Charles Barkley is a former MVP and an NBA Hall of Famer, but the legend wasn’t always a highly-touted prospect. Chuck opened up about the game that kick-started his professional career before he ever set foot in the league.
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Barkley still tight with his high school friends from Leeds, Alabama, to this day. While catching up with them, he recalled the one high school basketball game that put his name in the spotlight.
Barkley remembers the game fondly, as his Leeds team took on the best high school player in the country at the time. “At that point, I had never gotten a letter from a major school,” Chuck stressed. “This is Christmas in my senior year. It’s like ‘[Barkley’s] too short; he’s going to go to junior college or a smaller level school.”
The Sixers icon quickly put those doubts to rest, dropping 24 points, 20 rebounds and 5 blocks in a dominant performance. That impressive showing made many realize the undersized Barkley could bang with the big men. “And then from that point on, I started getting some [offers],” he continued.
While his performance against one of the top schools in the nation was key in getting his name on the map, Barkley doesn’t fully credit this one game for paving his path to the NBA. He also credited his college coach at Auburn.
Charles Barkley heaped praise on his former college coach
Barkley’s memorable high school performance may have been the catalyst in earning him offers from top collegiate programs, but it was his work at Auburn that truly prepared him for the pros. He recalled how the faith one of his former coaches instilled in him as a freshman stuck with him for years to come.
“One of my coaches, Roger Banks, he said, ‘Son, you know what you’re doing?’ I said, ‘What do you mean?’ He said, ‘You’re leading the SEC in rebounding as a freshman. I said, ‘Anybody can get 10 rebounds a night,'” Barkley explained.
“He pulls out an NBA stat sheet and he says, ‘Yeah, there’s seven guys in the NBA averaging double figures. If you can get me 10-11 rebounds a night, you’re going to play in the NBA forever.’”
From then on, Barkley lasered in on becoming a rebounding force throughout the rest of his career. Affectionately nicknamed “The Round Mound of Rebound,” Barkley was one of the best in the association at corralling the boards throughout his 16 seasons despite standing at just 6-foot-6.
