NBA legend returns for 'An Evening with Charles Barkley'

Emmy award-winning sports analyst and basketball legend Charles Barkley treated a packed house to the ultimate selfie before sitting down with longtime friend and Rowan University professor Neil Hartman for “An Evening with Charles Barkley” on Sept. 24. Hosted by Rowan’s Center for Sports Communication & Social Impact, the NBA Hall of Famer spoke candidly, as he always does, about growing up in the South, the new wave of women in sports and sports media and upcoming changes in his broadcasting career, before opening things up to questions from the audience. 

Barkley’s trademark unfiltered anecdotes spanned from recent sports betting losses, epic golf outings and the way he says he used to wash his uniform between games. Hartman explained the now-infamous clip from 2023 where Barkley describes showering with his jersey on. Allen Lumpkin, who spent more than four decades working for the 76ers and a friend of Barkley’s, was in the house to corroborate the tale once and for all.  

“It’s true,” Lumpkin laughed, before remarking that he would describe the 11-time NBA All Star and two-time Olympian as really just a regular guy. 

On Hartman’s cue, students, staff and sports fans from the region lined the aisles of Pfleeger Concert Hall and one-by-one Barkley fielded their questions. Topics ranged from funny behind-the-scenes moments from "Inside the NBA" and his thoughts on the upcoming NBA season, to current events, life advice, bucket lists, setting goals and building a career. 

“If you play sports, you’re gonna get embarrassed,” Barkley said in response to a young audience member asking what NBA player could dunk on him. “But then your job is to go and embarrass them back.” 

The men’s and women’s basketball teams were also in the audience and got their own photo with Barkley, along with some pointed advice for fellow athletes, commenting on the importance of chemistry on a team and ensuring everyone is on the same page. 

“Bringing the energy is one of the most underrated talents in sports,” Barkley said, “Just find a way to make an impact on the game,” adding the most valuable asset on the court is the ball. 

When asked about the best piece of advice Barkley received, he brought it back to family and a call to acknowledge the ones who helped you along the way. 

“That’s not your last name, it’s your family name,” he clarified. “It’s the people who did the heavy lifting to get you to Rowan or get you through high school.” He also noted understanding you can’t make everybody happy is another important piece of advice. 

Despite a couple “last calls,” Barkley went well over time, agreeing to answer a half-dozen more student questions–a credit to his pal Hartman. An Emmy award-winning sportscaster himself, Hartman is the director of the center and has an “unmatched dedication to mentoring students,” according to Dr. Nawal Ammar, dean of the Ric Edelman College of Communication, Humanities & Social Sciences. 

Barkley offered one final piece of advice to the college students in the crowd, reminding them that when he was in high school, he didn’t think he was going to become one of the greats. 

“There’s people in here who will accomplish amazing (stuff) and they don’t even know it yet,” he said. “Just keep working hard.” 

Watch the livestream of the event at http://go.rowan.edu/barkleylive.