An Alabama judge denied Charles Bediako’s request for an injunction against the NCAA earlier this week, a ruling that signaled an end to the Crimson Tide center’s controversial second stint in Tuscaloosa. Bediako, who played for the Crimson Tide from 2021 to ‘-23 and spent the last three years in the G League, is now ineligible to play for Alabama after appearing in just five games.
Even though Bediako’s return to Alabama was brief and sparked outrage across college basketball, Crimson Tide coach Nate Oats was steadfast in his belief that it was the right thing to do.
“100% it was worth it,” Oats said while speaking to reporters Tuesday. ”I’'d do the same thing 100 times out of 100 for any of our guys that it made sense to do this with. My job is to do right by our guys. And Charles is one of our guys.”
More: What Charles Bediako Ruling Means for Alabama Amid NCAA Tournament Chase
Former longtime college basketball coach Bruce Pearl, now an analyst on TNT, took Oats to task for his stance during the network’s segment discussing Bediako’s ineligibility.
“... Nate said he’d play [Bediako] a 100 times again, what that tells me is Nate doesn’t really care about the SEC, he doesn’t care about the NCAA,” Pearl, the former coach at rival Auburn, said. “And it’s fine, you’re going to care about your student-athletes, that’s fine.
“But you’re a member of this conference, and you’re a member of the NCAA. What about the rest of the teams, what about the rest of the players? Why should those five teams have to play against an ineligible player? I think it was selfish, and I think it was wrong.”
The SEC, as well as one of Alabama’s chief rivals in Florida, made it very clear how they felt about a professional player returning to the college ranks. Gators coach Todd Golden, in the lead-up to Florida’s eventual Feb. 1 win over the Crimson Tide, indicated that he disagreed with Bediako’s reinstatement and called on “people to stand up and start taking a stand.”
SEC commissioner Greg Sankey did just that, signing an affidavit in support of the NCAA’s case against Bediako, a move that undoubtedly added muscle to the organization’s eventual winning side.
To Pearl’s point, Alabama played five SEC teams—Tennessee, Missouri, Florida, Texas A&M and Auburn—while Bediako was an active player, winning three of those games. Bediako’s eligibility, and subsequent ineligibility, now throws a wrench into the selection committee’s process for evaluating Alabama—and its conference rivals—for the NCAA tournament come March.
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This article was originally published on www.si.com as Bruce Pearl Rips Nate Oats for Alabama’s ‘Selfish’ Charles Bediako Endeavor.
