One of the biggest stories in college sports is what is happening with the Alabama basketball program. The Crimson Tide is the latest basketball team to try to get away with a gray area within the college sports eligibility rules. Former Crimson Tide player Charles Bediako was granted a temporary restraining order to return to Alabama after spending the past two years in the G League.
The restraining order was temporary, and another hearing was set for the upcoming week. Still, it was delayed once again, leaving Bediako eligible for another two games, against Missouri and Florida. Yahoo Sports' Ross Dellenger was one of the first to report on the extension.
“This matter came before the Court for a virtual status conference on request of the parties due to Taylor Askew, attorney for the Defendant NCAA, located in Tennessee, being unable to attend the hearing set tomorrow because of the weather issues affecting the area in which he resides,” Roberts said in a court document, per The Tuscaloosa Patch's Ryan Phillips.
In the first game that Bediako was eligible to play in, he finished with 13 points, three rebounds, and a pair of steals and blocks in 25 total minutes of game action.
Between 2021 and 2023, Bediako played in 70 games and started in 67. He averaged 6.6 points, 5.2 rebounds, and 1.7 blocks in 19.3 minutes per game. He was a member of the All-SEC Freshman Team during his first year and the conference's All-Defensive Team during his second year.
Charles Bediako's return to college basketball is the latest eligibility case to come under a massive amount of scrutiny in the world of college basketball. The first was James Nnaji, who was drafted in the 2023 NBA Draft and is under contract with the New York Knicks. The eligibility cases are being questioned because neither player ever played in the NBA, but both played in the G League.
There is also extra scrutiny on Bediako's case because the judge who ruled in his favor has a significant association with the Crimson Tide as a donor, both he and his wife.
