Mike Krzyzewski defends Alabama, Nate Oats adding Charles Bediako to roster

On Wednesday, Alabama forward Charles Bediako was granted a temporary restraining order, allowing him to play college basketball again. Bediako played in the 2021-22 and 2022-23 seasons at Alabama.

However, after his second season with the Crimson Tide, Bediako declared for the NBA Draft. Bediako went undrafted. In turn, Bediako played for three separate G-League teams and signed a two-way contract with the San Antonio Spurs in 2023.

Bediako never appeared in an NBA game. While international professional players and G-League talents have previously been granted NCAA eligibility, Bediako is the first player who previously played at college before entering the professional ranks, only to return to the collegiate scene.

His case has caused no shortage of controversy among coaches and fans alike. During an interview with Westwood One Sports‘ Josh Graham, former Duke head coach Mike Krzyzewski weighed in on the issue.

“Throw out the word amateurism, which is OK. That’s not bad. It’s not amateur anymore,” Krzyzewski said. “The thing is, if you’re going to treat an international player, where they can come here and they’re 23, 19, 22 and they’ve been pros for years, and they’re coming here to make more money, you got to be careful in how you treat the American player, who goes through a different system, is drafted, non-drafted, G-League, whatever you do, and say, ‘Well, that’s wrong, but that is right.’

“Let’s figure out what’s right for everybody. Otherwise, you’re not going to be able to validate this in a court of law, because that means you’re treating different people differently.”

In his sophomore season at Alabama, Bediako averaged 6.4 points, 6.0 rebounds and 1.8 blocks per game. He was named an All-SEC Defensive Team selection and SEC All-Tournament team member.

Alabama head coach Nate Oats announced he intends to play Charles Bediako on Saturday against Tennessee. Like Coach K, Oats criticized the current state of the NCAA’s eligibility rules and said American players deserve better treatment.

“My personal opinion on all of this is we need a uniform and transparent system that doesn’t punish the Americans, that takes the hypocrisy out of it, that gives equal treatment to Americans and international players both, while also allowing high school players the opportunities they need coming out of school. Someone should be able to come up with a system that checks all those boxes,” Oats said. “But for now, we’re going to continue to support Charles.”