Charles Bediako scored 13 points in his controversial “second” debut with Alabama.
Whether Bediako plays in a second game this season for the 17th-ranked Crimson Tide remains to be seen, as Tuscaloosa County (Ala.) Circuit Court Judge Jim Roberts will hear arguments Tuesday morning on a request for preliminary injunction regarding the 7-foot center’s NCAA eligibility
With or without Bediako, the Crimson Tide (13-6, 3-3 Southeastern Conference) will hit the court later that night when they host Missouri (14-6, 4-3).
Playing under a temporary restraining order, Bediako collected three rebounds, two blocks and two steals in 25 minutes off the bench in host Alabama’s 79-73 setback to Tennessee on Saturday.
“Right now, I’m just focused on the team,” Bediako said. “Obviously, I’m just gonna dissect what happened (Saturday) and just continue to do film and right now my main focus is this next game (against Missouri), just getting better with the team.”
Bediako, however, is not guaranteed to play in that game versus the Tigers.
A former professional player, Bediako spent two seasons with the Crimson Tide before going unselected in the 2023 NBA Draft. The 23-year-old has been cut by three NBA teams, including the Detroit Pistons in mid-October.
“I thought he was good,” Alabama coach Nate Oats said of Bediako. “He almost led us in blue-collar points. He’s got to get a few more rebounds for us, he knows it and he was telling me that in the first half when he came out. The guys all loved him and he’s a great teammate. He’s going to help us moving forward. We just got to get him rebounding the ball a little bit, especially on the defensive end.”
Alabama fell for the third time in five games on Saturday after shooting a worrisome 6 of 26 from 3-point range.
Labaron Philon Jr. scored 26 points and notched seven of his team’s nine assists for the Crimson Tide, He boasts team-best season averages in both categories (22.2, 4.8), while Aden Holloway (17.7, 3.6) and Amari Allen (11.7, 3.3) rank second and third in both slots on the team, respectively.
Philon scored 14 points on 6-of-9 shooting and Holloway added 11 points off the bench in Alabama’s 110-98 setback at Missouri last season.
Mark Mitchell, who erupted for a career-high 31 points in that game for the Tigers, had 25 in Missouri’s 88-87 overtime victory over Oklahoma on Saturday. He provided the exclamation point by sinking a 3-pointer at the buzzer in overtime.
“He sort of kicked his feet, defeated gravity, still in the air,” Tigers head coach Dennis Gates said of Mitchell’s game-winning shot. “That last hand (contesting him) sort of dropped. Mark is still in the air. I said, ‘This is going in,’ to myself. … Knowing him, it was just the confidence to know he wasn’t looking for anybody else and he executed what we needed him to execute.”
Mitchell also had 10 rebounds to secure his second double-double of the season and fifth career. He is averaging career bests in points (17.7) and assists (3.2) to go along with 5.5 rebounds this season.
T.O. Barrett contributed a career-high 21 points and six rebounds while making his first collegiate start, and Jayden Stone added 20 and seven, respectively.
–Field Level Media
