Alabama’s Nate Oats says Charles Bediako ‘shouldn’t be punished,’ updates status for Tennessee game
By ADAM ZAGORIA
Alabama coach Nate Oats says Charles Bediako “shouldn’t be punished” for the career path he has taken and Oats said he plans to play the former pro big man on Saturday against Tennessee.
“Charles shouldn’t be punished for choosing to go the academic route out of high school rather than the professional route like the international players did,” Oats told reporters Friday. ” … We are planning to play him. He’s eligible to play. We’re going to follow the court orders.”
Nate Oats discussed the Charles Bediako situation today and announced that he plans to play the former G League center against Tennessee tomorrow.
— Max Cohan (@MaxCohan) January 23, 2026
(: University of Alabama) pic.twitter.com/3XfOWvRNW1
The 7-foot Bediako has never played in an NBA game but forfeited his college eligibility in 2023 by turning pro. He signed a two-way contract with the San Antonio Spurs and played in the NBA Summer League and G League for over two years, He spent two years under Oats at Alabama before that.
A judge, who turned out to be an Alabama donor, granted a temporary restraining order to Bediako this past week and he is immediately eligible to participate in all the Crimson Tide’s basketball activities and games.
Florida coach Todd Godlen did not hold back in his criticism of Alabama.
“They were able to finagle the situation where they got a judge in Alabama that is actually a donor at Alabama to, you know, write a temporary restraining order to allow this guy to play games in Alabama,” Golden said of Bediako, who played two years at Alabama before turning pro. He has never played in an NBA game but signed both a two-year NBA contract enabling him to play in the G League and multiple Exhibit-10 contracts. He was most recently a member of the Motor City Cruise, the G League affiliate of the Pistons.
“I think there’s a lot of people that aren’t necessarily happy about it and don’t necessarily agree with it, but with all this intervention from judges, there’s only so much the league can do,” added Golden, who coached the Gators to the NCAA championship last April. “There’s only so much other member schools in the league can do, and we just need some people to stand up and start taking stand. And this guy had a great opportunity. He was at Alabama for two years. He played there. He was there during the NIL era. He was aware of what he was giving up by declaring to go to the draft. He stayed in past the date that has always been if you stay in and you sign a contract, you’re done. So I think is a slippery slope.”
No. 17 Alabama visits No. 16 Florida on Feb. 1 and Golden was asked if this is a distraction.
“We’re gonna beat ’em anyways,” he said. “If he plays, we’ll beat ’em anyways.”
Meantime, Alabama AD Greg Byrne weighed in with his thoughts.
“While Coach Oats provided his perspective earlier today on Charles Bediako and the process of him becoming eligible to compete for the Crimson Tide, I wanted to follow up with some additional thoughts. I think it’s safe to say the majority of us have concerns about the state of college athletics and are all for uniformity versus inconsistencies,” he said.
“There are many programs across the country with former G League and EuroLeague players on their rosters who have been deemed eligible. At the end of the day, these are men with professional basketball experience that are now playing in college. The distinctions between those cases and Charles’ situation are without real differences. A professional contract should be a professional contract. Why should a student-athlete who earned millions competing professionally overseas be eligible to return to college, while someone earning $50,000 annually in the NBA G League is not? Similarly, an athlete who leaves high school for professional basketball returning to college later is okay, while a student who entered the draft during college, perhaps based on incomplete or poor advice, may be barred. These distinctions are impossible to explain, undermine confidence in the system and do not meaningfully advance the educational mission of college athletics.
“That said, we must remain competitive and act in the best interest of our teams. As Coach Oats stated, Charles is still within his five-year window, is 23 years old and started classes again this semester to work towards degree completion. He’s also not taking away any opportunities from a high school prospect or anyone else with there being a vacant roster spot.
“If this particular case can help shape the future of the sport, and better regulation of college athletics as a whole, we welcome that.”
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Written by Adam Zagoria
Zagoria@hotmail.com
Adam Zagoria is a Basketball Insider who covers basketball at all levels. A contributor to The New York Times and SportsNet New York (SNY), he is also the author of two books and is an award-winning journalist and filmmaker. His articles have appeared in ESPN The Magazine, SLAM, Sheridan Hoops, Basketball Times and in newspapers nationwide. He also won an Emmy award for his work on the SNY mini-documentary on Syracuse guard Tyus Battle. A veteran Ultimate Frisbee player, he has competed in numerous National and World Championships and, perhaps more importantly, his teams won the Westchester Summer League (WSL) championships in 2011 and 2013. He lives in Manhattan with his wife and children.
Judge grants restraining order allowing former pro Charles Bediako to play for Alabama
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