Charles Bediako left the Alabama Crimson Tide to enter the 2023 NBA Draft, and while he went undrafted and never played an NBA game, he signed a two-way contract with multiple NBA teams and played the last three seasons in the G League. He played for the G League’s Motor City Cruise as recently as Jan. 17.
Now, Bediako is playing college basketball again for the Crimson Tide.
Bediako, who turns 24 in March, received a temporary restraining order allowing him to play college basketball immediately for Alabama, and that restraining order was recently extended an additional 10 days due to weather issues. A court hearing is scheduled for Feb. 6 to determine his future eligibility. That will make Bediako eligible to play in Sunday’s game at No. 19 Florida and Wednesday’s game vs Texas A&M.
So far, Bediako has played in two games with Alabama, and the seven-footer has averaged 13.5 points, 4.5 rebounds, 1.5 steals, and one block, while shooting 81.8 percent from the field over 21.5 minutes per game.
ESPN’s Seth Greenberg thinks that Alabama becomes a national title contender with Bediako’s presence.
“Charles Bediako makes Alabama a national championship contender.” 👀@SethOnHoops had @ReceDavis shook 😅 pic.twitter.com/S3rfdPmZSO
— College GameDay (@CollegeGameDay) January 31, 2026
“Charles Bediako makes Alabama a national championship contender,” Greenberg, a former longtime college basketball coach, said with conviction during Saturday’s edition of College GameDay on ESPN.
“Whoa!” College GameDay host Rece Davis responded.
“He absolutely, totally changes their team,” Greenberg explained. “We’ve talked about the great guards. They’ve got great guards. And you put Bediako in the ball screen with those great guards, and you’re in drop coverage, you’ve got a blankin’ problem.”
“Gameplanning for Alabama with Bediako and his lob threat, and his size, is an absolute problem,” Greenberg added.
The Crimson Tide ranked No. 23 in the most recent AP poll, though one voter admitted to intentionally leaving the Crimson Tide off his ballot due to the Bediako drama. Alabama is currently No. 17 on Ken Pomeroy’s efficiency ratings, with its offense ranking third in the country.
If Bediako remains on the team and Alabama makes a deep run in the NCAA Tournament, the controversy over former pros returning to college basketball will only become a bigger story in the coming weeks and months. On Friday, reports emerged that former UCLA player Amari Bailey is attempting to become the first player to return to college basketball after playing in NBA games, which led to college hoops voices such as Jeff Goodman sounding off on the topic.