NCAA livid over judge allowing Pistons G League player to return to Alabama

It’s been a crazy past couple of months regarding eligibility in college basketball. This week, the drama took a new twist with a county judge granting temporary eligibility for former Alabama Crimson Tide forward Charles Bediako, who had been playing in the G League this season. Not surprisingly, the NCAA released a statement in complete disagreement with the ruling, as per Pete Thamel of ESPN.

“These attempts to sidestep NBA rules and recruit individuals who have finished their time in college and signed NBA contracts are taking away opportunities for high school students,” the NCAA wrote. “A judge ordering the NCAA let a former NBA player take the court Saturday against actual college-student athletes is exactly why Congress must step in and empower college sports to enforce our eligibility rules.”

Charles Bediako is not the first G League player to be granted NCAA eligibility. Earlier this season, London Johnson (Louisville), Thierry Darlan (Santa Clara) and Abdullah Ahmed (BYU) were granted eligibility. The difference was the NCAA itself deemed those players eligible. In Bediako’s case, the NCAA denied his request for eligibility, and the case was brought before a judge in Tuscaloosa Circuit Court.

While Bediako can presumably play during Alabama’s upcoming game this Saturday against Tennessee, he isn’t quite out of the woods yet. A court hearing a scheduled for Jan. 27 which could alter that decision.

Bediako played two seasons at Alabama from 2021-2023 before declaring for the NBA Draft. He went undrafted, and signed a two-way contract with the San Antonio Spurs. He was ultimately waived in December of the 2023-24 season, and did not appear in any games for the Spurs.

Since then, Bediako has been playing in the G League, most recently with the Motor City Cruise, the affiliate of the Detroit Pistons. He had suited up in 16 games for Motor City this season, averaging 4.9 points and 5.6 rebounds with splits of 56.4 percent shooting from the field and 52.9 percent shooting from the free-throw line.

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