'Master the expectations': Bruce, Barkley and Basketball Golf Classic

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Wade Rackley/Auburn Athletics

Charles Barkley and Bruce Pearl with tournament volunteer Johnny Kincey. Photo: Wade Rackley/Auburn Athletics

OPELIKA, Ala. – Climbing the mountain, says Charles Barkley, is the comparatively easy part. Now comes the greater challenge.

"They're going to have a good team," Barkley said of the defending SEC champions. "They've just got to master the expectations, because winning is pretty easy. Staying on top is the hard part.Bruce, Barkley and Basketball Golf Classic presented by YellaWood
"I think [Auburn coach Bruce Pearl] understands that. I think now he's just got to beat it into the team. Because once you have success, the people you beat last year are going to be gunning for you, so they just have to raise their expectations."

Nearly a year after his bronze statue was unveiled outside Auburn Arena, the 1984 SEC Player of the Year spent Monday at Grand National in the third annual Bruce, Barkley and Basketball Golf Classic presented by YellaWood.

"It's important to me for two reasons," Barkley said. "No. 1 to support Auburn, but also to support the basketball team. Last year was a big year for us making the NCAA Tournament. It was really cool for me because I get to broadcast March Madness. 

"The first time I got to say, 'And in the tournament: Auburn,' that was pretty cool. I'll do anything to support the basketball program. Auburn means a great deal to me. It's just a little thing, just give a little time."

Weeks away from beginning his fifth season at Auburn, Pearl appreciates Barkley's consistent generosity to his alma mater in general and the Tigers' basketball program in particular.
"It doesn't happen without Charles being here," Pearl said. "But it's not hard to get him here because this is home away from home for him. He looks forward to his trips here and we look forward to having him. It's great to have him as part of the family and the program."

While Pearl's Fore the Children Golf Classic has raised approximately one million dollars for Children's Harbor and his AUTLIVE program helps local cancer patients, Monday's event raises money for Auburn's men's basketball program through Tigers Unlimited.

"A lot of times it's the extras that can help you get your program where you need to be," Pearl said, mentioning improvements to the sound system and scoreboard at Auburn Arena. "When you do that, it doesn't just benefit men's basketball. 


"When our gymnastics teams take the floor and they're having floor exercises and all of a sudden you've got a sound system that booms, it just makes for a better product. Now that we're putting 9,000 in there, you can't hear anything. Things like that are where the funds go.

"When we want to do the Tipoff at Toomer's, that's not something that's budgeted, so we want to be able to say, 'Hey, there's some money that's set aside for the extras that help you change your program."
 

Auburn tips off the 2018-19 season at home against South Alabama on Nov. 6 at 8 p.m. on SEC Network.
 


Jeff Shearer is a Senior Writer at AuburnTigers.com. Follow him on Twitter: @jeff_shearer