West Texas roots

Ralph Brewster knows firsthand how inspiring basketball coach Nolan Richardson can be.

And he expects the same motivating, dynamic speech he heard from Richardson as a kid again on Saturday at the Black Chamber of Commerce of the Permian Basin’s annual banquet.

Before Richardson won an NCAA Division I national title at the University of Arkansas, before he won an NIT title at the University of Tulsa and before he won a junior college national title at Western Texas, he was coaching a kid named Brewster at El Paso Bowie in the late 1970s.

Brewster, an Odessa insurance agent and black chamber board member, went on to play at Texas Tech, and Richardson went onto to 500 wins as a college basketball coach.

“One of the biggest things I appreciated is he believed in me,” Brewster said. “He believed more in me than I believed in myself.”

Richardson headlines the Black Chamber of Commerce of the Permian Basin 19th annual Ebony Bar Award banquet Saturday. The event celebrates minority businessmen and businesswomen for their successes and contributions to their city’s minority community.

“Hopefully (attendees) will hear something to take home with them and be able to pass it on not only to other adults but also to children,” chamber president Odel Crawford said.

The black chamber is also celebrating its 23rd year. Founded in 1984, men from Odessa’s southside community formed the organization when they saw a need to address the concerns of small and minority businesses.

The event’s keynote speaker, Richardson, won a title at Arkansas in 1994 and coached the 1995 Razorbacks to the title game again where they lost to UCLA.

He has West Texas roots, growing up in El Paso and playing at Texas Western College, now UTEP.

In Richardson’s final season playing basketball at Texas Western, he played under Don Haskins, who’s considered one of the greatest college basketball coaches of all time.

Richardson is the only coach to win a junior college, NCAA and NIT title in his career. Since being dismissed as Arkansas’ coach, Richardson has coached the national basketball teams for Panama and Mexico and given numerous speeches throughout the nation.

“He’s very original,” Brewster said.

“He’s not one of these status quo type people to get a position and follow suit,” he said. “He’s going to stand on righteousness, and he’s going to speak his mind.”

>> A middle school in El Paso is named after Nolan Richardson.

>> What: The Black Chamber of Commerce of the Permian Basin 19th Ebony Bar Award Banquet and dinner with guest speaker Nolan Richardson.

>> When: 7 p.m. Saturday.

>> Where: MCM Grande FunDome Hotel, 6201 E. Business 20.

>> Tickets: Individual tickets are $30 each or $55 for a couple. A table for 10 can be reserved for $500.

>> Contact: 332-5812 or e-mail Wanda Clayton at walc69@hotmail.com or Odel Crawford at odel.crawford@sbcglobal.net.