Court Grants 2-Way G-League Player Temporary College Basketball Eligibility

The confusion over just who is eligible to play college basketball isn't about to clear up anytime soon. While the NCAA has made its position on the matter known following Baylor bringing NBA draft pick James Nnaji in for conference season and the furor that brought on, things are getting muddier once more thanks to the courts.

That's because former Alabama center Charles Bediako is a current Alabama center once more, as he was granted a temporary restraining order by Tuscaloosa County judge James Roberts that allows him to immediately rejoin Alabama, per AL.com.

NCAA president Charlie Baker's stated position is that players must not have signed an NBA contract, even a two-way one in the G-League, to remain eligible for college basketball. Being drafted and playing in the G-League, as Nnaji did, is fine – had he signed a deal that would allow him to switch between the NBA's developmental and major leagues at will, however, making him effectively a member of both rosters at once, then he would not have been allowed to join Baylor this season, or ever.

Bediako, however, has signed a two-way deal, and in fact has inked three of them. While he is yet to play in the NBA, he still played G-League games while under a two-way contract, which in the position of the NCAA makes him ineligible to return. Bediako, though, who played for a No. 1-seed Alabama team in the 2023 Men's Basketball Tournament, filed suit against the NCAA on Tuesday, demanding the ability to use his remaining years of eligibility – Bediako entered the NBA Draft following his sophomore season in 2023, but went undrafted and joined the G-League afterward.

Since he is still within the five-year period after enrolling at Alabama in 2021, Bediako is attempting to