senior forward and a friend of Oliver’s for 10 years.

“He’s probably the most humble guy I’ve ever met in my life,” Oliver said. “He’s very hard-working, takes criticism better than anyone I know, and he just wants to get better at anything he does in life.”

Tigers coach Dalton Armontrout, Brewer’s coach since the 2022-23 season, sees Brewer’s humility, too.

“He doesn’t like the recognition, but he certainly deserves it,” Armontrout said. “He’s a great kid, great student, very coachable, competitive at anything. I’m glad he’s on my team, that’s for sure.”

That humbleness and competitiveness combined with a unique skill set at 6-foot-8 have made Brewer one of the toughest matchups in the area.

“I wouldn’t want to guard him,” Armontrout said. “He can play one through five. He can bring the ball down the floor. He can come off screens. He can shoot the three, take the midrange, take you to the block. He can do it all. In high school basketball, you don’t see 6-8 that can dribble, either, especially at the Class 2 level.”

Those guard skills stem in large part from the fact that Brewer did not always have the imposing stature he has now. His freshman year, he only stood 6 feet tall, but a growth spurt between his freshman and sophomore year sprung Brewer up to 6-foot-5, and he has grown about three inches since then.

“In junior high, Kaden and I were the point guard and shooting guard,” Brewer said. “Then those skills carried over to when I grew.”

The seamless transition on the court from a shooting guard to a do-everything big man was not quite so smooth off the court.

“It did take some getting used to,” Brewer said. “Clothes and shoes are a pain to find.”

Brewer, who now wears a size 16 shoe, has to order his kicks from a website made especially for people like him.

“Bigshoes.com, that’s what it’s called,” Brewer said.

Brewer had some equally large shoes to fill in becoming the Tigers’ next imposing big man. Brewer took on an expanded role when the 6-foot-8 Kyle Frazier graduated from Canton in 2023.

“We had pretty good depth that year, so (Brewer) flew under the radar, for sure, but after Christmas he did not, and last year, he did not,” Armontrout said. “This year, he’s definitely not.”

As impressive as Brewer’s junior season was — he averaged 18.8 points on 55-percent shooting and 36 percent from 3-point range while also grabbing 10.1 rebounds per game and earning Class 2 District 6 Player of the Year honors — his numbers, especially in the scoring department, have taken a leap in his final campaign with the Tigers. Through 14 games, Brewer was averaging 24.5 points on 58-percent shooting and a 36-percent mark from beyond the arc. He is also averaging 10.6 rebounds per game and shooting 70 percent from the free-throw line on 8.4 attempts per game.

“It makes it difficult because you can’t throw a big guy out on me because I can go by them, and you can’t throw a guard at me because I have post moves and I’m taller than they are,” Brewer said. “That’s why you see a lot of teams double me.”

When that double team comes, Brewer has the ability to either beat it by himself or pass out of it. He is averaging 2.6 assists per game, tied with Oliver for tops on the Tigers.

“He takes on double teams all the time,” Armontrout said. “He’s an underrated passer, too.”

If it hadn’t been for Preston’s father, Jake Brewer, taking a job at People’s Bank of Wyaconda when Brewer was in second grade, Preston would probably be playing for Hannibal, where the Brewers lived until moving to Canton.

“I’m glad they’re here,” Armontrout said.

Oliver met Brewer when the Brewers moved to Lewis County. The two have played basketball and baseball with and against each other for most of the last decade.

Oliver said Brewer displays the same humility and pursuit of perfection on the baseball field that he does on the basketball court.

“He’s still that humble guy that always wants to get better,” Oliver said. “If he pops a ball up, he’s going to be really hard on himself. If he rolls over, he’s going to be hard on himself. If he hits a double in the gap, he’s going to be hard on himself and say he should have squared it up more.

“He’s just one of those guys ever since I can remember who’s always been a great leader and an even better person. No matter what sport we’re playing, no matter what it is, he’s just a good guy to be around.”

Brewer hopes to bring that leadership and tenacity to the collegiate level. He has fielded basketball offers from Culver-Stockton College — where his father played basketball — as well as John Wood Community College, Illinois College and Carl Sandburg College, but he has not made a commitment yet.

“I’m just keeping my options open to see what I can pick up the rest of the year,” Brewer said. “It’s a process for sure, but I want to figure out the program that’s going to be the best for me not only basketball wise but academic wise, as well.”

Brewer has also set a goal to fill out his 6-foot-8 frame. He is currently a rather lanky 200 pounds, but he would like to put on about 30 pounds to better suit his body for the physicality of college basketball.

“I definitely need to get stronger,” Brewer said. “I’ve been trying to get stronger, eating a lot more protein and doing these workouts and all that. I’d like to get to 230.”

Oliver would not want to guard Brewer as is, but he thinks an extra 30 pounds would make Brewer even more of a beast.

“He’d be unstoppable,” Oliver said. “I already think he is unstoppable.”

But Brewer would still be that same humble beast.

“Physically, he’s changed, but mentally he’s always been the same,” Oliver said. “He’s raised extremely well and an awesome kid. It’s a blessing to get to play with him, for sure.”