What started as a compliment for Johni Broome took a humorous turn when Charles Barkley found himself the target of playful mockery from Clark Kellogg and Kenny Smith. As top-seeded Auburn prepared for their NCAA men’s basketball tournament match against Alabama State, Barkley praised Broome, suggesting that if the 6’10” forward led Auburn to a championship, he could surpass Barkley as the greatest player in the school’s history.
“In high school you were terrible…He was an overweight point guard!” – Kenny Smith and Clark Kellogg talking about Charles Barkley like he wasn’t sitting right next to them pic.twitter.com/PUT6yIK43r
— Awful Announcing (@awfulannouncing) March 20, 2025
“He is the best undersized power forward in Auburn history that I’ve seen,” Smith quipped, teasing Barkley, who had his own history as an undersized power forward. When Barkley asserted that Broome was “better than me in college,” Smith was quick to downplay the comparative merit. “I told you, you got good in the pros,” Smith responded. “In high school you were terrible. In college you were just good.” While Kellogg briefly defended Barkley by saying “he wasn’t terrible,” Smith followed up with the jab that Barkley “was an overweight point guard in high school!”
Kellogg did try to soften the blow with a sort-of compliment, saying, “Underneath all those extra lbs you could see talent.” As Barkley listened to the back-and-forth about his past, he finally interjected, “Do y’all have HR around here? I’m an overweight, undersized…y’all be using words that think I don’t accept bullying,” he said with a chuckle. “Call HR over here somebody.”
Clearly, HR’s services won’t be necessary. Kellogg and Smith have not used language worse than ‘overweight’ or ‘undersized,’ and if anyone is equipped to handle good-natured ribbing on live TV, it’s Barkley, who’s no stranger to witty exchanges with Shaquille O’Neal.
