Justin Ingram returned to campus earlier this week and had a chance to play in pick-up games with current Rockets in Savage Arena. Ingram averaged 17.7 points, 4.9 assists and 3.2 rebounds per game for JL Bourg in the 2008-09 campaign to help them post a 23-11 win-loss mark in France’s Pro B League. It was his second year playing in France since graduating from the University of Toledo following the Rockets’ MAC championship season in 2006-07. Ingram was a first-team All-MAC honoree and ranks eighth in school history with 1,494 points.  He spoke with www.utrockets.com and talked about his experiences and his time as a Rocket.

Q: What has it been like for you playing overseas?

Ingram: I’ve had a lot of fun playing in France, and I was one of two Americans on our team. I played for JL Bourg in the Pro B League the last two years and that’s the second division in France.

It’s quite a bit different that the United States, and it took a little time to get adjusted to the different style of basketball they play in Europe and France in particular. It’s a much more finesse game and they shoot a lot of outside shots. For the most part though, it’s just basketball.  You find a way to play and you find a way to adapt.

Q: What are some of the things you learned from your time as a Rocket that have helped you in your pro career?

Ingram: The biggest thing I learned from playing at the University of Toledo was how to fight through hard times and adversity and then seeing it result in winning a MAC Championship in my senior year. In my first season in France, things weren’t going very well and that was similar to the years when we didn’t start out our season strong. In my heart though, I knew there was a chance that things could turn around because it happened here at Toledo.

Q: Have you been able to keep in touch with your former Rocket teammates and stay in touch with the program?

Ingram: I always check the website on how the team is doing throughout the season. I’m a Rocket at heart so I have to keep in touch with what’s going on. I stayed in contact with Jonathan Amos, Tyrone Kent and Ridley Johnson last season and Jerrah Young the year before. I also try to keep in touch as much as I can with Keonta Howell who was playing in England last year and Florentino Valencia who was playing in Puerto Rico as much as I can.

Q: What are some of your biggest memories from your playing career?

Ingram: There are a lot of things that I have great memories of. Winning the MAC Championship was definitely the highlight of my career, because it’s so hard to win a conference title especially in a league as tough as the MAC. One of the most fun times I had was during my junior year when we went on a 10-game conference win streak and made it to the MAC Championship game.  Even though we lost to Kent State in the finals that run was very exciting and is something I’ll always remember.

Q: What was your reaction when you saw the new Savage Arena?

Ingram: I walked in, and I didn’t know where to go. It’s magnificent and very professional looking.  It’s a great facility for college basketball and should be a great help in recruiting new players, because they will know they are going to play in a state-of-the-art facility. There’s a great weight room, and the locker room is very impressive also.