Charles Barkley: Value of kids' futures a slam-dunk -- Page 2

Bankrate: That's not idle speculation. You didn't grow up in luxury.

Barkley: I grew up poor.

Bankrate: Do you remember when you first became aware of money?

Barkley: I probably didn't have money until I got to the NBA.

Bankrate: Were you prepared to handle it?

Barkley: The first mistake I made was, I bought like seven cars. The best thing that happened to me was Dr. J slapped me upside the head and said, 'Listen, don't be stupid. You don't need seven cars. Put that money in the bank and let it grow and grow and invest in real good, positive things.' It was the best thing that ever happened to me. That's what I tell all these young guys, man, you don't need all that damn jewelry; you don't need all those cars. Invest your money wisely, and invest it back in the community in some capacity. Because you're not going to play basketball forever.

Bankrate: Is it difficult for you as a successful black athlete to try to talk some sense into young people who only want to follow in your footsteps?

Barkley: It's frustrating for me because every time I go speak to black kids, 99.9 percent of them want to play sports. They never think about being doctors, lawyers, engineers, fireman, policemen, teachers, things like that. And that's a huge problem, a huge problem in the black community.

Bankrate: It's understandable when they see a LeBron James or Carmelo Anthony bring down multimillion-dollar contracts along with their high school diploma. It's like they have no reason to look to college as a solution.

Barkley: You know what's really weird? I think about growing up in high school: Everybody who wanted to play sports assumed they were going to get a scholarship -- were hoping they were going to get a scholarship -- and all the white kids were all planning to go to college. But none of the black kids who didn't play sports even thought about going to college. One of the things I'm trying to get out there is, why is it that black kids don't want to go to college? I would like for every black kid to think, "You know what? When I graduate, I want to go to college and that's all I want to do."

Bankrate: You've been equally critical of young NBA players for not giving the proper respect to the former players who paved the way for them.

Barkley: I think they do a disservice to the old guys because hey, there are a lot of better basketball players than Charles Barkley from back in the day who, number one, didn't get a chance to play or who played and got treated like crap or didn't make any money. I make sure if I'm around one of those guys that I pay homage to them. And I'm not even saying these young guys have to pay homage to me, but they should pay homage to the past.

Bankrate: Care to share any plans about when or if you'll run for governor of Alabama?

Barkley: Man, I just want to make a difference. When I started talking about the governor thing, I wanted to get on TV everyday for three years and tell kids -- black, white, poor kids -- you can do great things. We never know how our lives are going to turn out, but you've got to put yourself in a situation to be successful. I never expected to grow up to be Charles Barkley, but I just kept working and working and obviously the rest is history. If I could get on TV everyday and beat that into these little kids' heads, it would mean a great deal to me.

Bankrate: So you wouldn't rule out politics?

Barkley: Do I want to be the governor? Hey, do I want a job, working all the time for a little chump change? But I'm just hoping I can inspire people to do good things. This is the fifth book that I've been involved in and it is probably the one that is the most important to me. Hopefully, some kids will get the message. That's all I want to do. Obviously, running for political office would be a big deal, like I'd be on TV everyday, but my message would be the same: Get out there, push yourself to the limit, listen to your mom and dad, black kids stop killing each other, stop having kids you can't afford. I'm more concerned about my message than I am about getting that job, to be honest with you.