The latest eligibility crisis in college basketball... and a possible solution

When we last wrote about college basketball, it to touch on the case around James Nnaji. A 2023 NBA draft pick, Nnaji participated in an NBA Summer League game and, earlier this month, was ruled eligible by the NCAA and had begun playing for Baylor. This was, to put it lightly, a controversial decision within the college basketball community. Here's one representative quote:

"I think it's taking away opportunities from kids coming out of high school," Alabama head coach Nate Oats said at the time. "I was a high school coach for 11 years. I wanted my kids to get opportunities when they left my program. This is taking away opportunities from those kids." 

Fast forward to Wednesday. That's when a Tuscaloosa County Circuit Court judge ruled that Charles Bediako was eligible to resume his spot on Alabama's basketball team. 

Bediako played for the Crimson Tide from 2021-23 before attempting to begin an NBA career. The 23-year-old Canadian by way of IMG Academy went undrafted, but landed in the NBA's G League, where he's now on his third team in three seasons. Bediako played five minutes for the Cruise in their game with the Birmingham Squadron this past Saturday, but Judge James H. Roberts, Jr., granted Bediako a temporary restraining order to play for Alabama, for at least the next 10 days. A preliminary injunction has been scheduled for Jan. 27.

Needless to say, this case is viewed as something of a last stand for college basketball as we know it. There's the obvious implication on the front end -- can you imagine Cooper Flagg going back to Duke for March Madness? -- but also on the back end, where NBA rules would incentivize every single college basketball player to at least enter the NBA draft after their freshman year, which would then allow them to join an NBA team of their choosing in the middle of a following season. A future player could have a 25-point game for Gonzaga on a Thursday, then suit up for the Warriors on Saturday. 

It's not a broad jump from there to see how this could affect football. Not drafted where you thought you'd go? Go back to school. Injured in OTAs? Re-enroll in school. Cut in training camp? Portal time, baby.

The Bediako case is also viewed differently than Nnaji in that the NCAA ruled Nnaji eligible. Whether that was the right decision or the wrong one, at least the NCAA made it. The NCAA does not want Bediako to play for Alabama, but Alabama -- err, a Tuscaloosa County judge -- overruled the NCAA. 

“The University of Alabama supports Charles and his ongoing efforts to be reinstated for competition while he works to complete his degree,” Alabama said after the ruling. (Bediako went pro after scoring six points a game in 2023. For his own sake, let's hope he actually gets that degree.)

“These attempts to sidestep NCAA rules and recruit individuals who have finished their time in college or signed NBA contracts are taking away opportunities from high school students,” the NCAA said, intentionally or not echoing Oats's own argument. “A judge ordering the NCAA let a former NBA player take the court Saturday against actual college student-athletes is exactly why Congress must step in and empower college sports to enforce our eligibility rules.”

To make an obvious statement, it's difficult to run a functional organization if you aren't allowed to enforce your own rules.

However, perhaps a defense against these combat-by-trial attacks against the NCAA from these NBA flameouts and their lawyers has emerged from within the college basketball world. 

Talking about it is one thing, but actually passing a rule preventing teams from future pros is something else entirely. There's also the issue that the restraining order that ruled Bediako eligible specifically barred the NCAA from punishing him or Alabama while the TRO is in effect.

But coaches and ADs who actually care about keeping the college in college basketball feel pretty helpless right now. Perhaps a "no Big Dance if you've ever worn a pro jersey" rule provides a glimmer of hope at taking back control over their sport.