Nate Oats came to his press conference on Friday well prepared to defend Alabama's stance on playing Charles Bediako after he was granted a temporary restraining order against the NCAA this week.
Alabama has seen a ton of public backlash since announcing Bediako's return to college and Oats' subsequent decision to play him on Saturday against Tennessee. But Oats made points that are hard for the most ardent of Crimson Tide detractors to ignore.
Don't blame Oats, Alabama, or Bediako for pursuing an avenue that was left open by the NCAA when they allowed numerous EuroLeague professionals, including the No. 31 pick in the 2023 NBA Draft, James Nnjai, to play college basketball.
“So first of all, the system’s clearly broken, and I’m all for figuring out a way to fix it," Oats said. "But since the NCAA has already allowed professionals to play and virtually every team we’ve played this year or will play has a former professional player on the roster, you tell me how I’m supposed to tell Charles and the team that we’re not gonna support them when he’s been deemed legally eligible to play?
..."Charles shouldn’t be punished for choosing to go the academic route out of high school, rather than the professional route like the international players did."
Nate Oats says the system in college basketball is 'clearly broken'
The NCAA was somehow surprised to learn that a court wouldn't find a distinction between professional basketball depending on the country in which it is played. That's the basis for Bediako's eligibility argument, and it's why it seems likely that he will be granted a preliminary injunction on Tuesday that allows him to be eligible for the remainder of the season.
"My personal opinion on all this is we need a uniform and transparent system that doesn’t punish the Americans, that takes the hypocrisy out of it, that gives equal treatment to Americans and international players both, while also allowing high school players the opportunities they need coming out of school," Oats said. "So, someone should be able to come up with a system that checks all those boxes.
That someone isn't likely to be the NCAA, which has proven its ineptness time-and-time again over the years.
Allowing professional players to play college basketball was always ridiculous. Bediako re-joining Alabama basketball was just the next logical step to be taken after the NCAA opened the door to this nonsense.
And perhaps it's the final straw that leads to widespread changes in the sport.
That's not the primary reason why Oats is doing this. First and foremost, his job is to win basketball games. And adding Bediako gives the Crimson Tide a better opportunity to do that.
But it's in the peripheral.
"If this helps them get to that point, that would be great," Oats said. "But they need to get to that point."