GoUSFBulls.com sat down with junior forward Augustus Gilchrist to talk about his roots in Maryland, family support and playing basketball in the BIG EAST Conference.

GoUSFBulls.com: "I want talk about your past, just growing up. When did you start playing basketball? What point did you have a ball in your hands and you started to figure out that you're pretty good?"

Gilchrist: "When I was four years old my father put a court in the back yard and he put a basketball in my hand. That is when I started playing."

GoUSFBulls.com: "So as you got a little bit older could you start to tell that you were a little bit bigger than everyone else and that you had some game?"

Gilchrist: "I was always the big kid, but I really didn't blow up until about my senior year."

GoUSFBulls.com: "Your senior year, and that's when things started coming together for you, but tell me a little bit about growing up. I know that both of your parents were athletes. I think your mom was a track star, if I believe correctly, in college and your dad was a boxer. There is athleticism in your family."

Gilchrist: "My mom used to run for the Santa Monica track team back in the day. My dad was in the military and he boxed while he was in the military."

GoUSFBulls.com: "So growing up, I imagine that you had a lot of support. It must have been cool knowing your parents were pretty athletic?"

Gilchrist: "A lot of support, a lot of support. It was good."

GoUSFBulls.com: "Were you the kind of kid that would come home from school, go outside in the back yard and just be taking shots every single day? Is that what it was like growing up, where every single day when you had free time you were out on the basketball court?"

Gilchrist: "No. When I was younger I was lazy. I didn't really have that drive until I got a little
bit older and I figured out that I really wanted to do this and started working out harder."

GoUSFBulls.com: "Who have been some of the biggest motivators as you have taken basketball more seriously and focused in on your career here?"

Gilchrist: "My parents, obviously. My uncle, Terrelle, has been helping me and my family and my other uncles and cousins, too. It's just inspirational. I have a lot of support and my family flies out to come to my games, so it's real good."

GoUSFBulls.com: "Let's talk about the Big East Conference, which has nine teams in the top 25, what unbelievable depth and the talent in this league. When you come to play at a school like USF, you know you are going to be playing the best teams in the country. Is it something you embrace?

Gilchrist: "As a basketball player competitor, you always want to play against the best. Just to have this opportunity is one of the greatest things in college basketball."

GoUSFBulls.com: "What's been important too is that you're healthy. Last year you were battling some injuries. I know it was tough for you watching games from the sideline. You want to be in there, banging around with guys, scoring some points. So how do you feel? Do you feel healthy? Do you feel 100 percent?"

Gilchrist: "Yes, this is the healthiest I've probably been since I've been at USF. I feel good and confident. Confident in the games, just letting it come to me. I'm blessed to be healthy."

GoUSFBulls.com: "Now that you are healthy and playing, you've started the majority of the year. Sometimes you can come in off the bench as a spark. How has your role changed though, from a year ago, now that you're healthy and the coaching staff is expecting a lot out of you?"

Gilchrist: "Being one of the veteran guys, I've become more of a focal point for the program and the team. An early part of my focus is helping guys adjust to the team, but overall, I just feel a little older I guess, and have more of a leadership role."

GoUSFBulls.com: "What does it take to be more of a leader for a team in the Big East Conference? What are some of the attributes that you need to have when you have younger teammates looking up at you? Obviously, you have to score some points, but the other things, what are the other things you have to do?"

Gilchrist: "Even though we have a lot of new guys, we have a lot of older guys. So I think leadership comes from a lot of the guys on the team. We have some good leadership. Pretty much the guys know what they are doing, it's just that the Big East experience is a new thing. As far as the tough teams and the ranked teams, that's the only thing new part to most of the guys."

GoUSFBulls.com: "You were originally enrolled at Virginia Tech, transferred to Maryland, then transferred to USF. Are you comfortable now here in Tampa? Do you feel like this was the right decision for you to come down and be a member of the USF Bulls?"

Gilchrist: "I feel like it's the right decision. Everything happens for a reason, and it has led me here. And I am doing good right now."

GoUSFBulls.com: "What do you like most about being a USF Bull and taking the court at the Sun Dome?"

Gilchrist: "Obviously the weather. The weather is a great part. Being from Maryland, you know, it's a lot different than it is at home right now."

GoUSFBulls.com: "You come from up North, what has been the biggest adjustment, or the most difficult adjustment? Is it getting acclimated to the climate? Or is that the easy part for you going 'Yeah, I'll take 70 degrees in January'?"

Gilchrist: "Yeah, it is very easy, very easy. I guess the toughest thing, is when you go back to cold climates, is getting used to the weather and the climate change."

GoUSFBulls.com: "As you look ahead, what are some of the goals you have for yourself here down the line? Whether it is this year, or looking ahead at your future?"

Gilchrist: "Class has started, so I need to get good grades obviously, and finish out this semester strong. Then I need to come in to practice and work hard every day and see what happens."