TUCSON — Erick Barkley was not being defiant. He was being a 22-year-old kid, speaking from his heart. And these are the words he said yesterday about the NCAA. Listen closely.

“I think I deserve an apology or something from them for all they’ve put me through,” Barkley said before St. John’s took the floor at the McKale Center in preparation for tonight’s West Regional battle against Gonzaga, a game that will feature two friends, Barkley and Matt Santangelo going head-to-head at the point.

Barkley is right. The NCAA has turned one of their student-athlete’s lives upside down, frustrating him so badly that he nearly quit the team in its most critical period of the season. Twice this season St. John’s has been forced to declare Barkley ineligible in compliance with NCAA rules.

“Just because I’m from New York, people assumed I was doing things I shouldn’t be doing,” Barkley said.

He is still playing ball and there has been no apology from the NCAA.

“Basically, I’ve just dealt with it like a man,” Barkley said. “Now that I think that it is finally over I can just go on and play basketball. I love college basketball.”

Not enough though to stay even though he loves Mike Jarvis. He’s certain to leave after this year. This could be his last college game.

“These days college athletes aren’t allowed to do anything,” Barkley said. “Hey, they make the rules, we just have to follow them. Some people could be innocent, but you got some people out there who just look at programs, force kids out of school early. It’s just a whole obstacle. Coach says it’s the devil working, and I agree.You just deal with it and whatever happens off court, you leave it off court.”

And try to win a National Championship.

“It would be a great documentary for the school, for us to win the National Championship with all the attention this school has had and all the attention I have had,” Barkley said. “I told (the NCAA) everything I knew. And everything worked out great, they really didn’t have nothing. I told them the truth”

As for why he nearly quit, Barkley said, “I just got to the limit where I was stressed out. I heard the NCAA was coming in for another investigation about my SAT score and I just felt like they were insulting my intelligence, saying someone took the test for me. I just got to the limit where I didn’t want to play college basketball any more, me representing them on the court. I had a long talk with my mother and she persuaded me to play again. She told me I was letting a lot of people down (if I quit), letting my teammates down, my family, my fans, people who pay their hard-earned money just to see my play.”

Barkley looks at the outrageous money the NCAA makes off the student and wonders.

“We’ve been nationally televised for the longest, I don’t know what the gross rate is, but I’m sure it’s a lot, for us not to get anything, or to get a little bit, it’s not fair at all,” he said. “I’m sure it will change down the line, it won’t change tomorrow. [In the future] I’ll do anything I could, just to try and persuade the NCAA to give kids a break, college kids do need something, just to live on.”

Barkley has a kindred soul in Santangelo, his teammate in the World University Games in Spain last summer. Santangelo said the NCAA appears to have gone too far in its investigation of Barkley and that athletes are used by the NCAA.

“It’s great in Spokane because living is so inexpensive,” he said. “Your scholarship goes a little further than it would in New York. Something should be done because the school is on the map and you’re eating (noodles) every night. Believe me, we are blessed to have our scholarships, but it’s all relative. In the scheme of things, were making a million and I’m getting $20,000 (in a scholarship). As an intelligent, educated person I see my checkbook is zero, zero, zero and there is a lot of money going somewhere.”

Santangelo knows he could not afford to go to Gonzaga, if it were not for his basketball talents. He is the youngest of nine children. He grew up in Portland, Ore., and used to stand on a chair in the kitchen to watch his brothers play in the driveway. His father Nick has worked as an inventory manager for the same company for 49 years. Another basketball success story.

“It’s going to be great playing against Matt,” Barkley said, “but I have to push the friendship aside. Matt is a good guy, he is just cool to be around. He’s honest with you and he cares for you.”

In the end, it’s friendships like that and matchups like tonight’s that make this a special time.

“It’s turned out great for me,” Barkley said, “they can never take basketball away from me.”