“No schools were recruiting me”: When NBA legend Charles Barkley opened up about being snubbed as a recruit in high school

During NBA legend Charles Barkley's February 2023 appearance on "All THE SMOKE with Matt Barnes & Stephen Jackson," the "Round Mound of Rebound" said that initially, schools did not wanted to recruit him.

He revealed that he was originally just a back-up point guard in high school and was just 5-foot-10 so no colleges wanted him. However, he had a massive growth spurt and grew to 6-foot-5 in just one year.

"The thing is crazy, and you guys don't even know this, Man I grew," he told host Stephen Jackson. "I wasn't good at basketball. The the growth spurt I went from 5-10 to 6-5 in one year, so nobody knew who the hell I was because they're like I'm not on anybody's radar and no schools will recruiting me. (46:04-46:19)

"I'm a 5-10 backup point guard, I ain't no good. So then, it's too late to get recruited, so then, only Alabama, Auburn, and UAB is recruiting me because everybody's already signed." (46:20-46:41)

Barkley explained he initially wanted to go to UAB because it was just in Birmingham, but it made the Sweet 16 and had everybody from the previous season coming back.

His backup was Alabama, but it too made the Sweet 16 and had everybody coming back as well. This led him to decide to go to Auburn and the rest is history.

Auburn was bad before Charles Barkley came

During the podcast episode, Charles Barkley revealed that when he arrived at Auburn University, the school's basketball team was not doing well and just lost 12 games in a row. When he visited, he revealed that he immediately signed because he knew he could make an impact, and he did.

"So then I go down to Auburn," he said. "Auburn has lost like, 12 games in a row and 'I'm looking I see these m*****f*****s are awful, so me and the coaches sitting there, and I said to a coach, 'you got a pen on you?'

"You know people bug me saying hello, sign a couple autographs. Coach, he says 'Oh you big time, you're gonna start signing autographs.' I said no, I'm signing up here, I', watching our team play, these m*****f*****s ain't no good. I can play here, and it turned into the best decision ever." (47:21-47:56)

At Auburn, Charles Barkley played center despite only being 6-foot-6. However, he dominated under the boards, outplaying others who were much taller than him, giving him the nickname "The Round Mound of Rebound." He eventually led the team to its first NCAA tournament (1984) in school history.