Bruce Pearl and Nate Oats had a fierce rivalry on the court during the former’s tenure as Auburn's head basketball coach. Now, Pearl is taking shots at the Alabama coach for what he deemed was a selfish move by Oats.
On Monday, Crimson Tide center Charles Bediako’s return to the Alabama roster was ruled over, as the temporary restraining order he was originally granted by a judge in Tuscaloosa County was overturned. Bediako, who left the Tide for a professional career in 2023, had returned after not living up to expectations at the pro level. Oats, who is always eager to bend the rules to his satisfaction, welcomed Bediako back.
Pearl was having none of it.
No love lost between Bruce Pearl and Nate Oats
"Nate said he would play him 100 times again," Pearl said. "What it tells me is Nate doesn't really care about the SEC. He doesn't care about the NCAA. It's fine -- you're gonna care about your student-athletes. That's fine. But you're a member of this conference. And you're a member of the NCAA. What about the rest of the team? What about the rest of the players? Why should those five teams have had to play against an ineligible player?”
Shots fired. It doesn’t help that Bediako helped the Crimson Tide beat Auburn, and thus Pearl’s son, Steven, who took over the head coaching job after his retirement, on Saturday, two days before the player was ruled ineligible. It also doesn’t help that the two had battles on the court in one of the most intense rivalries in college basketball, as the two programs became the norm in winning SEC titles.
But Pearl, who is always one to not keep his feelings to himself, kept going after Oats, and truthfully, the Alabama coach needs to hear it.
"The bottom line of it, he was ineligible,” Pearl said. “They appealed it. They said he was ineligible. He went to court, and the court said he could play with some sort of injunction, and they played him, knowing there was a possibility he could be ineligible again. They didn't care about anybody else in the league. They didn't care about college basketball -- and I understand that. But if you don't want to be who you say we are, then don't act that way."
Pearl has already said that the NCAA should look into banning the Crimson Tide from the NCAA Tournament after playing an ineligible player, so these feelings aren’t exactly new for the former Auburn head coach.