Aggie Flashback with former A&M basketball player Josh Carter

Key quotes from Josh Carter interview:

"I was always cheering for [Elston Turner], but I was keeping up with him. He was  getting close to the my single season record. If he had all four years, he probably  would have got it. He is a great shooter. I am glad I still [hold the records.]"

"I have always wanted to be able to do something for my mom. She has been a great  woman in my life. I was able to buy her a car [for Mother's Day.] I finally have  enough money to do that for her and not have to worry about it. It was very rewarding."

"I told her to get whatever she wanted and I would take care of it. I thought she was  going to cry, but she was too excited."

"My mom went to prison when I was younger... it was a difficult childhood. But we just  tried to stay together and do the right thing, it wasn't as bad as it may sound."

"[Billy Gillispie] was recruiting my brother to Illinois... he told me I was going to be big and play basketball like my brother. It's funny that I ended up playing for him."

"I heard stories about [Gillispie from Illinois players. When you first meet him, he  seems like the nicest guy ever, but he will get after you."

"I was probably the one in the doghouse the most... me and Antanas Kavaliauskas. We  stayed in the doghouse."

"I always say I don't know where I would've ended up without [Gillispie]. I'll be honest. I was a soft player... and he made me tougher. He made me want to play  defense, and that's something I do really well now. He changed my game completely. The tough love really worked."

"[Mark] Turgeon did a good job as well. He was more of a providing confidence type of  guy. They both made me become a better player."

"The biggest game for me was BYU. My entire junior year tournament was big because of  the BYU game. I had an individually great game... that was a good tournament for me and Texas A&M."

"The guys [I played with] still keep in touch quite a bit... whenever we have an opportunity to catch up, we do."

"I still keep up with the A&M program as much as I can. It's nice to know that we  helped develop a basketball program that people are excited about. I hope that it continues to grow and get bigger."

"My pro career has been a good journey."

"I started out in Germany. I struggled a little bit my first year. I went to a little bit of a lesser job in Israel. We ended up bringing that team up. I was there for two years. By the second year, I was able to get all kinds of awards. I then got into a really great situation in Russia. I had a pretty good first year out there as well."

"It is very different overseas. Obviously, there is a language barrier. Luckily I have been on teams where the team language is English. Some teams overseas, the head coach might not even speak English. It's definitely an adjustment, on and off the court."

"On the court, it is a lot more physical. You have to learn different kinds of rules and different strategies. It is difficult to adjust, but just like anything... you learn and you get better."

"The fans love us. They are always at the games cheering for us. When they see you on the street, they are nice and say hello. It's just like in College Station, except there are much less fans than there are in Aggieland."

"The current Aggie basketball staff is a group of great guys. I am 100% confident in them. They will do a good job. Just like in any program, there may be difficult times. But they have a great staff, and they will get it back to where they are supposed to be."

"With the internet, it is not too hard to keep up with Aggie sports."

"It was difficult [when Coach Gillispie left the program], but we knew after the season we had that there would be opportunities for him to leave the program. We were surprised and shocked that we didn't hear it directly from him. I don't think anyone on the team had hard feelings towards him. You gotta chase your dreams and do what you have to do."

"Turgeon was a great guy and a great coach. He made [that transition] easier for us."

"I recently signed a 2 year deal in Russia, so I will most likely be back there. But there are talks about teams wanting to buy me out of that contracts... I have also heard some NBA talk, but you never know what exactly is going on."