Charles Barkley was a fantastic prospect, but he entered the NBA a little overweight. He quickly came to understand how crucial fitness was to success. But this was not his way of thinking when he was a college student. When he was a player for the Auburn Tigers, Barkley said he ate 100 pizzas in 200 days and that his skill on the court made him feel as like he didn’t need to lose weight. During an episode of Shannon Sharpe’s Club Shay Shay podcast, Charles Barkley talked about his time in college.
Sharpe opened the discussion by enumerating Chuck’s many outstanding accomplishments throughout his three years in college.
Charles Barkley talks about his College Basketball days
Sharpe appeared shocked that Chuck, who weighed 300 pounds, could reach such incredible numbers.
Charles exclaimed, “When you got to Auburn, you weighed 300 lbs. The first 200 days in college, is reported that you ordered 100 pizzas. But, you led the SEC in rebounding in your three years that you were there. You hold the record for the career field goal percentage at almost 63%, you was SEC Player of the Year and the Decade of the 80s, and you’re a member of the Auburn All-Century Team. How the hell do you do that at 300 lbs?”
Barkley was accustomed to playing on elite teams during his time in college and high school. In addition to the team’s steady performance, Sir Charles avoided going in-depth with his shortcomings because he was consistently producing outstanding results every night. The TNT pundit asserted that he was able to dominate the boards and lead the SEC in rebounding each of the three years based only on his “talent.”
“Man, I had some serious talent to be honest with you… I’m probably the only freshman to ever lead to SEC in rebounding and then I led it every year so I’m not thinking about flaws. I think I’m doing pretty good. So, I’m not thinking about ‘yo man, lose weight’. I’m like ‘yo, I’m all SEC, I’m leading the league in rebounding as a freshman, as a sophomore, as a junior. I’m good’,” Barkley revealed.
Sir Charles also revealed that he and his coach had a falling out about his weight.
Barkley eventually expressed regret to him, understanding that the Auburn head coach was looking out for his best interests.
“My coach tried to get me to lose weight and we fought a little bit early in my career. We’re really close today because I had to go back and apologize I said ‘you know what you were right, I was wrong. I should have lost weight sooner, I could have been better’. But you know when you’re 18 and having success you don’t think anything,” Barkley concluded.
Even for professional athletes from much earlier times, success frequently depended on their bodies being in peak condition. But at first, Barkley claimed, this didn’t apply to him because of his extraordinary talent. Eventually, of course, he understood how important it was to stay in shape. However, Barkley was so successful during his time in college—despite the fact that he was still overweight—that he even acquired a somewhat recognizable nickname.
