So, Sir Charles wants two things next year...

[NoALtiger 3,873]

You think Jay will wait til this weekend to name a new coach or will it take take longer?

Not sure if serious...WAIT TIL THIS WEEKEND?? (2 days)?? Surely you jest

Ha..no, he's not jesting.

[auburn4ever 1,266]

There's no telling how far down we'd be if we had hired Barkley's pick, Turner Gill instead of Chizik. Now if it ad been Charlie Strong or David Shaw, that would have been a different story.

[auburn4ever 1,266]

Ok. After the SEC dance.

[AURaptor 1,129]

I honestly don't get the whole NIKE stranglehold on HS basketball.

[Timeslider 6 269]

I honestly don't get the whole NIKE stranglehold on HS basketball.

Correct me if I am wrong, but Nike has a lot of shoe contracts with various high schools and AAU teams and the money involved allows them to control the players to the extent that they funnel them to colleges that are Nike schools. Did I get that right or can someone else explain it better?

[NoALtiger 3,873]

I honestly don't get the whole NIKE stranglehold on HS basketball. :gofig:/>

Correct me if I am wrong, but Nike has a lot of shoe contracts with various high schools and AAU teams and the money involved allows them to control the players to the extent that they funnel them to colleges that are Nike schools. Did I get that right or can someone else explain it better?

Seems like a good response to me. I'd add that Nike also runs it's summer camps which is a very, very important feature of AAU ball. This generally excludes any non-Nike affiliated teams/coaches which has an obvious negative impact on recruiting. Basically if you are not with Nike, you are on the outside and already climbing a steep hill to make up ground on others. It's a tough row to hoe but isn't insurmountable.

[cole256 17,084]

Nike have they're own camps and what's becoming even bigger is certain athletes are having their own name camps and they are becoming the most prestigious camps. LeBron and Chris Paul have them for example and then they have the best college players as counselors. Think the manning qb camp in football. NOBODY turns LeBron's or Jordan's camp down and who are they affiliated with Nike. So all those coaches and recruiters and scouts has more access with the recruits.

[Proud Tiger 4,261]

Everybody has their own opinion of Barkley, most based on what they have heard and read but not based on experience being around him. I have had such experience since he was playing at Auburn. My opinion......he is a jerk with an overblown ego who should just keep his mouth shut.

[Altima 200]

I have the experience of being around him quite often... He is a great guy, who loves Auburn. Charles has done more for this University than you, or I ever will. So he can say whatever he wants to say... and has earned and deserves the right to be heard.

[keesler 5,934]

I have the experience of being around him quite often... He is a great guy, who loves Auburn. Charles has done more for this University than you, or I ever will. So he can say whatever he wants to say... and has earned and deserves the right to be heard.

I've only been around Charles at AU basketball functions in the suites at the Arena, lunch/cocktails, fundraiser functions, etc. He's funny as hell, loves Auburn pationately, and acts a fool around kids. He does so much for Auburn with his time, money and more importantly his "face" time.

[AuburnNTexas 7,213]

Barkley is Barkley he plays a bigger than life character. Part of the reason he makes those statements is he get air time. Air time is what keeps you in the limelight and pays the bills in his profession. Is Barkley a little bit racist probably and I defy you to find anybody who isn't in some way. Does racism still exist in the United States of course it does is it anyplace near as bad now as it was no way.

Our racism in the US has become more based on income then color. Rich kid black or white who gets caught with drugs and has access to good lawyers doesn't go to jail usually gets off without a permanent record or gets it expunged later. Poor kid gets jail time and will have trouble getting a job later because of his record. If you look at our prison system and you compare the percentage of inmates who are Black, White, Latino, Asian you will see a much higher percentage of Black and Latino and it is easy to say our prison system is racist. But if you take only low income people from all the groups you will find the numbers are fairly close to equal.

Because a higher percentage of Blacks and Latinos are low income compared to Whites and Asians you see the disparities. When you have the income disparity and then you add in some of the racism that still exists Blacks do have a harder time in this country. A black man driving a nice car in an upscale neighborhood still has a higher chance of being stopped and questioned then a white man. The officer will say he looked out of place since so few blacks live in that area. Blacks will call that profiling some whites will say that is common sense.

Barkley also grew up in an Alabama that was very racist that will stick with him his whole life and affect his Judgment to an extent. Should we keep Barbee no way his tenure speaks for itself should we involve Barkley in the search yes we should his input is valuable but so will other peoples input be. Just because he is on the group that looks doesn't mean we will or won't get a black coach.

Since such a large number of the best players are Black having a Black coach might help in recruiting but only if it is the right coach. The right coach is the key Black or White.

Whoever the next coach is he will have to deal with a lot of issues UA contract, Auburn is a football school, no recent history of basketball success. So whoever we get lets set reasonable expectations lets allow Barkley to have some input along with other key people with Auburn basketball backgrounds and lets slowly start building a basketball program we can be proud of.

[CameronCrazy 1,111]

You will never shut Charles Barkley up, and it's ridiculous to even try. But what Auburn people need to learn is the tremendous ally that Charles can be. Do you want Charles deciding who our next coach will be? No! But do you want him to make a phone to get a big name guy to look our way? Absolutely! People in Alabama may not realize how loved Charles is outside of this state. He makes millions of dollars working for TNT, and he's known everywhere he goes in this country. And if we work together with him, he can be the biggest cheerleader and ambassador for the revolution of this program.

[AURex 2,082]

Sir Charles (like a LOT of people in sports) is very critical of the fact that the majority of players are black, many assistants are black, but that blacks represent a very small percentage of head coaches. It's not because they lack the ability or qualifications, they just don't get the chance.

Now, that's his opinion, and a lot of people, black and white, agree with him.

That said, a university needs to look at all of the potential candidates and select the one that gives the program the best chance to win. Race should not (and legally cannot) be the determining factor in a hire.

As for Under Armor, the football players don't like the shoes either. Almost nobody likes the shoes. And the fact that Nike, and to a lesser extent Adidas, have a lot of influence over players from high school and camps, which definitely affects access to recruits at the college level, makes a big difference in the success of programs. Nike and Adidas pay AAU coaches based on how many of their kids sign with schools that they have contracts with, so you are recruiting against a machine if you go with Under Armor.

There aren't many basketball teams that I know of wearing UA. Notre Dame, Utah, South Florida, Auburn. If it puts you at a disadvantage in recruiting, why sign a deal with Under Armor? Because UA pays more per fan than Nike and Adidas. It's all about money.

Auburn will be at a disadvantage recruiting as long as it is contracting with UA. Barkley is correct about that, and anyone who Googles will find this to be common knowledge.

[cooltigger21 0]

In many ways I agree with you jojo, trying to do something to favor one race is racism. There is a lot of argument about the modern definition of racism and what you bring up certainly fits the very broad definition. I have argued using your same points before. However, that does not take into account the argument the other side is trying to make. There still exists a LOT of problems for black people in this country and they have a right to try and fight for their place in this country. Just because you think an issue has nothing to do with race does not mean it has nothing to do with race to the other side. A lot of people have grown tired of the racial division in this country. Most of us would just rather not hear about it but that is not going to make things better.

For those that think Charles was only supporting Gill because he was black, what about the fact Gill looked highly qualified at that time? He had turned Buffalo into a good team and appeared to be a great candidate. There was a large amount of white AU fans that wanted Gill too. Barkley wanted to see AU hire their first black head football coach and there is nothing wrong with that. I wanted the same thing. AU, like a LOT of schools, has a poor track record giving black coaches a chance to be a head coach. There is nothing wrong with Charles trying to increase AU's diversity when it comes to head coaches.

It is if that is his only criteria for a coaching candidate. The race industry is not about to allow race to not be a factor. It keeps them in business by as always keeping the pot stirred.

[NoALtiger 3,873]

You will never shut Charles Barkley up, and it's ridiculous to even try. But what Auburn people need to learn is the tremendous ally that Charles can be. Do you want Charles deciding who our next coach will be? No! But do you want him to make a phone to get a big name guy to look our way? Absolutely! People in Alabama may not realize how loved Charles is outside of this state. He makes millions of dollars working for TNT, and he's known everywhere he goes in this country. And if we work together with him, he can be the biggest cheerleader and ambassador for the revolution of this program.

Right on

[auburn4ever 1,266]

I'm hoping Jay will have a new head coach by next Monday or Tuesday.

[The Freak 2,529]

I'm hoping Jay will have a new head coach by next Monday or Tuesday.

[auburn4ever 1,266]

He could name someone that soon since he's doing this search by himself.

[AUpocalypse 12]

He could name someone that soon since he's doing this search by himself.

Pearl and his agent will likely use interest from AU to leverage with other openings and look at other opportunities once the post season firings have made their rounds.

A coach from another school won't take the job while they are still coaching in the tourney.

The only way that fantasy scenario plays out is if Pearl jumps on the AU job, or if AU already had someone in mind and in negotiations with. I don't think he's that desperate, nor do I think AU has gotten that far with anyone.

This will likely take until early April at the soonest. Probably looking at close to a month here. Personally, I hope JJ exercises some due diligence and it takes that long.

[auburn4ever 1,266]

Since Bruce been out of coaching for a bit, it seems to me that he would jump at Auburn if an offer is placed on the table.

[cooltigger21 0]

Since Bruce been out of coaching for a bit, it seems to me that he would jump at Auburn if an offer is placed on the table.

BP is likely to get interest from quite a few people. I don't know what his thinking is on things nor what JJ is thinking for that matter.

[alexava 6,974]

with all the insiders we have here and no one knows if JJ is even considering BP? where is elitor? 23?

[AUpocalypse 12]

Since Bruce been out of coaching for a bit, it seems to me that he would jump at Auburn if an offer is placed on the table.

The information needed for a deeper perception has already been laid out in the Bruce Pearl thread. If you haven't read any of it, I recommend.

[WarEagle84 0]

Charles has a national media platform and zero filter. He sometimes says dumb things, but they come from his heart, and in his heart he loves Auburn.

[cooltigger21 0]

Charles has a national media platform and zero filter. He sometimes says dumb things, but they come from his heart, and in his heart he loves Auburn.

That may very well be but that still doesn't excuse what he says. The fact that he says these things without a filter shows exactly where his thinking is and I just can't go along with his reasoning. He is entitled to believe what he does but I don't have to go along with it or think it is good.