No one knows what will happen in the coming days and weeks for Charles Bediako and Alabama Basketball. Nate Oats and Greg Byrne appear highly confident. The NCAA's position appears entrenched, with a large percentage of national opinion on its side.
Bediako returns to court on Tuesday seeking a preliminary injunction to replace the temporary restraining order (TRO) given by Judge Jim Roberts. Roberts did not attend the University of Alabama or get his law degree from Alabama's Law School. He and his wife have been large financial contributors to the University of Alabama.
Roberts' TRO has become one of the biggest hornet's nests in the history of college sports. Sam Vecenie wrote for The Athletic, "If Bediako is allowed to play and the judge creates a precedent that the NCAA cannot enforce its early-entry deadline dates, that would create a kind of anarchy ... Essentially, it would potentially create a world of free agents within college basketball who could sign anywhere — including the NBA — at any given time."
In this legal contest, a high-stakes poker game would be trivial by comparison. Alabama taking on the NCAA is one thing. Taking on the NBA is a bigger fight.
There is another perspective that favors Bediako and Alabama. It was articulated on Saturday by Seth Greenberg, "college athletics are professional." Greenberg was not arguing for Alabama because he said that, as an NCAA member, Alabama should follow NCAA rules. The problem is that the rules have evolved in a haphazard manner. Big-time college football and men's basketball programs must now operate in a professional model. Alabama is choosing to push the envelope of that model. There is risk.
Favorable Ruling and Risk for Alabama Basketball
If Judge Roberts sides with Bediako again, and Alabama continues to play him, a later reversal on appeal could put Alabama wins in jeopardy of being vacated. If the NCAA continues to lose in court, it might challenge that Judge Roberts cannot block its investigation process. NCAA's enforcement is not built for speed. Alabama may be counting on legal wrangling and a slow investigation and enforcement schedule to not be complete until after the NCAA Tournament's Selection Sunday.
There has been conjecture that the NCAA Tournament's Selection Committee has a level of autonomy that could allow it to interpret Alabama's eventual record should not include any win from a game in which Bediako participated. Could such a bold move result in Alabama not qualifying for an at-large bid? A guess is probably not, but ... as Sam Vecenie wrote the stakes are high, " if he (Bediako) wins basketball at every level will enter a new era that will require significant adjustments from everyone involved. "