Draft day a real treat for pleased Jazz fans

The first big crowd reaction at the Delta Center came with the 11th pick of the NBA Draft.

Commissioner David Stern stepped to the podium in New York and announced Orlando was taking Duke shooting guard J.J. Redick.

"Oooooh!" moaned the crowd back in Salt Lake. "Awwwwww!"

That was followed by an aftershock of "Ooooohs."

It sounded like the elimination round of "American Idol."

There went the Jazz's chance to add a lights-out perimeter shooter — and college basketball player of the year, no less.

The second reaction was even more animated. That was the good news for Jazz player personnel boss Kevin O'Connor, who has been criticized for his picks since taking the position seven years ago. Failure to draft Tony Parker in 2001 and Chris Paul in 2005 have hounded him like a skip tracer. It's true Deron Williams — the Jazz's draft pick last year — was no embarrassment, and might even become better than Paul. It's also true that in 2001 there were 27 other teams that passed on Parker.

If the Jazz are idiots, they have a lot of company.

Still, the reaction Wednesday seemed to buoy O'Connor's spirits.

Just before the pick was made public on ESPN, he stepped to the podium at the Delta Center and said, "With the No. 1 pick, the Utah Jazz select Ronnie Brewer."

Big cheer. Someone fired off confetti and streamers. A handful of high-fives went up in the crowd.

"I thought you wanted J.J. Redick," said O'Conner with a wry smile. Then he added, "But we're happy with what we got."

What the Jazz did get was a good player. Brewer is a big (6-foot-7, 220 pounds), athletic combination guard who majored in broadcast journalism at Arkansas. (Look out Hot Rod Hundley.) He can play two positions, finish on the break and slash to the basket. Plus, he had good bloodlines — he's the son of former NBA player Ron Brewer.

From the perimeter, he's no Redick, but who is? (Redick is the NCAA all-time 3-point leader.) On the bright side, Brewer doesn't have a herniated disc or a DUI arrest on his resume, either.