There are few people more excited to see Auburn in the Final Four than Charles Barkley.
The Tigers alum has been a vocal supporter of his team for years, and as it made a run to Minneapolis this weekend — taking down No. 1 seed UNC, No. 2 seed Kentucky and No. 4 seed Kansas on the way — Barkley’s seat during Turner Sports’ studio broadcasts has become increasingly more Auburn-themed.
He’s been cheering for his team, trash-talking others and ahead of the Tigers’ Final Four matchup against No. 1 seed Virginia, Barkley gave the team a pep talk. He drew on his own experiences as a college and pro player to help motivate the players for their second game this tournament against a top-seed team.
In the locker room with Auburn players, Barkley said:
“I’ve had an amazing life as a basketball player. 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 got 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 undid the hard part just getting here. …
“The one thing I want to just tell you is, man, seize this opportunity. You ain’t got to do anything different. Y’all been playing great to get here. But don’t take this thing for granted.”
Auburn is in its first Final Four as a program and will play Virginia on Saturday at 6:09 p.m. ET on CBS.
