Auburn is no longer just about football, and none could be prouder than Charles Barkley. He has seen the program in its first ever NCAA Tournament appearance, and he has seen the crowd light up at just one postseason win. So when he saw the height Bruce Pearl helped the Tigers attain, he forgot a room full chanting his name, to rather revel in the celebration of this new identity. Admiration has been loud from Chuck’s side, and what has it meant for the head coach? Well, the NBA star better brace up.

“He’s gotten us to the point that unless we win a couple of March Madness games, we haven’t had a good season. That’s incredible,” Charles Barkley said earlier this season. That wasn’t the first instance and it wasn’t the last. The Philadelphia 76ers legend has ensured to give Pearl his flowers every step of the way, and it seems to have made one thing clear for the head coach— Barkley is their biggest supporter. Now, that called for a special request.

It starts with CBS Sports’ Jaclyn DeAugustino highlighting one of Pearl’s wild celebrations from 2021 during an interview. The throwback clip showed him taking off his shirt, looking all hyped, and flexing some muscles at a football game. Here, after putting the HC on the spot, the host had one question for him: Whom would Pearl like to see reacting with so much energy and enthusiasm if Auburn were to win the championship? You know where we are headed!

“You know, the only non-family member that to me, other than the Auburn family, will be Sir Charles Barkley. It means so much to Charles that our program is competitive at the highest level, and so obviously, having Charles in the house is pretty special for Auburn.”

Chuck might as well comply.

Barkley helped lead Auburn to a 14-14 finish his freshman season and a 15-13 record as a sophomore which happened to be the program’s first-ever winning record. A year later, he formed one of the best front court duos with Chuck Person and led the team to its fist-ever NCAA Tournament appearance. Now considered the greatest player in Auburn history, Chuck has always stood ready to reciprocate the love and respect.

“You know, it got to the point Bruce did such a good job. People have been disappointed the last couple of years. Can you imagine? Think about that,” he reiterated just earlier this week.

Pearl has had a few accolades for himself too with all that he has managed to achieve. With a program-record 32 wins this season and a Final Four appearance for just the second time ever, he earned the NABC Division I Coach of the Year on Tuesday morning. Now 2 wins away from creating history, another wild celebration from the coach won’t hurt anybody. Barkley shouldn’t be missing out either. After all, the head coach has said multiple times how much he wants to win the championship for Chuck.

Bruce Pearl and his admiration for the 76ers legend continues

Before the Elite Eight game, Sir Charles wanted his alma mater to be locked in. “I’m proud of our guys, but we can’t celebrate. We’re the number one overall seed. We didn’t come here to get to the Elite 8.” Bruce Pearl’s Auburn Tigers did not disappoint as they scripted a historic 70-64 win. Thus, they proceeded to the Final Four for only the second time in their history. In 2019, they made their first-ever Final Four, and the expectations have skyrocketed since.

The Head Coach understands the pressure and wants to deliver for Chuck. Before the showdown against Michigan State, Bruce Pearl was all fired up to win. “Somehow, I’ve got to find a way to win so that Charles Barkley can give Magic Johnson some crap and represent.” He continued, “Magic’s always floating those rings at Charles, right? He’s always floating those rings, and Charles ain’t got any rings. I’ve got to try to get some rings for Charles, so he can float them back at Magic.” 

Magic Johnson is a proud Michigan State alum who won the championship with the program and then had a historic career with the Lakers. Barkley isn’t familiar to any of it. However, Pearl is now looking to change that. The Final Four matchups will take place on Saturday, April 5. Auburn will face Florida at 6:09 p.m. ET. This is only the second time since seeding began in 1979, all four No. 1 seeds have made it to the Final Four. So, it’s literally anybody’s game!