Judge blocks former NBA Draft prospect from playing for Alabama in potential precedent-setting ruling

A potential groundbreaking decision was made in Tuscaloosa, Alabama, on Monday that could change NCAA eligibility forever.

A judge denied Charles Bediako’s motion for a preliminary injunction that would allow him to continue playing basketball for the Alabama Crimson Tide after he returned despite declaring for the 2023 NBA Draft.

So, after just five games, Bediako’s season is over, per AL.com’s Nick Kelly.

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“Common sense won a round today,” NCAA president Charlie Baker said in a statement, per Yahoo Sports. “The court saw this for what it is: an attempt by professionals to pivot back to college and crowd out the next generation of students. College sports are for students, not for people who already walked away to go pro and now want to hit the ‘undo’ button at the expense of a teenager’s dream.

“While we’re glad the court upheld the rules our members actually want, one win doesn’t fix the national mess of state laws. It’s time for Congress to stop watching from the sidelines and help us provide some actual stability.”

Bediako filed a lawsuit against the NCAA in order to return to his Crimson Tide squad, where he last played during the 2022-23 season. The 7-foot center declared for the NBA Draft after that year, but he went unselected in the two rounds.

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Bediako eventually spent time in the G League over the past three seasons, which includes six games for the Motor City Cruise this season.

However, he was granted a temporary restraining order in January, allowing him to return to Alabama to play for his old team despite the NCAA initially denying the Crimson Tide’s request to have him on the roster.

Bediako isn’t the first player whose attempt to head back to college after going pro hasn’t gone swimmingly.

James Nnaji, who was actually taken in the same draft as Bediako, shocked everyone when he committed to Baylor. While he hadn’t played in an NBA game, Nnaji was the first former draftee to be cleared to play in college.

It started a wave of similar commitments, which include G League players Thierry Darlan and London Johnson heading to Santa Clara and Louisville, though it is for next season.

Alabama head coach Nate Oats told The Athletic that Bediako will remain on scholarship even if he can’t play.

“Charles has done nothing wrong. I will stand by our guys every single time, no matter what the outside says when they’ve done nothing wrong, and Charles has done everything right,” Oats told the outlet.

Meanwhile, Arkansas head coach John Calipari unloaded on the current state of college basketball for allowing players to head back into college.

“Does anybody care what this is doing for 17- and 18-year-old American kids?” Calipari questioned in his nearly seven-minute monologue in December 2025. “Do you know what this opportunity has done for them and their families? There aren’t gonna be any high school kids. Who, other than dumb people like me, are gonna recruit high school kids? I get so much satisfaction out of coaching young kids and seeing them grow and make it, and their family’s life changes, that I’m gonna keep doing it. But why would anybody else, if you can get NBA players, G-League players, guys that are 28 years old, guys from Europe — do we really know their transcript? Do we have somebody over there? Do we really know their birth certificate? Or don’t we?

“If you put your name in the draft, I don’t care if you’re from Russia and you stay in the draft, you can’t play college basketball. ‘Well, that’s only for American kids.’ What? If your name is in that draft, and you got drafted, you can’t play college because that’s our rule. ‘Yeah, but that’s only for American kids.’ OK. OK.”

But Alabama feels that it has been done wrong by the NCAA considering players have been allowed in other programs to play this season despite going pro, Nnaji being an example.

“I respectfully ask the Court to uphold the NCAA eligibility rules challenged in this case, which are essential to the integrity of college sports, to the educational mission they serve, and to the opportunities they provide for current and future student-athletes,” SEC commissioner Greg Sankey said in a four-page affidavit filed last week.

The university added a statement following the court’s ruling, per Yahoo Sports.

“While we understand the concern around competitive and developmental implications of former professional athletes participating in college, it is important to acknowledge reality,” the statement read.

“The NCAA has granted eligibility to over 100 current men’s basketball players with prior professional experience in the G League or overseas. Granting eligibility to some former professionals and not to others is what creates the havoc we are currently in and why consistency from decisions-makers is so desperately needed.”

The Crimson Tide went 3-2 with Bediako back on their bench.

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