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Basketball coach says Charles Barkley vow to take off shirt motivates team: ‘No one wants to see that!’

March 21, 2022 | | Print Article

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An upset win in the NCAA basketball tournament prevented a disturbing image from appearing on TV screens and social media platforms that would have probably given a new meaning to the term March Madness.

Basketball analyst Charles Barkley told the CBS viewing audience on Sunday that if the Auburn Tigers defeated the University of Miami Hurricanes, the portly sports prognosticator would consider taking off his shirt just like University of Houston coach Kelvin Sampson did.

Likely speaking for most of America, other than Auburn perhaps, the Hurricanes’ head coach said “no one wants to see that, Chuck.”

Barkley, 59, was a college star at Auburn before turning pro.

At a post-game presser, the Miami coach joked that Barkley’s vow to take off his extra-large apparel gave his team some extra motivation.

As an active player, Barkley was already known by the nickname “Round Mound of Rebound.” Since retiring from the National Basketball Association and becoming a prominent TV commentator, mostly on the “Inside the NBA” on the TNT network, the Hall of Famer hardly would ever be described as svelte.

The above-mentioned Samson went shirtless during the locker-room celebration after his team defeated Illinois, and the Cougars are on their way to the Sweet 16 in the men’s college basketball tournament.

Houston has a Thursday matchup with the Arizona Wildcats in the South Region.

Miami, a 10-seed, defeated No. 2 Auburn by a score of 79-61, in the Midwest Region to also advance in the tournament.

This year’s March Madness tournament has been notable for several upsets over heavily favored teams.

“To begin with, I was tuned in to the games before us,” Head Coach Jim Larranaga playfully told reporters after the game. “I listened to Charles Barkley tell the CBS crew that if Auburn won, he would take off his shirt. 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,” Larranaga added.

Reacting to those remarks, a smiling Barkley praised Larranaga’s coaching ability and added that “I love my school…but [Miami] beat us today.”

Watch:

The Hurricanes are headed to Chicago for a matchup against 11-seed Iowa state on Friday.

Larranaga, 71, also did some post-game, locker-room celebrating:

Known for his irreverent and opinionated sense of humor, Barkley has weighed in, as it were, on all sorts of subjects, including those outside of sports, including lamenting the cancel culture.

On a far more serious note, equally opinionated sports analyst Skip Bayless of Fox Sports (formerly Stephen A. Smith’s ESPN verbal sparring partner) said on his podcast last week that his long-running feud with Barkley is making Bayless’s wife fear for her husband’s physical safety.

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Robert Jonathan
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