If Charles Bediako plays for Alabama against Tennessee on Saturday night, it will not be because college sports are broken or Congress refuses to act or the NCAA is feckless.
The G League player, who signed a two-way contract with San Antonio in 2023 but never played in the NBA itself, will play because Alabama head coach Nate Oats will look down his bench and insert him into the game.
That’s it. That is how a 23-year-old former Crimson Tide player who declared for the NBA draft and has since played in developmental leagues for the Spurs, Orlando Magic, Denver Nuggets and Detroit Pistons gets to return to college basketball. The temporary restraining order issued by an Alabama judge, which read in part that the NCAA is “restrained from threatening, imposing, attempting to impose, suggesting or implying any penalties or sanctions,’’ backs the NCAA into a corner.
It doesn’t force Oats to play him any more than Scott Drew had to play G League player James Nnaji at Baylor.
College sports did not break themselves. People broke them, chipping away at their essence one selfish decision at a time. Now everyone is fretting over the latest death to the system, desperately searching for a way to close Pandora’s box. The NCAA is asking for Congress to intercede, and administrators are suggesting that the NCAA should ding offenders by denying them NCAA Tournament eligibility.
Yet the clear path to a solution is a lot less complicated.
Coaches can say no.
Say no to $6 million deals for quarterbacks. Say no to agents’ demands on behalf of high school players. And now say no to ex-college players looking for a bailout and instead say yes to the guys sitting on your bench. Better yet, do your job and develop them.
MORE: A former pro is about to play for Alabama’s basketball team. It’s the latest college sports absurdity with a simple solution
The G League player, who signed a two-way contract with San Antonio in 2023 but never played in the NBA itself, will play because Alabama head coach Nate Oats will look down his bench and insert him into the game.
That’s it. That is how a 23-year-old former Crimson Tide player who declared for the NBA draft and has since played in developmental leagues for the Spurs, Orlando Magic, Denver Nuggets and Detroit Pistons gets to return to college basketball. The temporary restraining order issued by an Alabama judge, which read in part that the NCAA is “restrained from threatening, imposing, attempting to impose, suggesting or implying any penalties or sanctions,’’ backs the NCAA into a corner.
It doesn’t force Oats to play him any more than Scott Drew had to play G League player James Nnaji at Baylor.
College sports did not break themselves. People broke them, chipping away at their essence one selfish decision at a time. Now everyone is fretting over the latest death to the system, desperately searching for a way to close Pandora’s box. The NCAA is asking for Congress to intercede, and administrators are suggesting that the NCAA should ding offenders by denying them NCAA Tournament eligibility.
Yet the clear path to a solution is a lot less complicated.
Coaches can say no.
Say no to $6 million deals for quarterbacks. Say no to agents’ demands on behalf of high school players. And now say no to ex-college players looking for a bailout and instead say yes to the guys sitting on your bench. Better yet, do your job and develop them.
MORE: A former pro is about to play for Alabama’s basketball team. It’s the latest college sports absurdity with a simple solution
) are the minor leagues, why even have eligibility?
