Auburn's Alex Golesh Trolls Alabama, Charles Bediako Amidst Eligibility Dispute

The Auburn Tigers probably haven’t had a coach with as much moxie as Alex Golesh in a long time, and his most recent statement may have just proved it.

One of the biggest storylines in all of college sports currently is the situation with Alabama Crimson Tide center Charles Bediako, a former NBA G League player, who was granted eligibility by a local Tuscaloosa County court judge a few weeks ago to return to college.

Bediako played for Alabama from 2021-23, and declared for the 2023 NBA Draft after two seasons with the Crimson Tide – the same year that former Auburn point guard Wendell Green Jr. declared for the draft, by the way. Although he never saw minutes in an actual NBA game, he has signed multiple two-way contracts with different NBA organizations throughout the last two or three years.

The occurrence has generated massive controversy, as many fans don’t believe it is logical to allow a professional basketball player, who already played in college, to come back and compete like a normal student-athlete. And to add to the external frustration, the judge who essentially allowed him to play is a legitimate donor to the University of Alabama.

However, the judge has since rescued himself from the case.

Golesh was asked about his thoughts on the situation at a media availability earlier this week, and he had some insightful comments before poking fun at Bediako at the end.

“Would you believe me if I hadn’t paid much attention to it?” Golesh joked when asked about Bediako’s status. “Crazy… it would add a bigger pool of players, wouldn’t it? I don’t know. I really don’t. It would certainly add a bigger pool of kids. I think college football is evolving so fast, and every single time there’s a situation like that, my antennas go up.”

“I think with every change or every ruling, or lack of ruling, you have an opportunity to sit and complain about it, which, I think we tend to as coaches,” Golesh continued. I’ve always looked at it the other way. It’s like ‘man, what the loophole in here? Who’s available out there that we can go get that fits what we do?’

“It’s certainly fascinating. From a legal side, fascinating.

Golesh paused for a few seconds before his final comment, and proceeded to take a slight shot at the Alabama forward.

“How did it work out for him last weekend?” Golesh said tongue-in-cheek with a smirk, referring to Alabama’s loss to Tennessee at home in Bediako’s first game back with the Crimson Tide.

One of the main takeaways fans may have from Golesh’s thoughts is that Auburn hasn’t had a head football coach with willingness to speak his mind in a while. He’s not hesitant to be controversial, and he’s also not afraid to ruffle some feathers from rival fans. Auburn has been lacking that in recent regimes, and it may be refreshing to many to have someone with that type of edge leading the program.

Bediako was originally granted a restraining order until a scheduled hearing last Tuesday, but due to dangerous weather conditions, NCAA representatives were unable to safely travel to Tuscaloosa for the hearing. Therefore, Bediako’s temporary restraining order was extended 10 days.

According to court records, Bediako’s hearing is now scheduled for Friday, Feb. 6, just one day before Auburn’s clash with Alabama at Neville Arena next weekend. It will be fascinating to see what happens with Bediako and his status, as he serves as a big weapon for the Crimson Tide and will certainly affect the Tigers’ gameplan heading into the matchup.