NBA TV anchor Andre Aldridge, a California boy who enjoys a good laugh just as much as a backdoor cut, caught up with Dallas' first-time All-Star, Josh Howard, to talk about Wake Forest, Wendy's and Winston-Salem in this week's "Lunch With Andre."

"Lunch With Andre" is a chance for the fans to catch a glimpse of NBA players outside of the 94x50 confines and hear what they have to say about their life away from basketball.

Andre: Let's say you didn't have any game at all and you weren't an NBA player, what job would you enjoy doing right now?

Josh: I think I would probably still be a student trying to get my masters ... I'd probably be teaching.

Andre: Education background?

Josh: Yep, an education background.

Andre: I gotcha. Alright. Hey, everybody thinks they can sing but your teammate Jerry Stackhouse has sang the National Anthem a few times. What did you think the first time you heard that?

Josh: Surprised, to be honest. He sings a lot in the locker room but for him to sing that whole song without being shy at all, he did a good job.


Much better than Carl Lewis.
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Andre: Pretty strong right?

Josh: Yeah, he knew every word.

Andre: OK, so which Maverick should stop singing in the shower?

Josh: Dirk.

Andre: Really? Please don't tell me he's singing Hasselhoff ...

Josh: Yeah, that what's that other one? Who sings “Start Me Up,” Aerosmith? Oh, I mean The Rolling Stones. He's always singing that.

Andre: (Laughing) Unbelievable. And he’s proud a singer?

Josh: Yes, very proud.

Andre: Can you sing?

Josh: No.

Andre: Not at all?

Josh: No, not at all.

Andre: Not even in the shower?

Josh: Nope.

Andre: You ever play an instrument growing up?

Josh: Yeah, I played the saxophone in 7th and 8th grade.

Andre: Really? Did you enjoy it?

Josh: No, but we had to take a band class in my school.

Andre: (Laughing) So it was no fun. Does that mean you couldn't play?

Josh: No, I mean I learned a couple notes but I didn’t take it seriously, I didn't practice.


Josh recommends the chili.
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Andre: Hey, what was your first job as a youngster?

Josh: First job? Working at Wendy’s.

Andre: Oh my gosh. How did you look in a Wendy’s uniform?

Josh: Kind of tall, you know. I was slimmer than what I am now. Can you imagine a 6-5 kid handing out burgers out of a drive-thru window?

Andre: (Laughing) Did you eat fries on the job?

Josh: Yeah, I was a big chili guy.

Andre: Mr. Wendy Chili. So, do you go to Wendy’s now?

Josh: Yeah, I still go there.

Andre: Unbelievable. Hey, do you play any sports other than basketball?

Josh: Before I started playing?

Andre: Uh huh.

Josh: Yeah, I played baseball and football.

Andre: Which one was your favorite?

Josh: Baseball.

Andre: Really? What position?

Josh: You know they put the black guys in the outfield. (Laughing)

Andre: (Laughing) Oh my goodness. (Laughing)

Josh: Yeah, I did it all.

Andre: Could you hit?

Josh: Yeah, I could hit. I was the clean-up.

Andre: Curveball didn’t bother you?

Josh: Nah, I didn't have any problems with it.

Andre: Hey, I heard a rumor that you used to read a little Shakespeare?

Josh: Yeah, I read Othello.

Andre: Othello? Wow.

Josh: That was by far the favorite thing I enjoyed in school.

Andre: I know the movie is never as good as the book, but how would you rate Laurence Fishburne as Othello?

Josh: I didn't see the movie.

Andre: OK, well, then the book was the best…

Josh: Yeah, the book was the best.

Andre: I know you don’t talk a lot of smack, but when people were surprised by your early NBA success, did you ever want to say, "Hey, I was the ACC player of the year"?

Josh: Yeah, I keep that in the back of my head. They slept on me, but I’m just going to keep playing like myself. I guess they didn’t think I was going to come into the league and play like I play.

Andre: OK, since you're not going to brag, I'll do it for you. You were the first unanimous ACC Player of the Year since David Thompson in '75!

Josh: That’s what I’m saying. (Laughing)

Andre: (Laughing) So what were they missing?

Josh: I don't know. Like I said, I'm real humble and I stay to myself. I just let my game do my talking.

Andre: So when it comes to Wake Forest, you know Delaney Rudd will always be my favorite Deamon Deacon, but give me your top five Demon Deacons and only one of them can be a former teammate of yours.

Josh: OK, well the former teammate I'll take is Darius Songaila ... then of course Tim Duncan, Randolph Childress, Rodney Rogers, Charlie Davis and Muggsy Bogues.

Duncan is one of the all-time great Deamon Deacons.
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Andre: Oh, look at you. So no guy on the Hornets on this team?

Josh: Nah, my boy Chris left early.

Andre: Oh, and Rusty LaRue doesn’t make your top five either?

Josh: Oh yeah, Rusty. That’s my guy though. I did a lot of his camps in college.

Andre: Did Gill McGregor, the Hornets announcer, call any your games? Or was he gone when you were there?

Josh: I think he was there.

Andre: Now you said, Randolph Childress. Now let me just say something. I think Randolph's performance in the ACC Tournament in 1995 over three games was the best single-person performance ever in any tournament ever.

Josh: Yeah, I agree with you I haven’t seen it happen yet, ain't seen nothing like it.

Childress' 1995 ACC Tourney was pure dominance.
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Andre: For the people who don't remember or might think we're just talking here, he had 107 points in three games and one of the games he crossed over Jeff McInnis, Jeff fell down, he waved at him to get up and come at him, and he busted a three in his face. And that team beat Virginia, Carolina and Duke.

Josh: And Duke, yup.

Andre: Most amazing performance I've ever seen in a tournament.

Josh: Yeah, I agree with you.

Andre: Just crazy bananas. Hey, I'm going to ask you a trick question, but I'm sure that the joke's going to be on me.

What does Josh Howard, Howard Cosell, and Pleasant Hanes have in common?


Josh: I have no idea ... I don’t know. Howard Cosell was a famous broadcaster right?

Andre: He was born in Winston-Salem.

Josh: Oh, for real?


They have more than the name "Howard" in common.
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Andre: See, you wouldn't know. Lunch with Andre, you learn something. Everybody thinks of him as being from New York, but he was born in Winston-Salem.

Now does everybody in Winston-Salem know who Pleasant Hanes is?


Josh: No, I don't know. I doubt it.

Andre: I think there's a Hanes Mall there or something there...

Josh: Yeah, there's a Hanes Mall.

Andre: So he is one of the pioneers of the Hanes Company so he introduced two-piece men's underwear way back in the day and rest is history as they say.

Josh: All right well, that's a piece of history I need to know now.

Andre: And look, it didn’t hurt that he signed a guy out of North Carolina in the late '80s, Michael Jordan, so that’s why MJ's wearing Hanes.

Let's keep a little Wake Forest theme now. Rodney Rogers is not only the first NBA player I met who knew what NASCAR was, but he wants a future in the sport. So were you a gear head growing up? Were you a fan of racing at all?


Josh: No, even though we had mediocre racing up the street from my house, I was never a fan.

Andre: And they tell me if Mark Cuban or Richard Childress walked down the street in Winston Salem, that Richard Childress would get all the love?

Josh: Yeah, most likely. That’s a racecar town.


One of Howard's "normals."
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Andre: Hey, who's your favorite recording artist?

Josh: Hmm, I got a lot. I just stick to the normals: Jay-Z, Lil Wayne, T.I. ... those guys.

Andre: If you could be invisible for one day, and there was one person on earth that you could follow around, who would that be? They can be a living or dead person right now ...

Josh: Hugh Hefner.

Andre: (Laughing) Really? Oh my goodness. That’s going to be a good journal on your part.

He doesn’t necessarily have to be in the mansion, you just want to trail him for a day?


Josh: Yeah, just want to see what he is doing ... and what he's doing to get these girls to keep coming around. Now that’s what I want to know. (Laughing)

Andre: (Laughing) I'm not mad at you.

All right, let’s say the world is coming to an end tomorrow, so you get to have one last great dinner tonight. What’s on your plate?


Josh: Probably okra, my mom's lasagna, her meatloaf and mashed potatoes.

Previous to joining NBA TV, Andre Aldridge hosted and anchored numerous programs for CNN’s Sports Division from 1999-2002, including “This Week in the NBA,” “Sports Tonight,” “Closer Look,” and “SI Cover to Cover.” During his tenure at CNN, he also reported live from NFL Super Bowls, covered major boxing title fights, and reported from several Major League Baseball games.