After five games in his return to Alabama, Charles Bediako’s second stint in Tuscaloosa is officially over. On Monday, a Tuscaloosa County judge denied Bediako’s request for a preliminary injunction against the NCAA, effectively ending his eligibility to play for the Crimson Tide this season.
Bediako had been seeking reinstatement after a stint pursuing professional basketball, but the NCAA initially denied his request in January. Two temporary restraining orders (TROs), issued by a different Tuscaloosa judge, allowed the 7-footer to suit up for five games while the legal process played out.
With the latest TRO set to expire Tuesday, the ruling on the injunction was the last lifeline. It didn’t go his way.
Head coach Nate Oats didn’t hold back when asked about the situation during his Monday night radio show with Chris Stewart. His frustration with the NCAA-and the broader system-was palpable.
“I didn’t think it ever should have gotten to court,” Oats said. “I thought the NCAA should have made him eligible based on over a hundred current college basketball players-former professionals, most of them over in Europe.
Some in the G-League. Guys being drafted.
Rights owned by NBA teams, as in James Nnaji being eligible to play.”
Oats' point isn’t just about Bediako. It’s about the inconsistency.
Across college basketball, players with professional experience-whether in Europe, the G-League, or with NBA draft rights-are taking the court without issue. Bediako, who had already played at Alabama before declaring early for the NBA Draft, found himself on the wrong side of an eligibility ruling that’s becoming harder and harder to make sense of.
And Bediako isn’t alone. Other players, like Gonzaga’s Tyon Grant-Foster and Texas A&M’s Rashaun Agee, have also been denied eligibility by the NCAA, only to play temporarily thanks to TROs and legal interventions. Alabama has already faced both of those players this season.
In Oats' eyes, the NCAA’s decision-making process feels arbitrary-and the courts, in this case, didn’t offer the correction he was hoping for.
“The NCAA hasn’t really changed much without courts forcing them to change,” Oats said. “So, I thought the courts would see the inconsistencies in the rulings and agree with Charles’ attorneys.”
That didn’t happen. And for Bediako, the result is a premature end to his college career. For Alabama, it’s a blow to the frontcourt rotation and a frustrating reminder of the murky eligibility waters that have become all too common in modern college hoops.
But this case likely won’t be the last. As more players test the boundaries between amateur and professional status, the NCAA’s eligibility rulings will continue to face legal challenges. The system, as it stands, is being pushed to its breaking point.
“Just disappointed in the ruling,” Oats said. “Disappointed in the system, both the NCAA, the courts, the whole thing, just with all the inconsistencies with who’s eligible and who’s not.
Hopefully, at some point, somebody’s gonna win a ruling like this. It wasn’t here today, but at some point, somebody will win one and change the system because that’s how it has to change in the NCAA.”
For now, Bediako’s college career ends not on the court, but in the courtroom. And for Alabama, it’s back to game prep without a player who, for a brief five-game stretch, gave them a glimpse of what could’ve been.