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NBA legend Charles Barkley admitted during Friday's March Madness coverage that playing time was his top priority as a heralded recruit at Leeds (Ala.) High School in the class of 1981 and in-state Auburn was the only choice because "they sucked." The Tigers suffered three straight losing seasons before Barkley's arrival in 1981 and had never made an NCAA Tournament appearance.
"I ain't gonna lie, I picked Auburn because they sucked," Barkley said. "I wanted to get to play. Alabama had a great program with Wimp Sanderson. UAB with Gene Bartow. I tell kids that the No. 1 thing you want is playing time because if you leave home and don't get to play, you're going to have a miserable time in college. It turned into one of the best decisions I ever made to go to Auburn. But I went to Auburn for one reason: they sucked in basketball."
Barkley helped lead Auburn to a 14-14 finish his freshman season and a 15-13 record as a sophomore in 1982-83, the program's first winning season in six years. Barkley and forward Chuck Person formed arguably the nation's top frontcourt duo in 1983-84 and propelled the Tigers to their third 20-win season (20-11) and first NCAA Tournament berth in program history as a No. 5 seed. Richmond upset Auburn, 72-71, in the first round that season.
Barkley earned SEC Player of the Year honors during his final season with the Tigers and is widely considered the greatest player in program history. However, the 11-time NBA All-Star said Auburn start Johni Broome can surpass him with a national championship this season.
"If he can finish the journey, I would say he's the greatest player in Auburn basketball history," Barkley said. "I truly mean that. What he's done for the program, him and Coach (Bruce) Pearl and those guys, has been incredible. But if they could win the national championship, it'd be great. I said when they made it to the Final Four (in 2019), that was the greatest season in Auburn basketball history. If he's able to win the championship, I'd say he's the greatest player in Auburn basketball (history). He's better than me in college."
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Auburn earned its second No. 1 seed in program history this postseason and is aiming for just its sixth Sweet 16 berth as a program and second under Bruce Pearl. The Tigers beat thumped No. 16 seed Alabama State, 83-63, in the first round on Thursday and will face No. 8 seed Creighton in the Round of 32 on Saturday. Auburn is an 8.5-point favorite over Creighton and has the third-best odds to win the national championship behind Duke and Florida, per FanDuel.