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Alabama basketball coach Nate Oats didn't get political on Friday in his first public comments since former UA center Charles Bediako received a temporary restraining order from a judge to suit up for the Crimson Tide three years after turning pro.
But Oats' stance on the matter was plainly aligned with this current conservative slogan: America First.
After witnessing the NCAA eligibility envelope get pushed further this season by international professionals gaining midseason eligibility, Oats has decided to push it even more by supporting a pro he considers more home-grown: Bediako.
The 7-foot center is actually from Canada, but I digress.
VIDEO: Alabama basketball’s Nate Oats discusses Charles Bediako case
OATS SPEAKS: Nate Oats breaks silence on Charles Bediako return to Alabama basketball
INJURY UPDATE: Alabama basketball's Latrell Wrightsell, others expected to play
The coach's point is that it shouldn't be easier for international pros to parachute into college basketball as midseason signees than it is for former college players who turn pro early to do the same. An NCAA attorney will appear before Tuscaloosa Circuit Judge Jim Roberts on Tuesday morning to argue that, because Bediako signed an NBA contract (multiple contracts, in fact), his NCAA eligibility has been forfeited. The Bediako camp will likely argue that signing a contract isn't a legitimate distinction between he and Baylor's James Nnaji, who joined the Bears midseason after four years as a professional in Europe.
If Bediako wins his injunction on Tuesday, he'll presumably be able to play for the Crimson Tide for the balance of the season, providing much-needed rebounding help and interior defense. If he doesn't, history will put a clown nose on Oats for activating Bediako for a single game, only to wave goodbye as he returns to the G-League. From an optics standpoint, Oats would've been wiser to keep Bediako off the court until after the injunction hearing Tuesday, but he confirmed he intends to play Bediako against the Volunteers on Saturday night.
Bediako signed an NBA contract, Nnaji didn't. Bediako went undrafted by the NBA, while Nnaji was selected No. 31 overall in 2023. The cases certainly aren't the same, but to Oats, Nnaji — whose eligibility case triggered his interest in bringing Bediako back — is far more of a pro than Bediako, who's spent the last three years in the NBA's G-League.
"The EuroLeague is the second-best league in the world," Oats said.
Oats says he doesn't spend time with social media accounts during the season, and true to that, he came across Friday as though he's not fully aware that his support of Bediako's eligibility case has caused something of a firestorm throughout the sport. Everyone from fans to pundits to fellow coaches have expressed opinions ranging from bewilderment to outrage.
Few if any think Oats and Bediako are in the right.
Indeed, Bediako knew full well when he left Alabama in 2023 as one of the SEC's top defensive players that he was forgoing his eligibility by declaring for the draft. It can't be argued that he didn't know what he was doing.
But it can certainly be argued that the NCAA doesn't.
College sports would be a better place if no professionals could occupy a roster spot, and Oats doesn't argue that point. He wants them out of the game. But his job first and foremost is to win games, and because the NCAA has chosen to, umm, open the border, Oats sees fit to take advantage of any loophole he can.
"We should not be punishing American kids that go to American high schools that then go to colleges, from being able to come back to pursue their degree and play in college, and giving preferential treatment to international players," he added.
America First.
Sanity in college sports last.
Tuscaloosa News columnist Chase Goodbread is also the weekly co-host of Crimson Cover TV on WVUA-23. Reach him at [email protected]. Follow on X.com @chasegoodbread.
This article originally appeared on The Tuscaloosa News: Alabama's Nate Oats takes America First stance on Charles Bediako case
Continue reading...
But Oats' stance on the matter was plainly aligned with this current conservative slogan: America First.
After witnessing the NCAA eligibility envelope get pushed further this season by international professionals gaining midseason eligibility, Oats has decided to push it even more by supporting a pro he considers more home-grown: Bediako.
The 7-foot center is actually from Canada, but I digress.
VIDEO: Alabama basketball’s Nate Oats discusses Charles Bediako case
OATS SPEAKS: Nate Oats breaks silence on Charles Bediako return to Alabama basketball
INJURY UPDATE: Alabama basketball's Latrell Wrightsell, others expected to play
The coach's point is that it shouldn't be easier for international pros to parachute into college basketball as midseason signees than it is for former college players who turn pro early to do the same. An NCAA attorney will appear before Tuscaloosa Circuit Judge Jim Roberts on Tuesday morning to argue that, because Bediako signed an NBA contract (multiple contracts, in fact), his NCAA eligibility has been forfeited. The Bediako camp will likely argue that signing a contract isn't a legitimate distinction between he and Baylor's James Nnaji, who joined the Bears midseason after four years as a professional in Europe.
If Bediako wins his injunction on Tuesday, he'll presumably be able to play for the Crimson Tide for the balance of the season, providing much-needed rebounding help and interior defense. If he doesn't, history will put a clown nose on Oats for activating Bediako for a single game, only to wave goodbye as he returns to the G-League. From an optics standpoint, Oats would've been wiser to keep Bediako off the court until after the injunction hearing Tuesday, but he confirmed he intends to play Bediako against the Volunteers on Saturday night.
Bediako signed an NBA contract, Nnaji didn't. Bediako went undrafted by the NBA, while Nnaji was selected No. 31 overall in 2023. The cases certainly aren't the same, but to Oats, Nnaji — whose eligibility case triggered his interest in bringing Bediako back — is far more of a pro than Bediako, who's spent the last three years in the NBA's G-League.
"The EuroLeague is the second-best league in the world," Oats said.
Oats says he doesn't spend time with social media accounts during the season, and true to that, he came across Friday as though he's not fully aware that his support of Bediako's eligibility case has caused something of a firestorm throughout the sport. Everyone from fans to pundits to fellow coaches have expressed opinions ranging from bewilderment to outrage.
Few if any think Oats and Bediako are in the right.
Indeed, Bediako knew full well when he left Alabama in 2023 as one of the SEC's top defensive players that he was forgoing his eligibility by declaring for the draft. It can't be argued that he didn't know what he was doing.
But it can certainly be argued that the NCAA doesn't.
College sports would be a better place if no professionals could occupy a roster spot, and Oats doesn't argue that point. He wants them out of the game. But his job first and foremost is to win games, and because the NCAA has chosen to, umm, open the border, Oats sees fit to take advantage of any loophole he can.
"We should not be punishing American kids that go to American high schools that then go to colleges, from being able to come back to pursue their degree and play in college, and giving preferential treatment to international players," he added.
America First.
Sanity in college sports last.
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Tuscaloosa News columnist Chase Goodbread is also the weekly co-host of Crimson Cover TV on WVUA-23. Reach him at [email protected]. Follow on X.com @chasegoodbread.
This article originally appeared on The Tuscaloosa News: Alabama's Nate Oats takes America First stance on Charles Bediako case
Continue reading...
