After 11 seasons as the head basketball coach at Auburn (and not to mention his years in charge of the Tennessee Volunteers), Bruce Pearl has learned that Alabama is the bad guy.
The recently retired coach appeared on an Outkick podcast with Dan Dakich and, of course, was asked about the situation in Tuscaloosa in which Nate Oats and the Crimson Tide brought back former G-League player Charles Bediako, somehow getting a temporary restraining order from a judge in Tuscaloosa County that just so happens to be an Alabama booster and have suited up Bediako in the last three games.
For Pearl, who has his own history of trouble with the NCAA, a solution to the problem might as well be as easy as banning the Crimson Tide from the NCAA Tournament if they continue to keep up this charade.
“I think they should consider it and talk about it,” Pearl said. “I lost my job because I had some kids over to a house and fed them when I shouldn’t have, and then I lied about it. I lost an 11-million-dollar contract and almost got knocked out of coaching.
“If I had taken it to court, I’m not so sure I couldn’t have gotten an injunction and won that,” Pearl continued. “But I broke the rules and made a mistake, and it cost me…And they [Alabama] are in the SEC and choose to be a part of this, and the NCAA had said he’s not eligible.”
Charles Bediako is the epitome of NCAA failure
While the situations are different, the point still stands, as the eligibility rules for a college athlete have never been in question until this season, when Baylor brought back former 31st overall pick James Nnaji to its roster.
It might not matter at all. While the outrage over bringing back a former professional player is warranted, it’s not like Alabama now has prime Michael Jordan on its team. In the Tide’s 10-77 loss to Florida on Sunday, Bediako scored a total of six points and collected seven rebounds before fouling out.
Maybe he’s a G-League dropout for a reason.