Who says you have to be ranked to be a part of college basketball’s most intriguing game of the weekend?
Tennessee fell out of the Associated Press poll on Monday after being ranked for 90 consecutive weeks, but the Volunteers are facing an Alabama team on Saturday night that will have 7-foot center Charles Bediako at its disposal. Bediako played two seasons for the Crimson Tide in 2021-22 and 2022-23 before bypassing his final two years of eligibility and declaring for the 2023 NBA draft.
Bediako went undrafted but signed a contract with the San Antonio Spurs, competing in the NBA G League but ultimately never playing in an NBA game.
NCAA president Charlie Baker stated this week that players who have signed NBA contracts would not have college eligibility, but Tuscaloosa Circuit Court judge James H. Roberts Jr. on Wednesday ruled Bediako immediately eligible to participate in all team activities. The temporary restraining order granted by Roberts is good for 10 days, and a full hearing on Bediako’s request for a preliminary injunction is set for Tuesday morning.
“I don’t know all the ins and outs of it, but to me, everybody comes to college and you have college eligibility,” Tennessee 11th-year coach Rick Barnes said Friday during a news conference. “When you make the choice to give up your college eligibility, you’ve given it up. I don’t care if it’s someone who has been in the service. Once they start that clock and make that choice, they’ve made the choice.