The line between professional basketball and college basketball is close to disappearing. If you are not updated on the latest news, Charles Bediako sued the NCAA for his college basketball eligibility. The former Alabama star who entered the 2023 NBA draft and signed a two-way contract with the San Antonio Spurs has received a temporary restraining order to return to the Crimson Tide from a judge. Bediako is the second player to be drafted, after James Nnaji, and return to college basketball. Now, Mark Pope has pitched an idea without disregarding the legal implications for the NCAA.

Bediako has played three seasons in the G League, including making six appearances for the Motor City Cruise this season. The ruling came hours after NCAA president Charlie Baker emphasized that Bediako and others who signed NBA contracts would not be granted eligibility. But the legal order trumps everything. Now Mark Pope has given a possible solution to this problem 

“The one-stop gap that is kind of spreading right now that maybe has some legs, that’s kind of a last stand. The NCAA does get to decide who gets to go to the NCAA tournament, like they get to decide,” Mark Pope said after Kentucky’s win over Texas. “They have that power, and so at some point when they’ve been very, very clear about what the rules that they’re going to try and force, they might lose in court.”

It’s a clear-cut solution that Pope is suggesting. If you sign a former NBA Draftee, you are effectively shadow banned from the NCAA tournament. The games with the player who should be ineligible wouldn’t count towards their seeding. At the outset, it could work. The NCAA and its twelve-member basketball selection committee, made up of athletic directors and conference commissioners have the power to decide who goes to the big dance. 

“They still get to decide what games count towards the NCAA tournament, and I’m not saying that to penalize any team,” Pope further said. “I’m just saying that because at some point it is important that we take a stand and regain some tiny ounce of sanity.”

To Pope, taking away the prize that everybody vies for seems like a simple solution for the NCAA. It is a “stand” the NCAA and college basketball can take. However, realistically, it is not viable. While giving Bediako the TRO, the judge also ruled that the NCAA is “restrained from threatening, imposing, attempting to impose, suggesting or implying any penalties or sanctions” against Bediako, Alabama, its coaches or players. 

The kind of action Pope is suggesting could count as a ‘penalty’ or a ‘threat’. The plaintiffs or the players returning to college ball could argue that such action, even if it’s not formalized, is effectively negating the court’s order. It could bring further legal action against the NCAA, which they don’t want. In the competitive sense, the NCAA would be changing goal posts, and these new rules can be inconsistently applied. 

The group of players who “shouldn’t be playing college basketball” varies on perspective. Some believe former G-League players should not be awarded eligibility. Others think the ones who have declared for the NBA draft in the past shouldn’t. Pope himself employs Andrija Jelavic. He played the past two seasons for Serbian pro team Mega Superbet, which competes in the Adriatic League. The line is blurry as it could be. 

In addition, the 2024–25 season had 31 teams receiving automatic bids to the tournament by winning their conference tournament. Assume Alabama (in this case) wins the SEC. On what basis can they deny them a berth if they can’t alter the rules? It’s a major dilemma. The NCAA needs solutions to this growing problem, but Pope’s suggestion is very difficult to implement. Despite the criticism, Pope explained that he did not have anything against the programs and coaches that made legally grey moves. 

Mark Pope Is Not Villainizing Nate Oats Or Charles Bediako

Baylor and Alabama have been effectively termed as the college basketball criminals after these moves. Baylor signed Nnaji, who has played 12 minutes a game, averaging 1.7 points and 3.7 rebounds. Not much impact. But that doesn’t matter. They have already been booed on the road, and now Nate Oats and Bediako can expect the same. However, according to Pope, it’s not Oats’ fault that he is making this move.

“I don’t have hard feelings towards anybody making any decision, because every single college program and college coaches are the most competitive people in the world,” he said. “They’re going to try and find any avenue they can to find an advantage. It’s just what we’re paid to do.”

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Charles Bediako sees the earning potential in NIL and wants to capitalize. He also gets another chance to get back into NBA conversations. Bediako averaged 6.6 points and 5.2 rebounds per game in his two seasons at Alabama. He helped the team reach the NCAA tournament in each of his two seasons. He would have the rest of this season left in eligibility had he not left for the NBA Draft when he did. He began his college career in 2021. Oats gains physicality in the paint with the 7-foot center.