On Monday evening, Tuscaloosa Circuit Court Judge Daniel F. Pruet denied Alabama basketball’s Charles Bediako’s preliminary injunction, siding with the NCAA, noting that Bediako’s situation of returning from the NBA G-League to college basketball was different from that of European professional players. Pruet’s ruling means Bediako is no longer eligible to play for Alabama, even though he played the last five games for the Crimson Tide under a temporary restraining order.

 

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“Obviously super disappointed,” Alabama men’s basketball head coach Nate Oats said on Monday night on Hey Coach. Oats continued to say that the case should have never made it to court, with the NCAA ruling numerous other players who have played professionally in Europe eligible.

 

On Tuesday afternoon, during his media availability prior to Alabama’s matchup with Ole Miss on Wednesday night, Oats told the media that it was “100 percent” worth it to bring Bediako back, even if it was only for five games.

 

“100%. There was an opportunity to help one of our former players out. He was within his five-year window. He’s trying to get his degree. Here’s the thing, too. My job as a head coach is to try to do the right thing by our guys. Charles is one of our guys,” Oats said. “That was the right thing to do by one of our guys. Like I’ve said before, this is not some mercenary deal with a 23-year-old coming in for a semester that nobody knows. He was deemed legally eligible to play. We’re going to absolutely support him. One of the ironic statements in the affidavit Sankey put was how much of a disadvantage it is to go be a pro and not have to focus on your college.

 

“It’s not the case. It would be nice if everybody who’s commenting, writing, talking about this actually educated themselves on the reality of the situation. The reality of the situation is, Charles left here with his body looking pretty good at 235. He went to the G-League. You don’t get the same treatment you do. There’s a reason … there’s a lot of G-League players trying to come back to college. The money’s a lot better. The development is a lot better. You get a full-time dietician, full-time strength coach, you’re not traveling on commercial flights, spending all your time in airports, not being able to develop. Charles actually has lost weight since he went to the G-League. His development wasn’t what you would think being a pro. You’re more of a professional able to focus on getting your body right in college. He’s here. He’s in school. We’re going to help him try to gain weight back he’s lost since he was in the G-League. We’re going to continue to help his basketball development. We’re going to continue to help his development as a student, as a student-athlete. 100% it was worth it. I would do the same thing 100 times out of 100 for any of our guys, it would have made sense to do it with.”

 

 

Wyatt Fulton is the Tide 100.9 DME and Brand Manager, primarily covering Alabama Crimson Tide football and men’s basketball. For more Crimson Tide coverage, follow Wyatt on X (Formerly known as Twitter) at @FultonW_.

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