Buzz Williams says he’s a “1-of-7 coach,” so he appreciated the fact that Jace Carter, despite a 1-for-7 performance from the field in Texas A&M’s recent win over Missouri, kept playing hard.

Williams’ Aggies are 12-7 on the season and they are 3-3 in conference play. They’ve already matched the number of conference losses they had throughout the entire 2022-23 campaign, so it’s fair to say the start of this year has been somewhat grating, but this group is fighting. A&M has a five-point overtime win over Kentucky. It nearly beat Houston prior to Christmas.

The team fights for its coach. A reporter shared with Williams at a media availability on Friday that Carter recently told them he wants to please his coach because of the tight-knit relationship they have. Williams was asked for his response to that kind of sentiment.

What followed was a thoughtful reflection on Williams’ development as a mentor, and it has garnered some serious attention from other players on social media.

“I love them, and I hope they make every basket,” Williams said as his voice started to break a bit. “And if they don’t, I love them.”

Williams is in his fifth season at the helm of the A&M basketball program. He won 27 games in 2021-22 but was snubbed from the NCAA Tournament field. Last season, the Aggies went 25-10 and earned a 7-seed in the tourney.

With nearly two decades of experience patrolling a college basketball sideline, Williams said he has grown to worry more about his team and less about the noise that hovers on the outside of it.

“Early in my career, I think I wanted to prove that I could coach. And what you would say about me, or what Brent would tweet about me, or what the message boards at TexAgs say or the local paper — I wasn’t always nice to those guys,” Williams said. “I was never mean. I never had an emotional outburst. But at times, I think I had an edge because I was trying to prove maybe things that I thought mattered, that now that I’m older, they don’t matter. And I want Texas A&M to do good, and I want a lot of people to come to the games, and I want basketball to be important at Texas A&M, and I would like to participate in consecutive NCAA tournaments and win a game in the tournament and all of those things.

“I think my drive is still in place, but at the real core of it, I don’t care what the opinion of others is anymore. And that’s been liberating in many respects.”

Williams said he tells his players to just tell the truth. And he tries to do the same for them.

“I want to have a real relationship with those in our group. And someday we’re not going to be playing and coaching, and I want them to know I always told them the truth and that I was always trying to help them improve their life,” Williams said. “Can we use ball to be a microcosm of life?”