Barkley saw Francis' talent and did choose to be a generous and learned mentor to him. Despite the reputation, Barkley always was a big-hearted teammate, more interested in how other players played and felt than he generally let on.

But as with most things Charles, if something is worth doing, it is worth overdoing. Surprise of surprises, Barkley went too far. Francis, as kids tend to do, rebelled, basically telling Barkley to get out of his face.

But Barkley seems not to know or to have forgotten that after their initial problems, Francis respected Barkley and learned all he could. He was greatly influenced by Barkley and Hakeem Olajuwon. When Barkley was hurt, Francis was upset not only as a teammate and fan, but also as a student.

The criticism of Mobley is even more unfair. The previous season, Barkley, Olajuwon and Scottie Pippen were all over their out-of-position point guard. Mobley had so much mentoring it's still a wonder he didn't take their three heads and smack them together.

Eventually, Mobley chose Pippen as a mentor, and Pippen responded.