The cell phone rang with 90 seconds left in Alabama’s stirring win over Stanford. It was Charles Barkley calling.
He wanted to talk about Auburn. He wanted to discuss the vacant basketball coaching job at his old school.
That was not the time. Now is the time. In a phone conversation Tuesday, Barkley weighed in.
“I wanted to come out and say it’s time for Auburn to hire a black coach,” he said. “It’s time for Auburn to step up to the plate. It would do so much for the state of Alabama.”
Like his school and his home state, race is a topic near to Barkley’s heart. It’ll be the subject of his next book. He said he “was really disturbed” when Alabama passed on hiring Sylvester Croom as its football coach last year.
“I mean no disrespect to Mike Shula,” Barkley said, “but Alabama as a state dropped the ball on the Sylvester Croom thing. UAB took a chance (by hiring basketball coach Mike Anderson), and the rest is history.”
Barkley said the only Auburn equivalent to Alabama and Croom would be if he or Bo Jackson “came back to coach.”
The Auburn basketball search is still in the early stages. The school is identifying serious candidates, several of whom are black coaches.
Does Barkley have a list? He said he likes the job Anderson has done at UAB, guiding the Blazers to the Sweet 16.
“I personally think UAB’s got the best team in the state right now,” Barkley said. “No disrespect to Mark (Gottfried, who has Alabama in the Sweet 16), but I love the way UAB plays.”
That said, Barkley doesn’t think Anderson will be the next Auburn coach.
“Mike Anderson is hot right now,” he said. “(Auburn) would be a step down for him. Auburn is my school, but it’s not a hotbed.”
Especially with NCAA probation looming.
Barkley’s lobbying for a candidate he believes could rebuild the Auburn program despite the sanctions to come.
“If I had a preference, I would love for Mike Davis to get the job,” Barkley said. “First of all, he’s an Alabama guy. I’m not into the whole Auburn-Alabama rivalry.”
Barkley knows the Indiana coach played and served as an assistant for the Tide, but when he says Alabama, he means the state. He said, because Davis is a Fayette native, he could give Auburn an in-state recruiting edge it lacks.
“It’s not often you get a chance to hire a guy of his char acter and coaching ability,” Bar kley said. “If you can coach at Indiana, you can coach at Auburn. I don’t think Mike’s ever going to get a fair chance at In diana. He’s not Bob Knight. That’s his only flaw.”
Davis has caught serious flak from Indiana fans during this 14-15 season. There’s even a FireMikeDavis.com Web site. If Auburn offers the job, don’t be surprised if Davis takes it.
Question is, will Auburn listen to Barkley, who’s only the biggest name in its basketball history?
“I’m not in the loop, but I am giving Auburn a million dollars,” Barkley said. “I just want to get my opinion out there. I hope it’ll have a little weight.”
