http://www.nydailynews.com/sports/basketball/story/257401p-220466c.html
BY FRANK ISOLA
DAILY NEWS SPORTS WRITER


Jamison Brewer impresses Knicks with determination to get to where he's going.

The Knicks' bus will weave its way through the Atlanta streets tonight, starting at their luxury hotel and ending at Philips Arena. It's a rather routine commute, one that takes less than 10 minutes even with rush-hour traffic.
For Jamison Brewer, though, the journey is a blessed event. The Knicks' backup point guard will stare out of a window and remind himself of just how far he has traveled in his 24 years - when the odds of him making it to his 18th birthday were stacked against him.

Brewer grew up in East Point, Ga., a hardscrabble city of nearly 40,000 outside Atlanta. He never met his father. His mother is a recovering drug addict. While Sandra Brewer struggled to pay rent and care for her son, young Jamison's childhood was spent bouncing from house to house, living day-to-day with relatives and friends. He was 8 years old.

"I've never looked for excuses," Brewer says. "I've had a rough time but I'm not the only one. Other people have it much tougher. I try to tell kids that there is nothing that you can't be successful in. You can overcome barriers; don't settle for less just because you don't have a parent around.

"I didn't have a father but a lot of kids don't have fathers. I'm not ashamed of my mother. I still love her. I know the man upstairs has looked out for me."

Brewer, who says he never was homeless, used sports to keep him occupied and shelter him from a life of drugs and crime.

He learned to be independent at a young age. And he always seemed to run across people who kept him on the right path. People like Gatha Cody, one of his mother's friends who provided Brewer with a warm bed and parental guidance when he was in high school. His AAU coach was Wallace Prather, whose Atlanta Celtics list Dwight Howard and Josh Smith as alumni. Prather steered Brewer to a prep school in Washington, D.C., and later Auburn University.

"There was never any doubt about his talent or his desire," Prather said.

The 6-4 Brewer declared for the NBA draft following his sophomore season and was a second-round pick of the Indiana Pacers in 2001. There he quickly bonded with Ron Artest and forged a strong relationship with the Pacers' former head coach, Isiah Thomas, who in August signed Brewer to a deal to join the Knicks.

Thomas, who faced his own battles growing up on Chicago's West Side, felt an immediate connection to the scrappy point guard.

"We never really talked about what we've gone through," Brewer said. "I just know that anytime someone like Isiah Thomas sees something special in you, it's a good feeling."

Brewer will struggle to find minutes as Stephon Marbury's backup and he's a candidate to return to the injured list once Allan Houston is ready to play. But the coaching staff feels Brewer's quickness can be an asset, either pressuring the ball or on the fast break.

He made a good first impression by dunking over the Hawks' Boris Diaw last week at the Garden. The basket was his first as a Knick.

Brewer speaks to his mother occasionally but does not expect her to attend tonight's game against the Hawks. Brewer said close to 30 friends and family members will watch him play. They all know his story. They lived the heartache with him and now they get to celebrate his success.

"Just because I was out on the streets it never meant I couldn't be successful," Brewer said. "The streets made me. It's part of who I am."