Auburn HC Steven Pearl's Thoughts on Charles Bediako's Alabama Eligibility

Charles Bediako has been ruled eligible to play for the Alabama Crimson Tide despite multiple years in the NBA G-League and stints in the NBA preseason.

Charles Bediako has been ruled eligible to play for the Alabama Crimson Tide despite multiple years in the NBA G-League and stints in the NBA preseason. | Rob Ferguson-Imagn Images

You can’t swing a cat on basketball social media right now without hitting a post about Charles Bediako. The former Alabama Crimson Tide player turned professional player turned collegiate athlete once again has dominated headlines all throughout the week, and Auburn Tigers head coach Steven Pearl has now added his voice to the mix.

“I look at it from the lens of, right now, college basketball coaches are having to operate under the rules and guidelines that we’ve been given,” he said. “If you can get a judge to file a restraining order against the NCAA, you are within your right to do so. It doesn’t make it right, it doesn’t make it wrong.”

For context, Bediako played college basketball with the Crimson Tide from 2021-2023 before entering the NBA draft following the 2023 season. He signed a two-way contract with an NBA team, but he’s not played in an NBA game. 

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Bediako then was denied a year of eligibility by the NCAA, resulting in him taking the Diego Pavia route of suing the NCAA for an extra year of eligibility. A Tuscaloosa judge ruled in his favor, granting the G League player a 10-day restraining order against the NCAA, meaning he’ll be eligible to play in the Tide’s next game. A full hearing will take place on Tuesday, and if approved, Bediako will be eligible for the rest of the season.

He’s not the first player to do so this year, with Baylor also making headlines recently with a similar situation. Pearl mentioned both in a press conference on Thursday, citing his disapproval for one particular reason.

“I would have a hard time looking at the parents of our current kids in our program and say ‘OK, this is why we’re doing this,’” Pearl said. “Like, if I brought back Sharife Cooper, I’ve got to tell Tahaad and Travis [Pettiford], ‘Hey, we’re bringing back a former pro. He’s going to be eating into your minutes and your production.’

“It’s crazy that the SEC and the NCAA can’t really do anything about it. It’ll be interesting to see if [Bediako] will play this weekend and what impact he does have.”

So, for Tiger fans, returns from former players like Jabari Smith and Sharife Cooper are almost certainly off the table, at least as far as Pearl is concerned. The Tigers are scheduled to play the Tide twice in the regular season, first in Neville Arena on Feb. 7, then in Coleman Coliseum on March 7.