‘We’re gonna beat ’em anyways’ becomes a main storyline for Alabama-Florida hoops matchup
GAINESVILLE, Fla. (AP) — Florida coach Todd Golden insists he wasn’t being disrespectful when he said “we’re gonna beat ’em anyways” while responding to Alabama center Charles Bediako’s return to college basketball.
It was how he felt at the time — and it remains his approach with Bediako and the 23rd-ranked Crimson Tide visiting Gainesville on Sunday.
“In a sense, I think it’s been kind of good for media or for kind of a buildup to the game,” Golden said Friday. “I’m not sure how much that’s going to really impact the result.”
Golden’s quip, which came during the school’s weekly radio show that was broadcast in front of a live audience last week, surely will be as much of a storyline as Bediako’s ongoing court case when No. 19 Florida (15-6, 6-2 Southeastern Conference) hosts Alabama (14-6, 4-3) inside a sold-out O’Connell Center.
Golden said he has since questioned whether his viral comment, which Alabama players considered a callout, was “a good thing to say or a bad thing to say.”
“No. 1, I think it would be a really strange and unconfident place to be in if a team adds one guy and you’re like, ‘Holy crap, we can’t beat these guys,’” Golden said. “And No. 2, … if you call them and you’re like: ‘Hey dude, do you think you’re going to beat Florida on Sunday? Yeah, we’re going to go beat those guys.’
“… It’s one of those things that has taken on some steam. But when you peel back on it, it’s like, ‘Oh, the coach thinks that they’re going to win in that game.’ Like, it’s really not that crazy of a comment. But we’ll see.”
Golden and the defending national champions haven’t altered their stance on Bediako, a 7-footer who is suing the NCAA in an attempt to regain college eligibility despite leaving school and entering the NBA draft.
“It’s definitely not right,” Florida star forward Thomas Haugh said. “This dude literally was at college, left and then came back. … We’ll play them with or without him. It doesn’t matter.”
Bediako went undrafted before signing a two-way NBA contract and playing the past three seasons in the G League.
A Tuscaloosa judge, who has since recused himself from the case, granted a temporary restraining order last week that allows Bediako to play for the Crimson Tide — at least until an injunction hearing is held.
Bediako is averaging 13.5 points and 4.5 rebounds in two games, providing an inside presence Alabama had been missing most of the season. He has two blocks, three steals and several dunks.
He gives the Tide the frontcourt size to match up with Florida, the best rebounding team in the country. And with Aden Holloway, Latrell Wrightsell Jr. and Amari Allen returning from injuries, the Tide are a team to watch in the coming weeks and months — beginning with a national TV broadcast Sunday.
“It’s going to be a track meet,” Haugh said. “We need to emphasize not letting them get out and get hot. They are one of those teams that once they get going, it’s hard to stop, so we have to not let them get going at all.”
The Gators have won four in a row in the series, averaging 102.5 points a game. But they are 0-2 against Bediako, although no current Florida players were around for those meetings in 2022 and 2023.
Bediako’s case has been a contentious topic among college coaches, with many of them wanting the NCAA and Congress to take action. Golden had been one of the most outspoken, even with Alabama on his schedule.
“I don’t agree with it,” he said last week. “I don’t think you should be playing, but I also don’t necessarily fault (Alabama coach) Nate Oats because this is a very competitive space, and it’s our jobs to win games and do everything we can to be the best program in our specific league. And they were able to finagle the situation where they got a judge in Alabama that is actually a donor at Alabama to write a temporary restraining order to allow this guy to play games in Alabama.”
Golden called it a “slippery slope” and later added “we’re gonna beat ’em anyways.”
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