Alabama Crimson Tide head coach Nate Oats recently shared his thoughts on the Charles Bediako controversy. On Thursday, Feb. 5, Oats appeared in an Instagram video posted by @fieldof68, in which he talked about the current landscape of college basketball, as the 2025-26 season nears the postseason.
Oats was asked to comment on Bediako returning to collegiate hoops. The coach said that times are changing, and if returning or staying in college basketball is better than sustaining a career in the pros, then he is all for it.
“Anybody who thinks this thing through logically, to see all the former European pros that are now playing and all the former, really not even needs to be former, current, there’s a bunch of current NBA free agents playing in college basketball right now. So to me, you go through everything else, it made sense. For Charles, it was what’s best for him, it’s what’s best for our program. I’m gonna do what’s best for the kid every time,” Oats shared.
“What’s best for our program. I didn’t think it would be as big a deal because we’ve already had all, I mean, any coach with a European pro on their team is pretty hypocritical when they’re talking about Charles, to be honest with you,” he continued.
“ICYMI: Nate Oats on Charles Bediako 👀 ‘Any coach with a European pro is pretty hypocritical if they’re talking about Charles… There’s really not a big difference… We have to have consistent rules. Right now, those rules favor international kids’ 🎥: @alabamambb,” @fieldof68 on Instagram captioned with an emoji.
Bediako returned to collegiate hoops for his second stint with the Crimson Tide, under the tutelage of Oats, earlier in the tail end of January. The move was met with a great amount of flak from fans and experts, who deemed it unfair, given that Bediako already has professional experience, playing in the NBA G-League, and that he should’ve foregone his remaining years of college eligibility.
Nate Oats Says Charles Bediako’s Case Is Similar To That Of James Nnaji
In a discussion with college hoops analyst Jeff Goodman on the “Field of 68” podcast, Nate Oats was asked to comment on how players with professional-level experience returning to college is becoming more common than ever. He explained this by reasoning that Charles Bediako’s case is similar to that of Baylor Bears swingman James Nnaji, who was already drafted into the NBA.
“So, I thought most guys could think through this thing logically. We’re really, there’s really not a big difference. I mean, we’ve already had G-League, we have, James Nnaji’s rights are owned by the New York Knicks and he’s been drafted in the same draft. And I mean, there’s other guys too like the fact that it took a court to get him that, that’s become fairly commonplace,” Oats said.
Read More: Everything Nate Oats Said Following Alabama’s Dominant Victory Over BYU
Also Read: Fans React As NCAA Take Legal Action vs Charles Bediako’s Alabama Judge After Suspicious Information Made Public
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