MINNEAPOLIS — There’s a statue of Charles Barkley outside Auburn Arena.
Every day Auburn’s basketball players walk by that statue as they enter the arena to lift weights, practice and play games.
But the Auburn legend’s presence is not limited to a statue. The NBA Hall of Famer is around the basketball team as much as possible. He attends several games each season, and ever since Bruce Pearl became coach there in 2014, he has been more active with the team.
Now, with a national championship in sight in the first Final Four appearance in Auburn history, Barkley is imparting wisdom to the players he calls “his kids.”
“I’ve had an amazing life as a basketball player,” Barkley told the Tigers in an undated video released here by CBS Sports in Minneapolis. “My number’s retired at Auburn, my number’s retired in Philadelphia, my number is retired with the Phoenix Suns. But you know what? I never won a championship. Never won a championship. I have to live with that forever. You guys got a chance to do that. And it's hard as hell to win a championship. It is hard. But you guys did the hard part just getting here.
“My coach is here, Sonny (Smith), he's like a father to me. We didn't make it to the Final Four, he never made it to the Final Four. This is coach's first trip to the Final Four. He's been coaching forever.”
Sonny Smith coached Auburn for 11 years, reaching the NCAA Tournament in five straight seasons while also leading he program to its first Elite Eight in 1986. Barkley played at Auburn from 1981 through 1984 before starting his tremendous NBA career that include gold medals in the Olympics and multiple playoff appearances.
But Barkley never won a title at Auburn or in the NBA.
“You guys don't know how hard it is to get here,” he said. “You guys done all the heavy lifting. But the one thing I want to tell you, man, seize this opportunity. You don't have to do anything different. You all played great to get here, but don't take this thing for granted.”
No. 5 seed Auburn (30-9) knocked off the three winningest programs in college basketball history in succession to advance to the Final Four — Kansas, North Carolina and Kentucky. The Tigers play No. 1 seed Virginia (33-3) today at 5:09 p.m. CT on CBS.
Barkley is part of the analyst team for the Turner and CBS broadcasts during the NCAA Tournament and will be on stage here in Minneapolis during the game.
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“My number’s retired at Auburn, my number’s retired in Philadelphia, my number’s retired with the Phoenix Suns. But I never won a championship. I have to live with that forever. You guys gotta chance to do that.”
Charles Barkley addresses @AuburnMBB on Final Four Saturday. pic.twitter.com/6LGekY9Ccj
— CBS Sports Network (@CBSSportsNet) April 6, 2019
https://247sports.com/college/auburn/Article/Charles-Barkley-delivers-passionate-speech-to-Auburn-locker-room-at-Final-Four-130938707/
2019-04-06 19:20:12Z
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