Joe "Big Money" Wilbert reflects on the life of former A&M teammate David Edwards

Key notes from Joe Wilbert interview

• I learned about David's sickness a few days before he passed, and I heard he was battling for his life in the hospital. I knew from our playing days that he was a fighter, and he wouldn't be going down without a fight. Unfortunately, he wasn't able to beat it, but I know now that he is in a better place.
   
• The first thing about Dave was that he was one of the toughest guys I ever played with. He was one of those guys that you hated to go up against in practice because he practiced the way he played. He was a guy you knew you could depend on both on and off the court. My whole family loved him. He was much more than a teammate to me, and this news about him really hurt me, and I'm praying for his family that they will be able to move forward from this.
   
• Last night when I was setting up what I wanted to say, I just had a feeling that there's no doubt Dave is up in heaven right now arguing with Coach Barone about who's going to be the starting point guard. It seemed like every single game that would be at each other's throats about something. Overall their relationship was really good, but they were both super competitive, and it showed on the court.
   
• The good thing about Dave was that he was a competitor. Whenever Coach would bench him, he never let it bother him. He'd always use that as motivation when he played. Dave came in, and I know he had a triple-double in back to back games, and I'm sure something like nine of those assists had to have been to me. Dave came in and held his own as one of the best point guards in A&M history.
   
• I want to view this platform as an opportunity to reach out directly to the Aggie family. At first, I was hesitant about going along with the social distancing and was hesitant to believe all of this, but when something like this hits so close to home, it really brings a different perspective. I just hope everyone is taking this virus seriously and listening to the medical professionals.
   
• Everything happens for a reason, and I know David is in a better place. I hope no matter what our differences are that we will band together as a country and pray over our nation so we can beat this together and get back to our normal lives. I know this is a tough time for our Aggie family, but we will get through this.