Alabama center Charles Bediako prepares to dunk against Missouri on Jan. 27, 2026 in Coleman Coliseum.
CW / Riley Reiske
Alabama center Charles Bediako prepares to dunk against Missouri on Jan. 27, 2026 in Coleman Coliseum.
The case involving former NBA G League player and Alabama center Charles Bediako will have a new judge.
James H. Roberts Jr., a judge for the Tuscaloosa County Circuit Court, recused himself from the case on Wednesday after a request from the NCAA, according to documents obtained by The Crimson White. Judge Daniel Pruet — who is the judge presiding over former Crimson Tide forward Darius Miles’ capital murder case — will now oversee the Bediako case.
The NCAAfiled a motion for recusal on Monday, after previous reportsrevealed that he is an Alabama Athletics donor, having made over $100,000 in lifetime donations.
“Courts in Alabama and beyond have widely recognized that a mere appearance of partiality is sufficient to require the recusal of a trial judge,” the NCAAsaid Monday. “This appearance can be compounded by widespread media and public scrutiny questioning the trial court’s impartiality. Despite the NCAA’s confidence that the Court can disregard his connections to the University of Alabama and its athletics programs, recusal is still necessary to protect these proceedings from an appearance of impropriety.”
Bediako has averaged 13.5 points per game on 81.8% shooting since returning to the collegiate level. Alabama head coach Nate Oats said Monday that Bediako will continue to play for the team as long as he is eligible.
“Everywhere I’ve been — and going back to my high school days — I’m going to do right by my players in every single situation, as long as they ain’t done anything wrong,” Oats said.