Miami coach Jim Larrañaga could be seen all smiles and dancing with his team in the locker room after an upset win over Auburn on Sunday. But one of the night’s highlights came in the postgame presser when he dropped a hilarious gem poking fun at one particular Auburn fan.
Former NBA star and Auburn power forward Charles Barkley said that if Auburn beat Miami, he would celebrate like Houston coach Kelvin Sampson did just before—without a shirt.
“If we win tonight I might take my shirt off,” Barkley said.
Having heard this, Larrañaga was especially motivated. He let the world know after his team’s 79–61 victory.
“I was tuned into the games before us and I listened to Charles Barkley tell the CBS crew that if Auburn won he would take off his shirt,” he said. “And I thought to myself, ‘Man, no one wants to see that, Chuck.’ So we did everything possible to make it possible that he wouldn’t have to do that.”
The CBS crew, including Barkley, couldn’t help but laugh at the line. As always, Barkley was a good sport about it.
“This is all about Miami,” Barkley said. “I love my school. They had a good season—just a good season not a great season—but they beat us today.”
