Freshman AJ Bullard knew that he wasn't in Texas anymore when the snow touched ground last weekend on Central Michigan's campus.

A different environment than what the stretch forward was previously accustomed to in Houston, but thanks to long-lasting bonds with a family member and the Davis family, Bullard knew that Mount Pleasant was where he belonged.

CMU coach Keno Davis first got his foot in the door in 1991 under his father, Tom, with the Iowa Hawkeyes. It was there that Matt Bullard, the father of A.J., played two seasons before enjoying a decade-long career professionally.

Bullard would commit to Davis and the Chippewas his senior year at The Woodlands High, and later became one of two scholarship players who made-up the 2017 class, joining former Lowell (Mich.) standout Matt Beachler.

The 6-foot-8 shooter went on to average 12 points, 10 rebounds, and three blocks a game.

ChippewaCountry.com caught up with Bullard who reminisced on his short time with the program, how those family ties got him to Central Michigan and future aspirations.

ChippewaCountry.com: Did your relationship with Keno Davis take form as a result of his father having previously coached your father?

Bullard: It definitely did. I didn't play a whole lot of AAU growing up, just kind of played through high school and that's how I got noticed by college teams. With coach Davis, like you said, with his father coaching mine, we already had that connection and he knew of me. So they got in contact with us and came down to watch me play, then I just kind of fell in love as soon as they recruited me.

Coach tells me all the time how he asked his father what potential he saw in me and (Tom) said that (I) looked just like Matt Bullard when he was in college. It's a really cool story and a really cool connection that my dad played for coach's father and I'm playing for coach.

Offers from programs not named CMU?

The only offer I had was from Central Michigan, although I did get interest from other schools. But with CMU taking that first step in trusting me, that really made me feel comfortable with them. That's why I committed before any school could offer me.

What was the experience like in training with Houston Rockets players during the summer before your senior year?

It was eye-opening as to how hard those guys work. It's just a whole another level because when you go from varsity to college, especially in Division I basketball, it's a huge step but when you from college to professional basketball, it's an even bigger step.

So, it was a testament to how hard those guys work and definitely working out with them put that inner-fire in me to work hard and try to be as best as I can be.

Did the injury over the offseason delay your progress?

It set me back strength wise. I was working out this whole summer, feeling like I was getting a lot stronger. But after coming here, I kind of got blindsided on a screen and had a bone contusion on my shoulder. That set me back especially in the weight room because I wasn't able to lift my arm above my head which restricted a lot of what I could.

I was out for a month and couldn't even practice, which was tough having to sit out and watch it. Now that I'm healthy, it's definitely been picking back up for me.

Open to the possibility of a redshirt?

It would be really good for me because our rotation is pretty much set. It's definitely a good option for me as I can get back into the weight room and catch up on what I missed this summer. I've been lifting about four-to-five days a week for four weeks since I haven't been playing in the games, which has made me feel a lot stronger.

Do you look to teammate Innocent Nwoko in seeing the benefits of redshirting?

I didn't know Innocent his freshman year but I've gotten to know him a whole lot this year. I've definitely talked to him about his experience (redshirting). He was saying that he was really raw skill wise, strength wise and was able to take that redshirt year to continue to get better and stronger.

It was good stuff to hear from him about his redshirt year which I'm looking forward to possibly doing the same for myself.

How tight are you with the other freshmen?

I would say that it's the freshmen connection because it's a new place, it's your first year going through something like this. So being able to have those freshmen and being on the team with them and doing stuff outside of basketball, it's really cool to have that relationship with them.