HAMMOND, La. –Southeastern Louisiana men's basketball senior guard Joshua Filmore is the perfect son according to his mother, except in one regard.

    "He likes to get too many sneakers," Michelle Filmore said laughing. "I don't have too many problems with him. I would take sneakers over other things. There could be worse things than sneakers. I'm just so thankful for him."

    Though hundreds of miles separate Joshua from his mom in Orlando, Florida, a special bond remains between the two, one that helped Joshua get through the rough period of missing the 2016-17 season with a knee injury.

    "This was the first time I was really dealing with a serious injury," Joshua said. "At times it got tough just watching, so I would talk to her and she would give me some words of wisdom to keep going, keep pushing."

    Joshua had bounced back from a previous injury that ended his sophomore season of 2014-15 early to become one of the Lions' leaders in 2015-16. He finished third on the team with 84 assists while averaging 8.9 points in helping lead Southeastern to the second round of the Southland Conference Tournament.

    "It was hard at first because he was looking forward to coming back and when he got hurt, it was of course disappointing," Michelle said. "He and I talked about it and he said if I could overcome it before, I can again this time. He started pushing and pressing. His rehab this year was much better and much faster and he kept in shape. He didn't get down - he kept pushing himself on. He has a passion for the game and he wanted to finish up his time at Southeastern this fall."

    That passion for basketball started at an early age when Joshua would watch his father, Freddie, play in a men's league. 

    "I always wanted to play," Joshua said. "I started playing organized basketball around age 8 and just loved it ever since."

    Freddie Filmore was killed in a motorcycle accident when Joshua was 13. Joshua was playing in an AAU tournament in Virginia with his mom and sister present when they got the call.

    Michelle, then a secretary for a law firm, took on extra jobs as a realtor and as a fitness instructor for additional income. Joshua and his older step-siblings, Jeremiah and Nicole Filmore and Tarelsha White, became closer connected after his father's death. Michelle also received help from her own parents.

    "It was me and my parents who helped get Josh to the games and such," Michelle said. "My parents were one of the biggest support systems."

    Joshua averaged 13.1 points, 2.0 assists and 1.6 steals per game as a senior at Wekiva High School and 14.6 points, 2.2 assists and 1.5 steals as a junior. He was awarded the Apopka Chief Athlete of the year and made the Metro Conference first team and All-Central Florida fourth team before going on to sign with Southeastern and then-head coach Jim Yarbrough.

     "When I came on my visit, I could tell there was like a family atmosphere here," Joshua said of choosing Southeastern. "It wasn't one of those big universities where you were hidden. It's kind of intimate here and I like that. My freshman year, I had a chance to play and I liked that too, and I thought the way the coach was playing, I fit that style of play."

    Michelle was happy with Joshua's decision, even though it would mean he would be away from home for an extended period for the first time.

    "With his first coach there and with (current Lion head) coach (Jay) Ladner, I felt like it wasn't just they were getting a player," Michelle said. "They genuinely cared about him as a person. When he came, I had a good feel for the school. I just felt like he would fit in there. He's my only child and this is our first great separation for us, but I love the growth he has made. He has gotten very independent. With him being so many miles away, it's been a blessing to both of us, me growing as a mom and him growing as a son."

    Joshua played in all 30 of Southeastern's games as a freshman, starting 18. He led the Lions with 86 assists while averaging 6.9 points per game. He was averaging 12.2 points and leading the team in 3-pointers as a sophomore before suffering the season-ending injury in January 2015. After his bounce-back junior campaign, he was expected to be on the top players in the Southland Conference before suffering the knee injury in the offseason.

    Joshua said his knee is fine now and he is ready to help lead a Southeastern team expected to make a run in the Southland in 2017-18. The Lions, who finished the 2016-17 regular season with their best record in six years, return the majority of their starters, in addition to Filmore, senior forward Jordan Capps and senior guard Keith Charleston, all of whom missed all or most of the season with injuries.

    "I look forward to playing," Joshua said. "With all the guys returning and the other guys coming off injuries, we have a lot of potential to take the Southland Conference by storm."

    And Michelle will be looking forward to following his games. She has seen him play a couple of times in person in Hammond and also caught his games at Central Florida in his hometown in 2014 and at Florida State in 2015. Mostly, she catches the games on the radio through her computer.

    "If the announcers say he makes a basket, I'm in my room by myself and I'm screaming," Michelle said. "I listen to all his games. Sometimes if it's on TV, I'll tape it so when he comes home, he can watch it."

    Michelle said she is proud of how far her son has come since he first picked up the game.

    "Just to see his growth from when he started playing to the level he plays at now, it's amazing," Michelle said. "Just to see the work he has put in and his work ethic. He wasn't always the most talented one, but he put in the work to get to where he is."

    Joshua credits that work ethic to his mom, who in addition to working three jobs, has also started becoming more active playing sports in recent years. Michelle, who admitted she wasn't very sports-inclined growing up, now runs marathons and half marathons. She has run in two in Louisiana, including one in which Joshua welcomed her at the finish line.

    "My mom influenced me to become a hard worker because ever since I was little, she has been working hard to provide for me and keep a house over our heads and keep food on the table," Joshua said. "Nowadays, she is really into fitness. Her working hard at that has motivated me to keep going in basketball and in life."

    That goes for the classroom as well as the court as Joshua was named to the 2016 Southland Conference Spring Commissioner's Honor Roll and is scheduled to graduate this fall with a degree in sports management.

    "I always tell him to stay on top of his grades," Michelle said. "It's a privilege to have a scholarship to play but there's a life after basketball so you need to stay on top of your grades and get a degree. Education is very important to me and to him.

    Joshua was set to wrap up his final exams on Thursday and fly back to Orlando on Saturday. Plans for the Mother's Day weekend included a trip to either Red Lobster or Tony Roma's with his mom and her parents.

    Michelle said when Joshua was growing up, he would make her his own little cards and greet her with her favorite chocolates on Mother's Day. But one of the best gifts Joshua will give his mother will come not on Mother's Day, but on a day this upcoming fall.

    "I'm looking forward to him playing and to him graduating," Michelle said. "That will be one of the highlights. That will be just an awesome moment seeing him cross the stage. It will be a very proud moment for me."