In nod to Reggie Theus, his 'NBA brother,' Charles Barkley says he's donating $1M to B-CU

Bethune-Cookman University will be on the receiving end of Charles Barkley's largesse.

Barkley told AL.com columnist Roy S. Johnson this week he will be donating $1 million each to B-CU and Jackson State University in Mississippi, the latest in a string of similar donations to other historically Black colleges and universities.

Reggie Theus, B-CU's athletic director and head men's basketball coach, told The News-Journal in an interview Friday that he hadn't spoken with "Sir Charles" in the last month about the gift, but had approached Barkley earlier.

"I'm just so incredibly humbled by what he's done. It's just a big thing. He's my NBA brother. It's a small fraternity," Theus said. "I was actually surprised. I didn't know this was coming."

Barkley, who made more than $43 million as an all-star NBA player, is finding life as a commentator even more lucrative. For the past 22 years, his platform on TNT's "Inside the NBA" elevated his profile to another stratosphere, and in October, he signed a 10-year contract extension worth at least $100 million and possibly approaching $200 million, according to a New York Post report.

“I’m just so lucky and blessed beyond anything I can imagine,” Barkley told AL.com. “All this [expletive] money is crazy. I’m gonna use the rest of my life to bless as many people as I possibly can.”

Since 2016, Barkley has given $1 million to six other HBCUs in addition to Bethune-Cookman and Jackson State. Those schools include: Alabama A&M University, Clark Atlanta University, Morehouse College, Miles College, Tuskegee University and Spelman College.

Theus, whose NBA career overlapped with Barkley's in the late 1980s and early 1990s, was a two-time all-star who preceded Barkley as a commentator on TNT and later coached the Sacramento Kings before landing in Daytona Beach last year. He said B-CU hasn't yet determined how the funds will be used.

"We'll figure those things out," Theus said. "These kids deserve it. ... This is just going to help us move in the direction of building a championship culture, which extends beyond athletics to academics. It's on and off the floor or the field."

Having played against Barkley and worked at "Inside the NBA," Theus called his connection "family inside of family." Theus said he enjoys when Barkley and co-host Kenny Smith joke about and with him, but more importantly, they understand what he's trying to accomplish at B-CU.

"They know what I'm up against. I'm doing a job that hasn't been done, being AD and head basketball coach, and taking over a situation that needs a lot of help, but I feel really blessed to have that opportunity to build something."

A big part of that job is outreach.

"I've been talking to all my friends and the people I know, but it takes time. It just doesn't happen overnight," Theus said. "People always want to help you when they see that you're helping yourself. When positive things are starting to happen for Bethune-Cookman, the more people are going to want to help."

This article originally appeared on The Daytona Beach News-Journal: Charles Barkley is giving millions to HBCUs. His latest pledge: B-CU