Charles Barkley reveals why he almost transferred to Alabama in 'Bo, Barkley and The Big Hurt'AUBURN, Alabama -- Charles Barkley was not always in love with the idea of playing at Auburn.In the upcoming SEC Network documentary "Bo, Barkley and The Big Hurt," the Auburn legend reveals he nearly transferred to Alabama after a brief falling out with coach Sonny Smith. The SEC Storied documentary will debut Aug. 21 at 7 p.m. CT."I called the coaches at Alabama at the end of my sophomore year and told them I'm transferring to Alabama because I had just had enough," Barkley said.The documentary chronicles the Auburn careers of Barkley, Bo Jackson and Frank Thomas -- the trio who helped launch the Tigers into the public eye and lift the football, basketball and baseball programs into the national spotlight during their time on campus in the 1980s.Barkley, who believed he was destined to land at Gadsden State Community College out of Leeds (Ala.) High, discusses his relationship with Smith, his weight problems during his playing career and the state of Auburn athletics during the early 1980s."I got on him really bad one day and he couldn't take it any more," Smith says in the documentary. "He just walked off the floor and quit."Barkley and Smith worked things out during a three-hour conversation, and the rest is history: Barkley stayed around for another season and went to the NBA to start a Hall of Fame career.The hour-long documentary starts, oddly enough, with Barkley, Jackson and Thomas at the 2013 Iron Bowl. Barkley addressed Auburn's players in the locker room before the game and the dramatic finish. Barkley, Jackson and Thomas watched the wild Auburn victory from the sidelines. The documentary also includes rare footage of the trio in college and high school.Charles Barkley and Frank ThomasAuburn basketball legend Charles Barkley, left, and baseball legend Frank Thomas watch the 2013 Iron Bowl from the sideline in the SEC Storied documentary "Bo, Barkley and The Big Hurt." (Courtesy SEC Network/ESPN) The 2013 Iron Bowl serves as the anchor point in the timeline of the film. Scenes of Barkley, Jackson and Thomas reacting to the Iron Bowl serves as segues in the story. Barkley also calls the Tigers' 34-28 victory via a 109-yard return of a missed field goal the "greatest sporting event I've ever been a part of."The documentary includes interviews with the superstars, and former Auburn football coach Pat Dye, baseball coach Hal Baird and Smith. ESPN personality Paul Finebaum, veteran Auburn beat reporter Phillip Marshall and former Auburn athletics director David Housel were also interviewed.The relationship between the Auburn trio, along with Barkley's rankings of the top four athletes in Auburn history (the eccentric Barkley, of course, ranks himself No. 1), is the heart of the film, which includes on-camera interactions between Barkley and Thomas at the historic Iron Bowl in November.Thomas also humbly reflects on how Jackson's dual-sport career at Auburn influenced him as a youngster in nearby Columbus, Ga. Jackson's top moments at Auburn, including "Bo Over the Top," are featured in the documentary."We've never had a smarter football player -- athletic mind, where you could diagram a play up on the board and put a new play in and he'd go on the practice field and run it perfect the first time," Dye says of Jackson during the hour-long film. "Other backs you'd have to run it 100 times for them to get it down."Jonathon Hock served as executive producer for the film and Larry Weitzman served as director. The SEC Network launches Aug. 14.
ESPN personality Paul Finebaum, veteran Auburn beat reporter Phillip Marshall and former Auburn athletics director David Housel were also interviewed.
Jack Spratt, his wife and David Housel walk into a bar...I HATE IT when they trot Finescum out every damn time. Fuck him.
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