If Charles Bediako plays for Alabama against Tennessee on Saturday night, it will not be because college sports are broken or Congress refuses to act or the NCAA is feckless.
The G League player, who signed a two-way contract with San Antonio in 2023 but never played in the NBA itself, will play because Alabama head coach Nate Oats will look down his bench and insert him into the game.
That’s it. That is how a 23-year-old former Crimson Tide player who declared for the NBA draft and has since played in developmental leagues for the Spurs, Orlando Magic, Denver Nuggets and Detroit Pistons gets to return to college basketball. The temporary restraining order issued by an Alabama judge, which read in part…