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By Chris Marler
It’s been two weeks since Charles Bediako debuted for Alabama’s basketball team.
That’s poor phrasing. I guess the term is re-debuted after re-enrolling in school and setting aside his G-League duties with the Motor City Cruise.
There have been other examples of professional players that have returned to college basketball this season. The difference is that while most of those players are from the G-League they hadn’t previously played in college. Making the jump from college to the pros too early has been something that has plagued underclassmen for years in college sports. That’s because there are consequences to actions.
Well, at least there used to be.
Bediako coming back to play for Alabama less than three years after he left the school to play professionally was a first. It’s also been a disaster for the most part.
SOURCES: After falling to 1-2 in his first 3 games back with Alabama, C Charles Bediako is evaluating the possibility of a return to high school basketball.
He is expected to reach out to attorneys in South Florida in an attempt to suit up once again for IMG Academy. pic.twitter.com/6FMCkQZ4tp
— JM (@jmcollard0426) February 1, 2026
Alabama is 1-2 since his return. That includes a loss against rival Tennessee at home and a blowout loss to Florida by 23 on Sunday. Nate Oats is used to being the villain as head coach at Alabama. This isn’t his first time making a decision that others outside of Tuscaloosa viewed as questionable at best. I’m not here to be the morality police with Nate Oats or Alabama basketball, I’m here to ask what is the end game?
Truly. What is the end game for all parties involved?
The optics are terrible. It’s been a PR nightmare. There’s almost no one outside of people playing, working, or cheering for Alabama that thinks it’s even acceptable. Worst of all – they’re not even winning. Yesterday at several points throughout their blowout loss, Bediako was harassed by the Florida student section with chants of “G-League Dropout!”
I could almost understand the stubborn decision to do something this far outside the lines,, if it meant winning, but they’re not. Losing with a 7-foot center who spent his last two and a half years in the pro ranks is embarrassing. Getting your doors blown off by 23 with him is pathetic.
I’m not sure if any of that matters to Nate Oats or Alabama. It should, to be clear. Even if it doesn’t matter to the folks in Tuscaloosa, it does matter to the big picture of college basketball and college sports as a whole.
That’s why it’s time to end this charade, and end it now.
Florida fans are chanting “G League Dropout” at Alabama’s Charles Bediako
Bediako went undrafted in 2023 and played 45 games for the G League before a judge allowed him to return to Bama
— Barstool Sports (@barstoolsports) February 1, 2026
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