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Alabama assistant posts James Nnaji draft video amid Charles Bediako eligibility ruling

Danby: Daniel Hager02/10/26DanielHagerOn3

Tuscaloosa County Circuit Court Judge Daniel Pruet ruled against Alabama center Charles Bediako in his eligibility case versus the NCAA on Tuesday after Friday morning’s injunction hearing. Bediako was seeking preliminary and permanent injunctive relief after the NCAA previously ruled the former NBA G League player ineligible to return to college basketball last month.

With this decision coming down, Bediako’s season effectively comes to an end. He appeared in five games (3-2 record), where he averaged 10.0 points, 4.6 rebounds, and 1.4 blocks. Alabama assistant coach Preston Murphy took to X/Twitter Tuesday afternoon to express his displeasure with the ruling.

Murphy posted a video of the 2023 NBA Draft, which saw forward James Nnaji selected with the No. 31 overall pick by the Detroit Pistons. Nnaji, who never played college basketball or signed an NBA contract, decided to jump to college basketball weeks before Bediako did with Baylor. In 10 games, the Nigerian native is averaging just 1.3 points and 2.8 rebounds.

While Nnaji and Bediako are lumped into the same category by many, the situations are just a tad different. Bediako played two seasons at Alabama (2021-23) before entering the 2023 NBA Draft. He was undrafted and joined the San Antonio Spurs, eventually earning a 2-Way contract with the organization. He played with three different G-League teams across three seasons (Austin Spurs, Grand Rapids Gold, and Motor City Cruise).

Nnaji, however, never played college basketball. He cut his teeth with FC Barcelona and was eventually drafted in 2023 by the Pistons. Although he was drafted, Nnaji never signed an NBA contract or appeared in the G-League/NBA.

Nate Oats expresses displeasure with Charles Bediako ruling

Alabama head coach Nate Oats was ‘super disappointed’ with the news, as he revealed on Wednesday night’s edition of ‘Hey Coach‘.

“Obviously, super disappointed,” Oats said. “Disappointed in the whole thing, to be honest with you. I didn’t think it ever should have gotten to court. 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.

“So, I thought it was kind of a no-brainer with the NCAA. And then I didn’t think it would be that big of an issue. The NCAA hasn’t really changed much without courts forcing them to change. So, I thought the courts would see the inconsistencies in the rulings and agree with Charles’ attorneys.

“To me, the NCAA’s point of why Charles shouldn’t be eligible was all these rules that they have, but they’re not applying those rules to all these other players they’ve made eligible. To me, it was very disappointing in the whole case. Disappointing for Charles.”

Alabama currently sits at 16-7 (6-4) on the season. It has eight games remaining in Southeastern Conference play.