If only Alabama had a former professional basketball player in its lineup then maybe it wouldn’t have lost in the Sweet 16.
Head coach Nate Oates bemoaned Friday night that center Charles Bediako’s NCAA ineligibility cost the Crimson Tide because they were missing the size to compete with Michigan during a 90-77 loss.
Of course, Oates is the one who gambled that Bediako – who went undrafted in 2023, signed a two-way contract with the Spurs and played three seasons in the NBA’s G League – would be ruled eligible in the increasingly complex world of NIL and amateurism.
“We know we gotta get bigger,” Oats said after the season-ending loss. “Most people, including ourselves, thought … Bediako would be eligible. We had one judge who thought so. He would’ve definitely helped the situation with the rebounding.”
No. 1-seeded Michigan held a 46-32 edge on the glass against No. 4 seed Alabama.
“We wouldn’t have gotten out-rebounded by (14) tonight had we been able to continue to play him,” Oates said. “It wasn’t meant to be.”
Bediako played for Alabama during the 2021-22 and 2022-23 seasons.
He returned for five games in January and was averaging 10 points and 4.6 rebounds in 21.6 minutes per game before he was ruled ineligible.
In a ruling that further muddied the definition of amateurism, one Tuscaloosa, Ala. judge allowed Bediako, 24, to practice and compete on a temporary restraining order while his lawsuit against the NCAA for inconsistent eligibility rules was decided.
The restraining order eventually expired and another Tuscaloosa County Circuit Court judge denied him the necessary motion to allow him to continue playing.
The NCAA accused Bediako of trying to “sidestep” the rules and take opportunities away from high school recruits.
Oats didn’t try to mask why adding Bediako was important behind the pretense of getting an education: injuries to Alabama’s frontcourt.
“We saw the opportunity to bring some size on after all the adversity we went through,” Oats said.
