Auburn Tigers legend and sports media icon Charles Barkley always keeps it real when talking about his beloved alma mater, and he did it once again when trying to describe why it has not been as successful as hoped.

During a discussion on “The Next Round” on the Auburn coaching staff, Alex Golesh and whether or not the Tigers missed out by not hiring Jon Sumrall, Barkley said he is not concerned about what is happening away from The Plains.

Charles Barkley:

"I think one of the weaknesses of Auburn, and it's always been a weakness, we spend so much time worrying about what's happening in Tuscaloosa, we don't appreciate how good of a school we've got." pic.twitter.com/m9S73zMyA9

— The Next Round (@NextRoundLive) September 30, 2026

“I’m happy with Alex. I’m not one of those Auburn fans worried about what other people are doing, I always support our team no matter what,” Barkley began. “I think one of the weaknesses of Auburn, and it’s always been a weakness, we spend so much time worrying about what’s happening in Tuscaloosa, we don’t appreciate how good of a school we’ve got. We gotta get better in football, I love our coach…I ask people who know, they love our coach. We’ve gotta give him some time and be patient.”

“We spend way too much time worrying about what’s happening in Tuscaloosa than what we’ve got,” he continued. “We’ve been to the Final Four twice in the last few years, we won the NIT last year, our basketball program has been doing fine. Sumrall is a hell of a coach too but I’m happy with our coaching, we are gonna be fine.”

Golesh has the Tigers off to a 3-1 start and will try to pull off the upset this weekend against a Tennessee team who looks vulnerable. If he can do that, perhaps Auburn fans will start to show some more appreciation for what they have and what Golesh is starting to build in his first year at the helm.