‘The system’s clearly broken’: Nate Oats on NBA G League player Charles Bediako’s return to Alabama
Before we get to uh. Tennessee and any questions. I, I want to address *** few things regarding Charles Pettiaco and the process of him becoming eligible to play for us. So, first of all, the system’s clearly broken, and I’m all for figuring out *** way to fix it. But since the NCAA has already allowed professionals to play virtually every team we’ve played this year or will play as *** former professional player on their roster. You tell me how I’m supposed to tell Charles and the team. that we’re not going to support them when he’s been deemed legally eligible to play. So, Charles is still within his 5-year window. He’s 23 years old. He’s pursuing his degree here at Alabama. We’ve got our roster spot open, so this is not taking any opportunities away from *** high school recruit or anybody else. Charles shouldn’t be punished for choosing to go to the academic route out of high school rather than the professional route like the international players did. So again, my personal opinion on all this is we need *** uniform and transparent system. That doesn’t punish the Americans. That takes the hypocrisy out of it, that gives equal treatment to Americans and international players both while also allowing high school players the opportunities they need coming out of school. So someone should be able to come up with *** system that checks all those boxes. But for now, we’re going to continue to support Charles, our team, and we’re working closely with our administration, our compliance department and all this. So, that, that’s what I’ve got on that. Now, for the Tennessee game, listen, I, I know, and I know Charles will draw *** lot of attention for this game, but yeah, we are planning to play him. He’s eligible to play. We’re going to follow the court orders. Tennessee’s good. I mean, I think Rick Barnes has done an unbelievable job. Got the utmost respect for him. His teams are always tough. We’ve struggled against them. We struggle against their physicality. We lost one up there last year that I still take personally. I feel like I made too many errors at the end of that game. I’ve told the team I got to do better for them this year, but we, we’ve got to play better. I mean, we, we’re coming off *** tough road win at Oklahoma. I feel like if we’re not, if we’re not significantly better, then we’re going to struggle against Tennessee. I mean, they’ve got *** big, strong, physical, tough front court. They’ve got Native Min who’s going to be *** lottery pick. They’ve got one of the best point guards in the country, and Gillespie, that he’s playing really well. And they’re one of the best defensive teams like they are every year under, uh, Coach Barnes. So we’ve got our hands full. You know, we’re, we’re trying to compete for *** league championship. You know, we, we can’t afford to drop home games. We’ve already dropped one against Texas, so we got to be ready to go. I feel like we’ve had *** good week of practice. I think the most, and, and like I said, going into this week off with our byegame, the most important thing in my opinion was getting healthy. I feel like we’ve gotten *** lot healthier. Taylor looks *** lot better. And sometimes it’s, you know, he had *** hand injury, but man, it feels like him taking the time off with his hand. His, his legs have gotten better. I feel like he’s gotten better. London’s gotten healthier. LeBaron wasn’t 100%. He looks *** lot better. Uh, Trelli’s looking *** lot better. He practiced today and most of the stuff as long as he, uh, still feels great tomorrow, I anticipate him being able to go. So we’re, we’re getting, The guys we need to play healthy. Keaton, Daveon, and, uh, Collins. Obviously, those three will be out. Uh, everybody else we’re anticipating playing, uh, against Tennessee, and we’re gonna need them because they’re, they’re *** good team. We got to play well tomorrow. I don’t know how much you’ve paid attention to it, but it seems like every coach in the country has an opinion on this. Just what’s been your reaction to, to all their opinions? You know what, I, and I’ve said this before, I, uh, I take social media off my phone for the whole season. Really doesn’t do anything except distract me from doing my job. So, you know, and people have forwarded me some stuff that, you know, I got. Friends that are fans and, you know, my staff doesn’t all take, take it off because they gotta deal with recruiting *** lot more and all that. So I’ve been sent some stuff like, everybody’s gonna have their opinions. I respect them. I’m focused on our team and what we need to do to get better. And that’s where I’m gonna keep my focus. I think focusing on all that other stuff distracts me from doing my job. Yeah, what ultimately made you comfortable doing this? Yeah, I mean, I, I think. To me, it, it makes sense. Like Chuck, so the, the James Naji situation was what really kind of put it over the edge, in my opinion. You know, and you, you’re kind of watching as all these things go and these European players are, you know, there’s some guys that played 4 years. In the 2nd-best league in the world. The EuroLeague is the 2nd-best league in the world. In the NBA and in the EuroLeague. I had *** former player, Will Clyburn, that was *** Euroleague MVP. I believe in 2019, he, he turned down, uh, NBA jobs to stay in the Euro League because he’s making more money over there. So you see all these players in the Euro League coming over and being eligible to play in *** couple of they’re pros, they’re professionals playing in the second best league in the world behind the NBA. So then you see *** guy like James Naji and Charles actually sat right next to, uh, Naji at the draft that year. And Naji goes 31st in the draft. Plays 3 years in Europe, gets declared eligible. With 4 years of eligibility at Baylor, it kind of made Charles and his camp and us, and we both had mutual interest and it seemed like it made *** lot of sense if, if *** guy that actually got drafted in the same draft as him, He’s eligible to play 4 years. Charles is still within his 5-year window. Let’s pursue it. I assumed the NCAA would deem him eligible. They didn’t. The court system deemed him eligible and we’re comfortable with what’s happened so far. How has the rest of the team reacted to Charles coming in and just kind of how has he adjusted if he’s been practicing with the team this week? Yeah, so they’re great. I, I wouldn’t, I wouldn’t bring *** guy that wasn’t high character into the team, and I think we’ve got *** team full of high character guys. They, you know, we, and we’ve got *** need for it. We assumed Collins was gonna be able to play this year. You know, he’s had the heart condition all year. Uh, it doesn’t look like he’s going to be able to play this year. Keaton, you know, he’s been playing backup 5, some 4. he’s come across injuries. I, I don’t know when he’ll be able to play again. You know, Taylor’s been in and out. We, we’ve had, we were thin in the front court after Collins went out to begin with. Our players are trying to win. Uh, their goals are high. Charles is going to contribute to them winning, and he’s *** great guy. He’s, he’s been an unbelievable teammate. Every kid that played with him is 2 years here. I love playing with him. So, uh, he, he’s been welcomed in. Charles and Charles was here when some of these guys came on visits, and they, they know him from then too. Charles has been around. She was here last year when they played in Birmingham last week. Uh, he came down with their coaches and watched practice. He’s been around. So, and I, I, I stay in touch with all our former players. So I’ve continued to talk to him through the years, and I love having our guys. Come back. So he, he’s been *** guy that’s been around. They’re pretty comfortable with him. And, and he’s, he fits in great. He practiced today. You know, he, he, we can play him and Aidenrrell together. Aiden Sherrell spaces the floor really well, can play some floor. There’s *** lot of teams in our league that played two bigs. You know, Noah and Aiden can play together. We’ve done that already. Charles and Noah can play together. All those guys, it frees Taylor and London up to play *** little bit more of what their position is. I think it helps everybody out and they’re all thankful for *** guy to help us win some more games. Do you think this is good for the sport? And if not, do you feel any personal responsibility for it, or is it just *** system thing? Kind of like I said that we’ve got to come up with ***, Uniform and transparent system that doesn’t give preferential treatment to international players like the current system does because those guys can play 4 years professionally and then, Come here. So, is it good for the sport? I mean, at some point we’ve got to get it to where everybody’s got *** uniform, transparent, we all know who we can recruit and who we can’t recruit that doesn’t give preferential treatment to international players. And once they figure that out, it’ll be great. So if this helps them get to that point. That, that, that’s great, but they need to get to that point. Yeah. Is there any concern or worry about potential punishment from the NCAA if, uh, he, he doesn’t win the, uh, the hearing on, on Tuesday next week? No, none, we’ve been in constant contact with our administration and compliance, so there’s no concern with that. Yeah, just kind of what were the initial conversations between you and Charles regarding this whole thing? Yeah, I mean, we’ve been seeing similar cases around the country this season. Former pros that are now in college. I mean, UConn’s got multiple ones, BYU. I mean, go down the list, virtually every, everybody we’ve had, you know, Louisville recruited the kid out of the G League that made *** lot more money than Charles did. So, when all those were happening, and then the, the Naji one, it was like, you know, again, Charles has been down here. We’ve, we’ve talked fairly frequently and, I knew that he literally, I think sat two rows away from Charles at that draft from how she got drafted, then. We started talking about how, how does Naji get drafted and played 3 years in the 2nd best basketball league in the world, the Euroleague and come back to play. Well, You know, Charles made *** mistake. He, he, when he stayed in, I, he wished, and again, the NIL money, when Charles left was not near what it is now. So, you know, he knew it was *** better situ. There’s *** lot of players trying to leave the G-League right now and come to college. So college is *** much better system for kids the age of Charles and those kids that are leaving that, that, so. We talked. His people phoned. Some attorneys that agreed with him that he should be eligible and They went through the process with DNCA and the. Legal process and we’re here where we’re at. Do you view Charles’s case as ***, *** landmark case that’s potentially like *** big game changer across college sports, or do you just see it more like one degree of separation from the Oklahoma case or the Baylor case? Yeah, I think it’s more like one degree of separation. I mean. I’m not sure what, I mean, I know they’re trying to make *** differentiation between Charles and some other cases, but. Not sure how you tell *** guy that’s played 4 years in the EuroLeague, which is *** lot higher level than the GLeague, that he’s eligible to come. And because Charles chose to go to an academic institution to start with, and the other players chose to go the professional route, That child is going to get punished. Really, what it does, it gives very preferential treatment to the international players and penalizes American players. For choosing to go to an academic and we are in the NCAA, which is *** conglomeration of academic institutions, we should not be punishing American kids that go to American high schools that then go to colleges from being able to come back to pursue their degree and play in college and giving preferential treatment to international players. So if this. I think it’s just one more line and making sure that it’s equal treatment between Americans and international players. I don’t think it’s some landmark case. If some other people want to view it as that, they can, but that’s not at all how we viewed it. We, we didn’t think it was, Really any different than. *** lot of the other professional players that are currently playing college basketball right now. What can Charles give your team on the defensive end and how has he developed since leaving Tuscaloosa? Yeah, obviously we haven’t had him here in practice *** lot, uh, this week, just, uh, limited, but, you know, based on what he did here in the past, uh, he obviously gives shot blocking. Rebounding, lob target. You know, I think our guards like playing with him in practice. You can go get some lobs. Uh, as far as his development goes, uh, you know, it’s hard for me to see. He’s really good at the stuff that we used him with when he was here and he was here not that long ago, so. The, um, I mean, shoot. He was *** sophomore and Nick Pringle was *** junior that year. Nick Pringle is still playing in the SEC. So Pringle’s been in college longer than Charles is. Like that, that’s where some people got to understand. He’s in his 5-year window, and he’s 23 years old. He was here not that long ago. And when he was here, he was an elite rim protector, very good. Post defender, rebounder. Very good lob target and I think his games continue to develop and we’ll try to use some of the stuff he’s developed, but right now we’re just trying to get him used to playing with the players we have. It was *** lot easier for him to come back because he’s been in our system. Our system gets tweaked *** little bit every year, you know, but Fleming’s been in the NBA. You know, so he’s, we ran an NBA system when Charles was here. Charles has played some G-League teams that play an NBA system. He’s back playing an NBA system now. So it’s not as big of an, uh, adjustment as maybe some of these other guys. Yeah, coach, just kind of looking at the timeline of this. Has this been kind of *** planned date? How long has it been kind of established? And was, um, Charles playing in Birmingham this past week? Did that affect him coming here this week or was there anything on the timeline? Yeah, I mean, I think the timeline, uh. I think our eyes got opened. With the James Naji ruling. I think that was kind of the one that I think people had become accustomed to the international players coming, even though I had always, I thought in my head, why are these international pros eligible to play in college, but uh G LeLeague pros not, I’d kind of question that, but I think once *** guy, once *** guy that had got drafted, In the same draft Charles was in that played 3 years in the 2nd-best league in the world in the Euro League, was able to now come back to college. It kind of opened things up. So it started then, we had some mutual conversations. Charles and his, uh, camp were able to get some attorneys that agreed with Charles believing he should be able to come back to college based on What the NCAA had allowed up to that point. And then we, you know, Charles wanted to get his degree. He re-enrolled in school. He’s been in class since we started class, first day of 2nd semester, and he’s been working towards, uh, finishing up his classes. And, and yeah, he was in town last weekend, but this has been, well, going along since before that. So I think he played Thursday, Saturday. I, I don’t think he even played in the game Thursday and then he, Played some limited minutes Saturday. So, you know, we talked to the, um, Do you think the people with the pistons and work through all what you needed to do to get. Out of the G-League and back into college once he was able to, once he got the temporary restraining or was eligible to play. So, yeah, it, it’s been going on since right around the James Naji ruling shortly after that. So they’ve been working on it. Anybody got Tennessee questions? We do *** big SEC game, uh, tomorrow for those of you that follow SEC basketball. It’s good, it’s good, yeah. Nan Min, very good player. And, uh, they play him at the 3 and you’re gonna have to guard him. You know, with *** guy that’s probably undersized because he’s *** 6’10, 3 man, and I saw him play in high school. Interestingly enough, his dad’s from Detroit. We had *** lot of mutual connections up there. And, you know, we tried to recruit him for *** little bit. I, I think he’s *** really good player, but we’re gonna have to guard him with more of our wings because they usually play two real bigs. Occasionally they’ll play him at the 4, but mainly he’s *** 3. So we’re gonna have *** size problem. So we’re gonna have to, guys are gonna have to, Pressure him and play, they play him like *** guard, so we’re gonna have to guard him like *** guard. Thank you. All right, appreciate you guys.
‘The system’s clearly broken’: Nate Oats on NBA G League player Charles Bediako’s return to Alabama
Updated: 4:13 PM CST Jan 23, 2026
Charles Bediako will play against Tennessee on Saturday, Alabama coach Nate Oats said Friday, even while calling the NCAA system that allowed professional players to return to college “broken.”“We are planning to play him,” Oats said. “He’s eligible to play. We’re going to follow the court orders.”The 23-year-old Bediako practiced with the 17th-ranked Crimson Tide a day after a judge in Tuscaloosa temporarily reinstated the player’s college eligibility and blocked the NCAA from retaliating for his return.Bediako entered the NBA draft in 2023 but was not selected. The 7-footer has signed several NBA developmental contracts since, including playing for the Motor City Cruise in the NBA’s G League as recently as last week.He spent two seasons (2021-23) at Alabama, averaging 6.6 points, 5.2 rebounds and 1.7 blocks, and helped the Crimson Tide make the NCAA Tournament twice. He sued the NCAA earlier this week in hopes of having his college eligibility reinstated. The NCAA denied Alabama’s initial petition.But James H. Roberts Jr. of the Tuscaloosa Circuit Court granted Bediako a temporary restraining order Thursday and said he is “immediately eligible” to participate in all team activities. Roberts also ruled the NCAA is “restrained from threatening, imposing, attempting to impose, suggesting or implying any penalties or sanctions” against Bediako, the Crimson Tide or its coaches and players.The temporary order is valid for 10 days. A full hearing on Bediako’s request for a preliminary injunction is scheduled for Tuesday.“First of all, the system’s clearly broken,” Oats said. “I’m all for figuring out a way to fix it. But since the NCAA has already allowed professionals to play … you tell me how I’m supposed to tell Charles and the team that we’re gonna not support them when he’s been deemed legally eligible to play.”Oats pointed to Baylor’s James Nnaji as the catalyst for the decision to bring Bediako back. Nnaji also was part of the 2023 NBA draft and selected 31st overall by Detroit. He never signed an NBA contract and has spent the last few seasons playing for FC Barcelona of the EuroLeague. He was granted eligibility in December to play for Baylor.“I know they’re trying to make a differentiation between Charles and some other cases,” Oats said. “Not sure how you tell a guy that’s played four years in the EuroLeague, which is a lot higher level than the G League, that he’s eligible to come and because Charles chose to go to an academic institution to start with, and other players chose to go the professional route, that Charles is going to get punished.“Really what it does, it gives very preferential treatment to the international players and penalizes American players for choosing to go to an academic and we are in the NCAA, which is a conglomeration of academic institutions.”>> FOLLOW YOUR TEAMS: Sports coverage from WVTM 13Fellow NCAA coaches questioned Alabama’s decision to welcome Bediako back and the judge’s decision to grant the TRO.Florida coach Todd Golden called Roberts an Alabama booster during the school’s weekly radio show Thursday night and ended his response with “We’ll beat ‘em anyways.” Alabama visits No. 16 Florida on Feb. 1.“I do think it’s positive that there’s a lot of discussions about it right now,” Golden said Friday. “We do need some intervention/someone to say, ‘Hey, this is why it’s OK; this is why it’s not OK.’ Right now, we’re just kind of sitting in no-man’s land, and everybody has their opinions but feels like they can’t do anything because a judge ruled this — in Tuscaloosa, which is kind of crazy to me that he can impact what the NCAA does with their organization, what the SEC does with their conference. I think that’s dangerous.”Tennessee coach Rick Barnes was equally clear about where he stands heading into Saturday’s road game.“When you make the choice to give up your college eligibility, you’ve given it up,” Barnes said. “And I don’t care if it’s someone that has been in the service, come back. Once they start that clock and they make that choice, they’ve made that choice.”Stay updated on the latest sports stories with the WVTM 13 app. You can download it here.
TUSCALOOSA, Ala. —
Charles Bediako will play against Tennessee on Saturday, Alabama coach Nate Oats said Friday, even while calling the NCAA system that allowed professional players to return to college “broken.”
“We are planning to play him,” Oats said. “He’s eligible to play. We’re going to follow the court orders.”
The 23-year-old Bediako practiced with the 17th-ranked Crimson Tide a day after a judge in Tuscaloosa temporarily reinstated the player’s college eligibility and blocked the NCAA from retaliating for his return.
Bediako entered the NBA draft in 2023 but was not selected. The 7-footer has signed several NBA developmental contracts since, including playing for the Motor City Cruise in the NBA’s G League as recently as last week.
He spent two seasons (2021-23) at Alabama, averaging 6.6 points, 5.2 rebounds and 1.7 blocks, and helped the Crimson Tide make the NCAA Tournament twice. He sued the NCAA earlier this week in hopes of having his college eligibility reinstated. The NCAA denied Alabama’s initial petition.
But James H. Roberts Jr. of the Tuscaloosa Circuit Court granted Bediako a temporary restraining order Thursday and said he is “immediately eligible” to participate in all team activities. Roberts also ruled the NCAA is “restrained from threatening, imposing, attempting to impose, suggesting or implying any penalties or sanctions” against Bediako, the Crimson Tide or its coaches and players.
The temporary order is valid for 10 days. A full hearing on Bediako’s request for a preliminary injunction is scheduled for Tuesday.
“First of all, the system’s clearly broken,” Oats said. “I’m all for figuring out a way to fix it. But since the NCAA has already allowed professionals to play … you tell me how I’m supposed to tell Charles and the team that we’re gonna not support them when he’s been deemed legally eligible to play.”
Oats pointed to Baylor’s James Nnaji as the catalyst for the decision to bring Bediako back. Nnaji also was part of the 2023 NBA draft and selected 31st overall by Detroit. He never signed an NBA contract and has spent the last few seasons playing for FC Barcelona of the EuroLeague. He was granted eligibility in December to play for Baylor.
“I know they’re trying to make a differentiation between Charles and some other cases,” Oats said. “Not sure how you tell a guy that’s played four years in the EuroLeague, which is a lot higher level than the G League, that he’s eligible to come and because Charles chose to go to an academic institution to start with, and other players chose to go the professional route, that Charles is going to get punished.
“Really what it does, it gives very preferential treatment to the international players and penalizes American players for choosing to go to an academic and we are in the NCAA, which is a conglomeration of academic institutions.”
>> FOLLOW YOUR TEAMS: Sports coverage from WVTM 13
Fellow NCAA coaches questioned Alabama’s decision to welcome Bediako back and the judge’s decision to grant the TRO.
Florida coach Todd Golden called Roberts an Alabama booster during the school’s weekly radio show Thursday night and ended his response with “We’ll beat ‘em anyways.” Alabama visits No. 16 Florida on Feb. 1.
“I do think it’s positive that there’s a lot of discussions about it right now,” Golden said Friday. “We do need some intervention/someone to say, ‘Hey, this is why it’s OK; this is why it’s not OK.’ Right now, we’re just kind of sitting in no-man’s land, and everybody has their opinions but feels like they can’t do anything because a judge ruled this — in Tuscaloosa, which is kind of crazy to me that he can impact what the NCAA does with their organization, what the SEC does with their conference. I think that’s dangerous.”
Tennessee coach Rick Barnes was equally clear about where he stands heading into Saturday’s road game.
“When you make the choice to give up your college eligibility, you’ve given it up,” Barnes said. “And I don’t care if it’s someone that has been in the service, come back. Once they start that clock and they make that choice, they’ve made that choice.”
Stay updated on the latest sports stories with the WVTM 13 app. You can download it here.