Why it 'Made Sense' for Nate Oats to Bring Charles Bediako Back to Alabama

The Crimson Tide head coach details the first conversations he had with Bediako, as the NBA G League center has turned into the hottest topic in college sports.

Alabama Center Charles Bediako vs. Mizzou SEC Round 2; Photo by Oscar Hultz | Photo by Crimson Tide Photos / UA Athletics

TUSCALOOSA, Ala. — Alabama has become the epicenter of the hottest topic in college sports in the last couple of days.

Former Crimson Tide center Charles Bediako sued the NCAA with hopes of gaining collegiate eligibility, and after being granted a temporary restraining order by a Tuscaloosa judge, he's available to play for Alabama against Tennessee on Saturday.

It's been quite the roller coaster, as countless debates across the country have sparked up from this, and Alabama head coach Nate Oats shared why he was comfortable bringing Bediako back during Friday's press conference.

"To me, it makes sense. The James Nnaji situation was what really kind of put it over the edge, in my opinion. When you're kind of watching as all these things go and these European players, there's some guys that played four years in the second-best league in the world, the Euro League's the second-best league in the world. The NBA and then the Euro League.

"I had a former player, Will Clyburn, that was a Euro League MVP, I believe in 2019. He turned down NBA jobs to stay in the Euro League because he's making more money over there. So you see all these players in the Euro League coming over and being eligible to play and they're pros. They're professionals, playing in the second-best league in the world, behind the NBA.

"So then you see a guy like James Nnaji, and Charles actually sat right next to Nnaji at the draft (in 2023). Nnaji goes 31st in the draft, plays three years in Europe, gets declared eligible with four years of eligibility at Baylor.

"He kind of made Charles and his camp, and us, we both had mutual interest, and seemed like it made a lot of sense if a guy that actually got drafted in the same draft as him is eligible to play for four years, Charles is still within his five-year window. Let's pursue it. I assumed the NCAA would deem him eligible. They didn't. Court system deemed him eligible. We're comfortable with what's happened so far."

There have been a few cases of this, including Baylor's recent acquisition of the aformentioned James Nnaji. The 21-year-old who previously played in Europe for four years was the No. 31 overall pick in the 2023 NBA Draft, but never ended up playing in an NBA game (excluding the Summer League).

While some coaches have liked the idea, others couldn't be more against it. Longtime Michigan State head coach Tom Izzo ranted about Louisville signing ex-NBA G League player London Johnson to its 2026 recruiting class. Others against it have been a bit more lighthearted, including St. John's head coach Rick Pitino, who joked about adding Greece's own nine-time NBA All-Star Giannis Antetokounmpo to his roster.

During his 70 games (67 starts) in Tuscaloosa, Bediako 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.

After not being selected in the 2023 NBA Draft, he went to the NBA G League. As of last week, Bediako is a member of the Motor City Cruise, but spent 2023-24 with the Austin Spurs and 2024-25 with the Grand Rapids Gold. Like Nnaji, he never played in an NBA game.

Oats had Nnaji's situation, among others, in mind when bringing Bediako back to Alabama. The Crimson Tide head coach detailed the initial conversation he had with Bediako regarding his potential return to UA.

"I mean, we've been seeing similar cases around the country this season. Former pros that are now in college, UConn's got multiple ones. BYU, Louisville recruited a kid out of the G League that made a lot more money than Charles did.

"So when all those were happening, and then the Nnaji one, Charles has been down here. We talk really frequently. ... We started talking, how does Nnaji get drafted, played three years in the second-best basketball league in the world and come back to play?

"Charles made a mistake when he stayed in. The NIL money when Charles left was not near where it is now, so he knew it was a better situation. There's a lot of players trying to leave the G league right now and come to college. Colleges are a much better system for kids the age of Charles. Those kids are living there.

"So we talked about this. His people found some attorneys that agreed with them that he should be eligible. They went through the process with NCAA legal process and we're here where we're at."

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