Unless you’ve been living under a rock or are someone who waits until after the Super Bowl to start paying attention to basketball of any kind, you are likely aware now that Charles Bediako had his injunction
denied in the Tuscaloosa County Circuit Court on Monday – ending his season and career at Alabama. Look, I don’t think Chuck should be playing college ball anymore. But I don’t think any of these other former G-Leaguers or European pros should be either. It’s insane that Bediako is being blackballed while people like Virginia’s Thijs De Ridder – a 23 year old who spent the past two seasons playing in Spain’s top pro league – or James Nnaji – who was drafted in the first round of the 2023 NBA Draft and spent the past two seasons playing in the G-League – are out here playing college basketball with zero pushback.
Critics keep harping on the fact that Bediako already played college basketball and left of his own volition. To me, that’s a distinction without a difference. If anything, we should be less upset about a guy coming back to the school he originally committed to, signed with, and played two years with. As Nate Oats has said numerous times, Chuck is one of “our guys”. We’ve got teams full of mercenaries and former European pros, but no, it’s Charles Bediako who is destroying the institution of college sports. Right.
And now we’ve got coaches whining about “making things right”:
Bucky McMillan, the guy who went to court to argue on behalf of Rashaun Agee – his most impactful player this season – who the NCAA also originally ruled ineligible and is only playing because he received an injunction from a local court. Suddenly, he feels that he and his team are owed something for having played Alabama last week. Give me a freaking break.
It’s the hypocrisy of it all that is driving me crazy. And I think I speak for most of our fan base when I say that. Bruce Pearl – the leading expert on integrity in college sports – thinks Alabama should be banned from the postseason. BYU and Louisville both have former G-Leaguers on their rosters. Gonzaga has a 26-year old playing due to an injunction. Any nationwide outrage over those players? Any calls to ban those teams from the NCAA Tournament?
I’ll step back off my soapbox now, since I know I’m preaching to the choir. It’s just a joke.
Anyway, on the court, the Crimson Tide had one of its best weeks of the season this past week – sweeping the aforementioned hypocrites from A&M and Auburn. Nate Oats now turns his attention to arguably the easiest stretch of SEC play for the Tide – the next five games will feature only one opponent who projects to make the NCAA Tournament. That doesn’t mean it will be easy though, especially as the loss of Bediako makes Alabama extremely vulnerable in the frontcourt again.
First up, is a trip across the state border to Oxford, Mississippi.
How to Watch
What: Alabama Crimson Tide (16-7, 6-4 SEC) at Ole Miss Rebels (11-12, 3-7 SEC)
Where: The Pavillion, Oxford, MS
When: 6:00 PM CST
TV: SEC Network
Line: Alabama -6.5
I’ll be honest, I definitely expected Ole Miss to be better this year than they have been. Say what you want about Chris Beard as a person, but he’s a heck of a basketball coach. They lost the majority of their Sweet Sixteen team from a year ago, but they did bring back their stud big man, Malik Dia. Combine that with a highly-ranked transfer portal class that was headlined by Kansas guard, A.J. Storr, and it seemed like Beard would be able to keep it rolling in Oxford. They apparently needed a lot more than that though, as they are currently riding a five-game losing streak here in conference play.
Still, this same team came into Tuscaloosa and beat Alabama a year ago, in large part because of Beard’s “No Middle” baseline zone defense. The Rebels had Alabama’s offense in a straight-jacket, forcing the Tide into 21 turnovers and 5/20 shooting from three. Dia had a monster game, dropping 23 points with 19(!) rebounds and a pair of blocks. It was a stunning performance which ultimately ended up being the Tide’s only loss in their first 11 conference games last season.
Three Keys to Victory
- Control the Pace. This is another classic clash of styles between Oats and Beard. The Rebels are 303rd in Tempo, choosing to slow games down to a crawl and kill you with efficiency on offense and turnovers on defense. They pulled this off perfectly last year against Alabama. The Tide has to take advantage of its bevy of guards and get up and down the court tonight. Transition baskets will be the only ones that come easy when you play a Chris Beard defense.
- Off-Ball Movement. The high PnR, drive-and-kick offense is – quite honestly – the worst possible offense you can run against the Rebels. Especially if you don’t attempt any midrange jumpers. Last season, Ole Miss forced Alabama’s guards towards the baseline and took away the skip pass with great effectiveness, and the Tide never adjusted. You have to have off-ball movement and good, crisp passing to beat Beard’s defense. It’s really not optional. Back door cuts, V-cuts, etc. Take advantage of the fact that the Rebels are packing the paint and playing zone.
- Offensive Rebounding. If you can’t make any headway in the halfcourt on Beard’s defense, you have to be able to grab offensive boards. The old adage, of course, is that you either have to shoot someone out of a zone or rebound them out of it. This is where the Rebels have fallen off significantly from last season, even with Dia back. They are 283rd in the country in OREB% allowed, often rendering their strong defensive possessions worthless, as the opponent ends up getting easy looks for second chance points.
It’s been a wild ride both on and off the court for the Tide in recent weeks. But Nate Oats and the guys seem to be building some momentum now. Obviously, losing Chuck makes this team a lot more limited in the frontcourt, and honestly, many of the outcomes from here on out will be heavily match-up dependent. Still, this is the easier portion of the schedule coming up here in the next five games to close out February, so hopefully Alabama can start stacking wins and keep this momentum rolling.
